Tweet
Lee Shepherd, Drag Racing Legend
August 30, 1944 – March 11, 1985
Few drivers make an impact on drag racing like a soft-spoken, determined individual named Lee Shepherd of Arlington , Texas did. When teamed with the formidable duo of Texans David Reher and the late Buddy Morrison, Shepherd excelled at an incredible pace in a short span of time. Combining his talent behind the wheel with a non-confrontational personality and a sincere dedication to the Chevrolet brand, Shepherd didn't take long in earning the admiration of race fans, young and old. He gained a huge amount of respect from fellow racers as well.
It's a pretty safe assessment to say that many teams underestimated the triumvirate that combined under what were unusual circumstances. Shepherd first joined Reher-Morrison through necessity, and the relationship blossomed from there. The talented driver headed up a team that had developed a reputation in Division 4, and when Shepherd blew the engine in his ride and Reher and Morrison found themselves with an engine and no car, the forces morphed into one. They found success with a few national event wins, and in 1976 they made the huge leap into Pro Stock. The foundation had actually been laid many years before, however.
Reher actually met Shepherd while he was in college at the University of Texas – Arlington . The two actually had a calculus class together.
“I knew that he had been running his car at the local track, but I had never really met him at a race,” recalled Reher. “I had met him in class.”
Reher admitted that he was impressed with Shepherd the first time he met him. His assessment was that his future driver was a super person. He wasn't an outspoken person and was always quick to treat others the way he would like to be treated. That temperament is something that made it easy for Shepherd to build some lasting relationships, including a longstanding one with Reher.
“Even after he became a star, he never wavered in his treatment of others. He was an extremely intelligent guy and that caused others to gravitate toward him.”
Shepherd's ability to block out distractions is something that primed him for legendary status in NHRA Pro Stock competition. According to Reher, that ability is something that enabled Shepherd to excel as quickly as he did. Even Reher had to confide that that level of concentration is something that kept him from being a driver.
Of course, the perfect examples of Shepherd's techniques were often most evident in his battles with Bob Glidden.
“Those guys had major staging battles,” Reher said. “Lee would let him know that there was no way that he was going to stage first. He was always quick to say that he didn't care what happened, he just wasn't going to stage first. Glidden would try to rattle his chain from time to time.”
Shepherd more times than not came out on the winning end of things against Glidden, but the one time he lost a championship to him would be the last time. In 1980, Shepherd and Glidden battled it out for a championship that went down to the final round of the final event of the season. Glidden overcame nearly insurmountable odds to win a championship that was Shepherd's to lose. Just to think a second round win would have sealed the deal, but a broken transmission in the first round left him a sitting duck.
“Their battles were entertaining,” explained Reher. NHRA starter Buster Couch would come over and look in his window and motion for him to stage, but he wouldn't move. He was determined to do what he was going to and that was that. The rest of us were going crazy though.”
Don't think for a moment that the loss to Glidden is something that Shepherd took lightly. Journalist/Publicist Dave Densmore had a front-row seat to those battles.
“They were pretty devastated,” recalled Densmore. “They had the better car all year and they won more races, but Glidden just played the points right and caught them at the end. As devastated as they were, it served as fuel for their commitment for the years to follow. They knew at that point they could do it. They just underestimated Glidden's resolve.”
Shepherd's loss on that day actually served to make him a better racer from that point on. He began a winning streak of world championships that spanned from 1981 until 1984. He very well had the momentum for a 1985 championship, and in fact his successor Bruce Allen did win an IHRA title in 1985.
It has been said before by others, and Reher asserts that the word unemotional in the dictionary most likely could have included Shepherd's picture beside it.
“He was always happy to win, but he wasn't one of those that jumped up and down and carried on,” explained Reher. “He took it all matter-of-factly.”
And, just to think, many just believed Shepherd wanted to win. His game plan just made winning a bonus.
“I'd venture to say that most people didn't know that winning wasn't what motivated him the most – it was making the car go faster and faster,” Reher said. “If we had a weekend off, he could most likely be found spending hours and hours on a flow bench trying to extract horsepower above and beyond what we had.”
Reher admitted that Shepherd was a self-motivated person that never shied from work. He pointed out there were times that he had called it a day and left for home, only to return the next morning and see Shepherd still at it.
“He came up with things that are still being used today,” added Reher. “He was a pioneer and was well ahead of his time. I don't think anyone really understood just how hard he worked striving for perfection.
“He was a forward thinker and was plenty capable of thinking outside of the box. He didn't concern himself much with what other people were doing. He was focused and in tune to his program. Some of his ideas were hair-brained, but then again, he had some really good ones.”
August 30, 1944 – March 11, 1985
Few drivers make an impact on drag racing like a soft-spoken, determined individual named Lee Shepherd of Arlington , Texas did. When teamed with the formidable duo of Texans David Reher and the late Buddy Morrison, Shepherd excelled at an incredible pace in a short span of time. Combining his talent behind the wheel with a non-confrontational personality and a sincere dedication to the Chevrolet brand, Shepherd didn't take long in earning the admiration of race fans, young and old. He gained a huge amount of respect from fellow racers as well.
It's a pretty safe assessment to say that many teams underestimated the triumvirate that combined under what were unusual circumstances. Shepherd first joined Reher-Morrison through necessity, and the relationship blossomed from there. The talented driver headed up a team that had developed a reputation in Division 4, and when Shepherd blew the engine in his ride and Reher and Morrison found themselves with an engine and no car, the forces morphed into one. They found success with a few national event wins, and in 1976 they made the huge leap into Pro Stock. The foundation had actually been laid many years before, however.
Reher actually met Shepherd while he was in college at the University of Texas – Arlington . The two actually had a calculus class together.
“I knew that he had been running his car at the local track, but I had never really met him at a race,” recalled Reher. “I had met him in class.”
Reher admitted that he was impressed with Shepherd the first time he met him. His assessment was that his future driver was a super person. He wasn't an outspoken person and was always quick to treat others the way he would like to be treated. That temperament is something that made it easy for Shepherd to build some lasting relationships, including a longstanding one with Reher.
“Even after he became a star, he never wavered in his treatment of others. He was an extremely intelligent guy and that caused others to gravitate toward him.”
Shepherd's ability to block out distractions is something that primed him for legendary status in NHRA Pro Stock competition. According to Reher, that ability is something that enabled Shepherd to excel as quickly as he did. Even Reher had to confide that that level of concentration is something that kept him from being a driver.
Of course, the perfect examples of Shepherd's techniques were often most evident in his battles with Bob Glidden.
“Those guys had major staging battles,” Reher said. “Lee would let him know that there was no way that he was going to stage first. He was always quick to say that he didn't care what happened, he just wasn't going to stage first. Glidden would try to rattle his chain from time to time.”
Shepherd more times than not came out on the winning end of things against Glidden, but the one time he lost a championship to him would be the last time. In 1980, Shepherd and Glidden battled it out for a championship that went down to the final round of the final event of the season. Glidden overcame nearly insurmountable odds to win a championship that was Shepherd's to lose. Just to think a second round win would have sealed the deal, but a broken transmission in the first round left him a sitting duck.
“Their battles were entertaining,” explained Reher. NHRA starter Buster Couch would come over and look in his window and motion for him to stage, but he wouldn't move. He was determined to do what he was going to and that was that. The rest of us were going crazy though.”
Don't think for a moment that the loss to Glidden is something that Shepherd took lightly. Journalist/Publicist Dave Densmore had a front-row seat to those battles.
“They were pretty devastated,” recalled Densmore. “They had the better car all year and they won more races, but Glidden just played the points right and caught them at the end. As devastated as they were, it served as fuel for their commitment for the years to follow. They knew at that point they could do it. They just underestimated Glidden's resolve.”
Shepherd's loss on that day actually served to make him a better racer from that point on. He began a winning streak of world championships that spanned from 1981 until 1984. He very well had the momentum for a 1985 championship, and in fact his successor Bruce Allen did win an IHRA title in 1985.
It has been said before by others, and Reher asserts that the word unemotional in the dictionary most likely could have included Shepherd's picture beside it.
“He was always happy to win, but he wasn't one of those that jumped up and down and carried on,” explained Reher. “He took it all matter-of-factly.”
And, just to think, many just believed Shepherd wanted to win. His game plan just made winning a bonus.
“I'd venture to say that most people didn't know that winning wasn't what motivated him the most – it was making the car go faster and faster,” Reher said. “If we had a weekend off, he could most likely be found spending hours and hours on a flow bench trying to extract horsepower above and beyond what we had.”
Reher admitted that Shepherd was a self-motivated person that never shied from work. He pointed out there were times that he had called it a day and left for home, only to return the next morning and see Shepherd still at it.
“He came up with things that are still being used today,” added Reher. “He was a pioneer and was well ahead of his time. I don't think anyone really understood just how hard he worked striving for perfection.
“He was a forward thinker and was plenty capable of thinking outside of the box. He didn't concern himself much with what other people were doing. He was focused and in tune to his program. Some of his ideas were hair-brained, but then again, he had some really good ones.”
'86 GN 
Comment