Lee Shepherd tribute car
The Midwest Nostalgia Pro Stock Association display at the 2019 Performance Racing Industry trade
show in Indianapolis featured the 1982 second-generation Reher-Morrison-Shepherd
Chevrolet Camaro tribute car owned by Mark Pappas, a fitting memorial to the great fallen champion, Lee Shepherd.
As he drove for car owners David Reher and Buddy Morrison, Lee
Shepherd set the standard for Pro Stock racing drivers in the early nineteen
eighties. From 1980 to 1984, Shepherd appeared
in the final elimination round at 44 of 56 NHRA national events and won 26 of
them; that's over a 75% winning percentage in the final round.
During that time, Shepherd re-set National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Pro Stock national elapsed time and speed records a total of 14 times.
During that time, Shepherd re-set National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Pro Stock national elapsed time and speed records a total of 14 times.
A soft-spoken Texan, Shepherd and the Reher & Morrison
Racing Engines team won the NHRA Pro Stock championship four consecutive times
from 1981-1984.
In his too-brief career, Lee won every race on the NHRA tour at least once, with a 173-47 round record in NHRA competition. Shepherd was named the Pro Stock Driver of the Year for the Car Craft Magazine All-Star Drag Racing Team four consecutive seasons.
In his too-brief career, Lee won every race on the NHRA tour at least once, with a 173-47 round record in NHRA competition. Shepherd was named the Pro Stock Driver of the Year for the Car Craft Magazine All-Star Drag Racing Team four consecutive seasons.
Shepherd compiled a 48-6 round record in the NHRA rival International
Hot Rod Association (IHRA) “mountain motor” Pro Stock competition in 1983-1984.
In just three IHRA seasons, Shepherd scored nine victories in thirteen final
round appearances in the team’s Camaro equipped with the team’s 615-cubic inch and
632-cubic inch engines.
In 1983 Shepherd became the first driver to win both the NHRA and IHRA Pro Stock championships in the same year, a feat he repeated in 1984.
In 1983 Shepherd became the first driver to win both the NHRA and IHRA Pro Stock championships in the same year, a feat he repeated in 1984.
Lee Shepherd, a skilled cylinder head fabricator in addition to being a great driver, died tragically in a testing accident in Ardmore Oklahoma on March 11, 1985. In 2000, a panel of experts selected Lee Shepherd
as one of the NHRA’s all-time Top 50 racers. Shepherd is a member of the NHRA Division 4 (South Central United States) Hall of Fame and Don Garlits' International Drag Racing Hall of Fame.
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