SEASON IN REVIEW
Ferguson, North Carolina driver Morgan Shepherd picked up his first LASTCAR Busch Series Championship in 2007, scoring five last-place finishes in twenty-one starts during a thirty-five race season. In doing so, Shepherd, the 1983 LASTCAR Cup Series Champion, became the first driver to score LASTCAR titles in more than one NASCAR division.
At Loudon on September 17, 2006, Shepherd made the 514th and, until 2013, most recent Cup Series start in a career that stretched back to 1970. In that time, Shepherd picked up four Cup wins, three of them at Atlanta, and all of them for different teams. At the same time, Shepherd competed in at least one Busch Series race for every season from 1982 through 1999, scoring fifteen wins during his first seven years on the circuit. He also scored the next-to-last NASCAR Sportsman Series Championship in 1980, joining Joe Thurman, Jack Ingram, and Tommy Ellis as the only four Sportsman Series Champions with LASTCAR titles.
Shepherd ran as an owner-driver in the Busch Series for much of his career. He also drove his own equipment in the Cup Series from 2002 through 2006, making 32 races, but finishing just two at Martinsville and Daytona in 2004. A born-again Christian, Shepherd’s #89 Fords and Dodges carried decals saying both “Racing With Jesus” and “Victory In Jesus.” In 2007, Shepherd returned his focus to the Busch Series, and after a five-race stint for Johnny Davis, he drove his own #89 Victory In Jesus Racing Dodges for the rest of the season.
Shepherd’s first three last-place finishes of 2007 came while driving for Davis. The first came at Fontana on February 24, where his #01 Hefty Chevrolet overheated after 18 laps, finishing one spot ahead of teammate Eric McClure. The next came at Talladega on April 28, where handling woes were to blame for his #01 RaceGirl Chevrolet’s exit after 2 laps of the Aaron’s 312. The third came in his final start for Davis at Darlington on May 11, when his #01 RaceGirl Chevrolet fell out with handling problems after 7 laps of the Diamond Hill Plywood 200.
In the season debut of his #89 at Dover on June 2, Shepherd finished 38th in the 43-car field when he lost oil pressure after 38 laps. The team’s first last-place finish - Shepherd’s fourth of the year - came twelve races later at the newly-reconfigured Bristol on August 24, when the car’s handling went away 17 laps into the Food City 250. The season-high fifth finish came five races after that at Charlotte, where another handling problem occurred 14 laps into the Dollar General 300 on Shepherd’s birthday, October 12.
Overall, Shepherd failed to finish all twenty-one of his Busch starts in 2007 and didn’t qualify for four of the last eight races of the season, resulting in an average finish of 40.6.
As of this writing, Shepherd is still active in the Busch Series on a part-time basis.
OTHER LASTCAR HEADLINES
David Ragan ran his first full Cup and Busch Series seasons in 2007, scoring a combined 6 Top Fives and 12 Top Tens across both divisions. The second-generation driver also picked up his first last-place finish in the season-opening Orbitz 300 at Daytona when his #6 Discount tire Ford crashed after 4 laps. The next day, Ragan finished 5th in his first Daytona 500.
One year after his brother’s first last-place finish, Brad Keselowski scored his at Mexico City when his #23 Oklahoma Centennial Chevrolet lost the engine after he completed the opening lap of the Telcel-Motorola Mexico 200. Brad was driving for the same Keith Coleman-owned team that gave Brian his first finish at Phoenix in 2006, and he finished last again at Texas on April 8. Just three years later, Brad won the Busch Series Championship, followed two years later by his first Sprint Cup.
Aric Almirola, at the time a Joe Gibbs Racing development driver, scored his first last-place finish at Phoenix on April 20 when his #18 Banquet Foods Chevrolet was involved in an opening-lap crash during the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200. Almirola, the Daytona polesitter, rebounded to win his first Busch race at Milwaukee on June 23, though Denny Hamlin flew in from Sonoma to take over driving duties after 58 laps. Almirola left Gibbs at year’s end, and he currently drives for Richard Petty Motorsports in the iconic #43.
The 2008 Daytona 500 Champion Ryan Newman scored his first Busch last-place finish at Chicagoland on July 8 when his #12 Kodak Dodge crashed after 4 laps of the USG Sheetrock 300. Shepherd finished next-to-last that day due to overheating problems after 13 laps.
Canadian driver and 2006 CASCAR Super Series Champion J.R. Fitzpatrick became the first last-place finisher of the popular new Busch Series event at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, the NAPA Auto Parts 200. Fitzpatrick failed to complete a lap of the race when his #0 Home Hardware Chevrolet had electrical problems.
Open-wheel star Max Papis scored his first Busch last-place finish at Watkins Glen on August 11 when his #1 Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet lost the engine after he completed 2 laps of the Zippo 200 at the Glen. Papis made his Cup debut at Sonoma the next year.
Bobby Labonte scored his first Busch last-place finish since 1989 in the season finale, the Ford 300 at Homestead. Labonte’s #77 Dollar General Chevrolet crashed after 4 laps of the race on November 17.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1st) Morgan Shepherd (5)
2nd) Kertus Davis, D.J. Kennington, Brad Keselowski, Randy MacDonald (2)
3rd) Aric Almirola, Justin Ashburn, Mike Bliss, Johnny Borneman III, Carlos Contreras, Kevin Conway, Derrike Cope, Justin Diercks, Danny Efland, J.R. Fitzpatrick, Mike Harmon, Sam Hornish, Jr., Bobby Labonte, Ryan Newman, Max Papis, Ruben Pardo, David Ragan, David Reutimann, Brett Rowe, Brent Sherman, Michael Waltrip, Jon Wood (1)
