Dubbed Last Of The Moonshiners, This NASCAR Driver Was Still Racing In His 70s

When it was founded in 1947, NASCAR was essentially a legal outlet for drivers who had cut their teeth hauling illegal alcohol. In fact, the official NASCAR Hall of Fame helps celebrate those roots with an actual moonshine still built by legendary driver Junior Johnson — and its All-Star Trophy is a moonshine still. Yet while running moonshine may seem like a part of the distant past, at least one NASCAR driver with an old-school resume was still at it — racing, we mean — well into the 21st century.

That would be Morgan Shepherd, aka the "Last of the Moonshiners," who was still competing in NASCAR's Xfinity season in 2019. Shepherd was 77 at the time, and he managed to finish the season ranked No. 62 in the standings with 29 points. Well before then, however, Shepherd had been introduced to the moonshine business by his father, Jesse Clay Shepherd. Morgan and a friend, unable to waste their days online, were even operating their own still when they were in their teens.

Business must have been slumping in the 1960s, though. That's when Morgan Shepherd made a bid to increase his cash flow at the local racetrack, relying on one of the cars he had already prepped for running moonshine. It turned out to be a good decision. Shepherd soon saw enough success to go pro. His first NASCAR Cup race came in 1970, and by the time he hung up his helmet, he'd started more than 1,000 NASCAR national-series events. Only Richard Petty, Mark Martin, Joe Nemechek, Kevin Harvick, Michael Waltrip, Terry Labonte, and Jeff Burton have done the same.

Yes. Yes, it is. Now, NASCAR doesn't have a hard age cap for competitors, and Hall-of-Famer Herschel McGriff competed in regional NASCAR races right up to age 90. But nowadays, when we know older drivers are more likely to make dangerous mistakes on the road, you'd think they'd have trouble on the track, too.

Turns out, it did become an issue for Shepherd. When he was involved in a 2014 crash at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway — at age 72 — it led to major concerns about whether he was a danger to other drivers, let alone himself. The party line from NASCAR was that if Shepherd could pass the NASCAR physical, and his car could qualify for a race, he was eligible to drive. The one positive may have been that Shepherd was already in "start and park" mode. This refers to a common race strategy among NASCAR teams working on limited budgets: They qualify for a race, carefully run a limited number of laps, and then retire to collect their admittedly minimal winnings.

Regardless, Shepherd only stopped racing after he was diagnosed in 2020 with Parkinson's disease, which makes it difficult for sufferers to control their body movements. Even then, he originally planned to return to racing as an owner for the 2021 season. That didn't happen, but Shepherd is still alive today and active on the religious front through efforts like his Victory In Jesus Racing Ministries — not to be confused with the Jesus Saves racing team from Formula 1. Indeed, Shepherd may be the only minister ever with four NASCAR Cup wins, 15 victories in NASCAR's Xfinity series, and 57 Craftsman Truck starts.