He was one of the best ever...
30 Years ago this past week we lost Lee Shepherd. And I know that to the vast majority of our followers that doesn't mean a whole lot. He was the driver for the Reher & Morrison team Camaro. From 1981 to 1984 they won Four Straight NHRA titles in Pro Stock. In 1983 they did not only claim a title in NHRA, but also claimed a title in the (at the time) ultra competitive ranks of IHRA Pro Stock.
A feat that was never accomplished before and has yet to be done again. In 1985 while testing for the Gatornationals at Ardmore Dragway with practically no safety equipment on making 60' passes, Lee aired one out and crashed. It was extremely windy. He had just finished the run and deployed the parachute. The front end of the car came off the ground and he lost control.
The car veered to the left and Shepherd had the wheels turned to the right to correct it when the front end came back to the ground. It rolled several times and landed upside down. At the impact, he was ripped from his harness and thrown from the vehicle a distance of 163 feet. He was transported to an Ardmore hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.
The severe crosswind was determined to be a major factor in causing the accident. At the Gatornationals, the qualifiers in Pro Stock lined up on the track before the start of eliminations in a missing man formation with the pole position being left open for Lee Shepherd.
The world got to watch him race for a little over four years, and his competitive nature made every other racer better thus raising the level of competition everywhere he went. After his accident "rival" Bob Glidden decided to have chassis builder Jerry Haas put a funny car cage in his pro stock car, and it may have saved his life in Atlanta of '86 with video of his crash here
30 Years ago this past week we lost Lee Shepherd. And I know that to the vast majority of our followers that doesn't mean a whole lot. He was the driver for the Reher & Morrison team Camaro. From 1981 to 1984 they won Four Straight NHRA titles in Pro Stock. In 1983 they did not only claim a title in NHRA, but also claimed a title in the (at the time) ultra competitive ranks of IHRA Pro Stock.
A feat that was never accomplished before and has yet to be done again. In 1985 while testing for the Gatornationals at Ardmore Dragway with practically no safety equipment on making 60' passes, Lee aired one out and crashed. It was extremely windy. He had just finished the run and deployed the parachute. The front end of the car came off the ground and he lost control.
The car veered to the left and Shepherd had the wheels turned to the right to correct it when the front end came back to the ground. It rolled several times and landed upside down. At the impact, he was ripped from his harness and thrown from the vehicle a distance of 163 feet. He was transported to an Ardmore hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.
The severe crosswind was determined to be a major factor in causing the accident. At the Gatornationals, the qualifiers in Pro Stock lined up on the track before the start of eliminations in a missing man formation with the pole position being left open for Lee Shepherd.
The world got to watch him race for a little over four years, and his competitive nature made every other racer better thus raising the level of competition everywhere he went. After his accident "rival" Bob Glidden decided to have chassis builder Jerry Haas put a funny car cage in his pro stock car, and it may have saved his life in Atlanta of '86 with video of his crash here
