Morgan Shepherd: The Last of The Moonshiners

Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits down with longtime fixture in the NASCAR garage, Morgan Shepherd, to learn about his journey from bootlegging to becoming a multi-time Cup Series winner. Born in Ferguson, North Carolina, Shepherd followed his father Jesse Clay’s footsteps into the moonshine lifestyle. It was here he honed his driving skills, and after a close call with the police scared him straight, he decided to exercise fast driving on the local short tracks. He took to the legendary Hickory Motor Speedway and began winning on a regular basis in the late model ranks. Through the 1970s, Morgan began moving up the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman rankings before winning the national crown in 1980.

This accomplishment catapulted Morgan into full-time Cup competition, and before long, he would pick up his first win in the top level of stock cars, at Martinsville in 1981, driving for Cliff Stewart. Morgan drove for a litany of owners throughout his Cup career and would park cars in victory lane on four different occasions. He spent the latter part of his driving days chauffeuring rides for his own team, breaking several age-related records along the way. Morgan would make his 1000th NASCAR national start in 2018 at the tender age of 76. Morgan joins Dale Jr. for a conversation about his legendary career and his current battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Chapters:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:57 – Battling Polio in Early Years
00:03:20 – Fighting Parkinsons Today
00:04:12 - Running Moonshine With His Father
00:08:42 - How They Blew Up the Still & Why Morgan Quit
00:09:30 - Buying His First Car for $12
00:10:22 - First Race at Hickory
00:12:21 – Getting to Cup
00:13:12 – The Spiritual Awakening
00:25:24 - Bouncing From Team to Team in 80s
00:32:27 - Filling In for Harry Gant & Neil Bonnett, Winning in Australia
00:35:42 - The Roller Skating Story with Dale Sr
00:41:50 - Starting His Own Team – And Getting in A Fight
00:45:40 – Early 2000s
00:47:08 - Tackling a Shoplifter at Walmart in 2011
00:48:06 - The Morgan Shepherd Charitable Fund
00:49:30 - Dale Jr.'s Closing Reflection

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