How do you know when your testing at Daytona International Speedway has gotten some attention? When NASCAR walks over to your car and asks if you have the right restrictor plate on the engine. While some might think that would happen with speedsters such as Penske Racing or Chip Ganassi Racing, that wasn’t the case this year at the 2.5-mile speedway. Instead, it was asked of Morgan Shepherd, driver and owner of the #89 Racing With Jesus Dodge. As for Penske and Ganassi . . . uh . . . they were slower than Shepherd on the overall time charts for single-car runs during Speed Weeks testing. “First, they wanted to look at my restrictor plate. Then, when that checked out OK, they asked to look at the carburetor,” Shepherd laughed. “When that checked out, they just looked up and smiled and said, ‘Hey! Good run!’” Shepherd’s own Dodge Charger was the one he ran so well with. A Joey Arrington engine made much of the difference, he said. “We were fast right off the bat but we learned some things as we moved along and got even better,” said Shepherd. “We worked some with Bill Davis (racing, which also fields Dodges) and I think we helped them a little too.

(Williams Company)

redriderbob