Editing Morgan Shepherd (section)

===Career before NASCAR===
Shepherd's racing career began in 1967 when he started racing [[Late model]]s at [[Hickory Motor Speedway]] nearby his home. Shepherd proved to be fast but he crashed out quite often in his early days. In 1968, Shepherd started racing full-time at a Hobby division in Hickory, driving a 1955 [[Chevrolet|Chevy]].<ref name="The Last Of The Moonshiners">{{cite web|url=http://www.stockcarracing.com/thehistoryof/69918_morgan_shepherd_biography/|title=The Last Of The Moonshiners|publisher=stockcarracing.com|access-date=March 12, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719051613/http://www.stockcarracing.com/thehistoryof/69918_morgan_shepherd_biography/|archive-date=July 19, 2014}}</ref> That year Shepherd won 21 out of 29 races. The next year Shepherd drove the same car this time with a 1957 Chevy body on the car. After winning seven races early in the year he wrecked, which almost destroyed his car. Shepherd did not win another race that year after putting a 1966 Chevy body on the car. Shepherd later sold this car to [[Harry Gant]].<ref name="The Last Of The Moonshiners" />

Shepherd's career was on its way in 1970. He built his own cars and raced at several different racetracks in the Southeast. Personal problems during the seventies slowed down Shepherd's career. In a [[religious experience]], Shepherd accepted [[Christ]] as his personal savior. He was looking to get control of his life, and his career got back on track in 1975. Shepherd took every racing opportunity he was offered and drove for 17 different car owners during 1975. He finished second in the NASCAR Sportsman national championship to [[L. D. Ottinger]]. At last, Shepherd got his big break in 1978 after he met Cliff Stewart, who owned a western North Carolina furniture factory. With Stewart as his owner, Shepherd won the 1980 NASCAR Sportsman Series (now known as the [[Xfinity Series]]). During this year, Shepherd won 9 races and finished second 21 times. The Shepherd-Stewart combo moved to what was then the [[NASCAR Cup Series|Winston Cup Series]] for the [[1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series|1981]] season.<ref name="The Last Of The Moonshiners" />