Lee Shepherd

For those of a similar name, see Lee Sheppard (disambiguation).

Lee Alan Shepherd (August 30, 1944 – March 11, 1985) was an American drag racing driver from Arlington, Texas. In 1972 Lee Shepherd drove a lime-green Chevy 2 Nova wagon to the finals in Modified-Eliminator at the Springnationals. Later in 1972 he began racing with Reher & Morrison. The three Texans pooled their limited resources and forged a longstanding partnership[1] after Bobby Cross left the team to pursue his own business ventures. The Reher, Morrison, and Shepherd team won the 1974 Winternationals in a pumpkin-orange F/Gas Maverick. In 1975, the Texans borrowed a Corvette body, transplanted the Maverick's powertrain, and recorded another victory at the 1975 Springnationals in the Modified-eliminator class.

The team campaigned a Chevrolet Camaro to win four consecutive NHRA world championships from 1981 to 1984.[2] In 1983 Shepherd became the first driver to win both the NHRA and IHRA Pro Stock championships in the same year, a feat that has never before, or since, been equalled. He won twenty-six NHRA national events in Pro Stock.[3]

In 1985, Shepherd was killed while testing his car in Ardmore, Oklahoma.[4] At the Gatornationals, the next event on the NHRA tour, the qualifiers in Pro Stock lined up on the track before the start of eliminations in a missing man formation with the pole position being left open for Lee Shepherd. Reher & Morrison returned to racing later that year with a new driver named Bruce Allen.[5] In 2001, a panel ranked Shepherd twelfth in the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951–2000.[6] He is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Fort Worth, Texas.

References

  1. ↑ Norm Froscher (March 13, 1983). "Shepherds Business Helps Other Racers". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
  2. ↑ "NHRA season champions 1974–2012". The National Hot Rod Association. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  3. ↑ Anon (March 16, 1984). "Lee Shepherd on a success string". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
  4. ↑ Anon (March 13, 1985). "Ace Driver Shepherd dies in dragster crash". Reading Eagle. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
  5. ↑ AP (July 15, 1985). "Garlits Captures Drag Race Final". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
  6. ↑ "Fifty Top Drivers No 12; Lee Shepherd". The National Hot Rod Association. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
Preceded by
Pete Robinson 1971		 NHRA FullThrottle Drag Racing fatalities
1985 		Succeeded by
Blaine Johnson 1996


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