RICHMOND, Va. – It’s been a few weeks since Montreal and the date Morgan Shepherd‘s team was supposedly to fold, yet the No. 89 car has still managed to show up for every race on the 2011 Nationwide Series schedule. But don’t be fooled; things aren’t so rosy for the organization.
When asked whether the Montreal closure date had just been a rumor, Shepherd responded, “We’re broke. We’re running on junk old tires … we’re just kind of here.” When asked how long the team, which did not have a backup car on the hauler would be able to keep going, a clearly dejected Shepherd did not have a response other than “I don’t know.”
Shepherd, who’s been a full-time competitor on the Nationwide circuit for five consecutive years, turns 70 in October. He has just one run of 19th or better this season – an 18th at Las Vegas in March – and has finished just 14 of 27 races he’s qualified for.
At one point, the team was start-and-parking a second car, the No. 55 driven by Brett Rowe, to bank some extra cash, but that strategy has been tabled without a backup car.