Lee Alan Shepherd (August 30, 1944 – March 11, 1985) was an American

drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most c ...

driver from

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

. In 1972, Shepherd drove a lime green

Chevy Nova The Chevrolet Chevy II/Nova is a small automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, and produced in five generations for the 1962 through 1979, and 1985 through 1988 model years. Nova was the top model in the Chevy II lineup through 1968. The Chevy II ...

station wagon A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...

to the Modified finals at the

National Hot Rod Association The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorspo ...

(NHRA) Springnationals, also claiming Modified Eliminator (making the Nova the quickest car at the event). Later in 1972, he teamed with David Reher and Buddy Morrison. The three Texans pooled their limited resources and forged a longstanding partnership after Bobby Cross left the team to pursue his own business ventures. The Reher-Morrison-Shepherd team won NHRA's Division 4 Modified championship in 1973, and took a class win at the 1974 Winternationals in a pumpkin orange

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

-powered F/Gas

Ford Maverick Ford has marketed the following automobiles models using the Ford Maverick nameplate: * The Ford Maverick (1970–1977), a compact car sold in North America and Brazil during the 1970s * The rebadged Nissan Patrol Y60 sold by Ford Australia under ...

. Shepherd ran back-to-back 10.67s to defeat John Smith’s M/Gas Volkswagen and defending event champion Bob Riffle’s C/Gas

Dodge Colt The Dodge Colt is a subcompact car that was manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors and marketed by Dodge for model years 1971 to 1994 as captive imports. Rebadged variants include the Plymouth Champ and Plymouth Colt, both were marketed by Plymouth. ...

. In the quarterfinal, he bested Carl Frizzell’s E/MP Camaro with a 10.66 and former Winternationals winner Fred Teixeira’s B/Gas Corvette with a 10.49. In the final, Shepherd unleashed a pass of 10.39 seconds at , defeating Jim Marshall’s A/MP Dart and good enough to set an F/Gas national record. In 1975, the Texans borrowed a

Chevrolet Corvette The Chevrolet Corvette is a two-door, two-passenger luxury sports car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet since 1953. With eight design generations, noted sequentially from C1 to C8, the Corvette is noted for its performance and distinctive ...

body, transplanted the Maverick's powertrain, and recorded another Modified victory at the 1975 Springnationals, as well as taking Modified Eliminator, making the Reher-Morrison Corvette the quickest Modified of the event. The team campaigned a

Chevrolet Camaro The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro share ...

to win four consecutive NHRA national championships from 1981 to 1984. Shepherd would return to win the Winternationals twice in Pro Stock, in 1980 and 1984, while the team won 26 of 56 national events and four championships in that period. In 1983 Shepherd became the first driver to win both the NHRA and IHRA Pro Stock championships in the same year, a feat that had never before been achieved; he did it again in 1984. In March 1985, on his way to a fifth straight Pro Stock championship, Shepherd was killed while testing his car in

Ardmore, Oklahoma Ardmore is the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. According to the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,283, with an estimated population of 24,698 in 2019. The Ardmore micropolitan statistical area had an estimated ...

. Sources cited attribute his death to the failure of his seat belt/racing harness. At the Gatornationals, the next event on the NHRA calendar, the qualifiers in Pro Stock lined up on the track before the start of eliminations in a

missing man formation The missing man formation is an aerial salute performed as part of a flypast of aircraft at a funeral or memorial event, typically in memory of a fallen pilot, a well-known military service member or veteran, or a well-known political figure. T ...

with the pole position being left open for Lee Shepherd. In 2001, a panel ranked Shepherd twelfth in the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951–2000. Over his career, Shepherd won at every NHRA national event, recording a record of 173 wins to 47 losses, including reaching the final round in 44 national events, winning 26 times.Burgess, Phil, ''National Dragster'' editor. "Favorite Race Car Ever voting: 1980s and Beyond", written 11 August 2008, a
NHRA.com
(retrieved 27 September 2018) He is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Lee Alan 1944 births 1985 deaths Burials in Texas Sportspeople from Arlington, Texas Racing drivers from Fort Worth, Texas Racing drivers from Texas Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Oklahoma