Lee Shepherd
Encyclopedia
Lee Alan Shepherd was an American
drag racing
driver (August 30, 1944 – March 11, 1985). He began racing for car owners Reher & Morrison in 1978. The team campaigned Chevy Camaros through most of their career. The Arlington, Texas
native won the National Hot Rod Association
's Pro Stock championship in four consecutive seasons from 1981 to 1984. In 1983, he became the first driver to win both the NHRA and IHRA
Pro Stock championships in the same year. He won twenty-six NHRA national events in Pro Stock. In 1985, Shepherd was killed while testing his car in Ardmore, Oklahoma
.
At the Gatornationals, the next event on the NHRA tour, the qualifiers in Pro Stock lined up on the track before the start of eliminations in a missing man formation
. The pole was left open for Lee Shepherd. Reher & Morrison did return later that year with a new driver by the name of Bruce Allen. In 2001, a panel ranked him twelfth in the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000. He is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Fort Worth, Texas
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
drag racing
Drag racing
Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....
driver (August 30, 1944 – March 11, 1985). He began racing for car owners Reher & Morrison in 1978. The team campaigned Chevy Camaros through most of their career. The Arlington, Texas
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to the 2010 census results, the city had a population of 365,438, making it the third largest municipality in the Metroplex...
native won the National Hot Rod Association
National Hot Rod Association
The National Hot Rod Association is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and host events all over the United States and Canada...
's Pro Stock championship in four consecutive seasons from 1981 to 1984. In 1983, he became the first driver to win both the NHRA and IHRA
International Hot Rod Association
The International Hot Rod Association, also known as IHRA, is the 2nd largest drag racing sanctioning body after the NHRA.-The Carrier Era:The IHRA was formed in November 1970 by businessman Larry Carrier. Throughout this period the organization was operated primarily in the south-eastern United...
Pro Stock championships in the same year. He won twenty-six NHRA national events in Pro Stock. In 1985, Shepherd was killed while testing his car in Ardmore, Oklahoma
Ardmore, Oklahoma
Ardmore is a business, cultural and tourism city in and the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 24,283, while a 2007 estimate has the Ardmore micropolitan statistical area totaling 56,694 residents...
.
At the Gatornationals, the next event on the NHRA tour, the qualifiers in Pro Stock lined up on the track before the start of eliminations in a missing man formation
Missing man formation
The missing man formation is an aerial salute performed as part of a flyover of aircraft at a funeral or memorial event, typically in memory of a fallen pilot. The missing man formation is often called "the missing man flyby"...
. The pole was left open for Lee Shepherd. Reher & Morrison did return later that year with a new driver by the name of Bruce Allen. In 2001, a panel ranked him twelfth in the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000. He is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
.