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 THE PODCASTS YOU LOVE. THE MERCH YOU NEED. Get it all here: https://shop.dirtymomedia.com/ Follow Dirty Mo Media Facebook:   / dirtymomedia   Twitter:   / dirtymomedia   Instagram:   / dirtymomedia   TikTok:   / dirtymomedia_   All About Dirty Mo Media: https://www.dirtymomedia.com FanDuel: Must be 21+ and present in select states (for Kansas, in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino) or 18+ and present in D.C. First online real money wager only. $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets, which expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York.