In 1984 he picked up whatever he could find. Most of the rides were sub-standard. In 1985 he stepped in to replace an injured Butch Lindley. Larry McReynolds, today's FOX television analyst and former Dale Earnhardt crew chief, was the crew chief.
A big break came again only a short time later when Jack Beebe called to put him in the Race Hill Farm Winston Cup ride Ron Bouchard vacated in 1985. "I was getting up in my 40s at the time and was wondering if a break was ever going to happen," Shepherd says.
"Suitcase Jake" Elder was the crew chief. Elder had been crew chief for almost every famous driver in NASCAR: Buddy Baker, Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, and many more. But Shepherd and Elder clashed. The team often wrecked or ran poorly.
Then, at the Motorcraft 500 in March 1986, Shepherd held off four of the sport's best-Earnhardt, Terry Labonte, Darrell Waltrip and Bill Elliott-to win. His unexpected triumph came in a dramatic four-lap dash after a caution.
"With 40 laps to go, I couldn't see," Shepherd says. "I was trying not to cry. I knew I had to keep my self-control because we were so close to finally winning a big one, a major race. My racing career was nearly gone just a year before, and I was getting ready to win a big one." Shepherd was 44.
The triumph, plus a win in the Busch Series event at Bristol just days later, and a victory in the Sportsman portion of the Miller 500 tripleheader at Martinsville, was the third win for Shepherd within a 20-day stretch. He was on top of the world, but it wouldn't last.
Drag racer Kenny Bernstein called Shepherd for a ride in 1987. They split up after only one season. The bad season with Bernstein rolled over in 1988 when Shepherd tried to make a go of it with his own team. The team failed and the whole deal ended up in litigation. Next he drove in 1989 for Bob Rayhilly and Butch Mock.
Then, in 1990, famed team owner Bud Moore hired Shepherd to drive his potent Fords. Bud Moore Engineering had over 60 wins, and was a top ride in its heyday with drivers such as Bobby Allison, Buddy Baker, Geoff Bodine, Dale Earnhardt, and Joe Weatherly.
"My crew and I were really happy when it became apparent we were getting a driver of Morgan's caliber," says Moore. "We were looking for a good year in 1990, and we were going to do a lot of testing, which we hadn't done before because we didn't have quite enough budget and personnel."
The team, which had Motorcraft as a sponsor, led the championship point race until mid-season. Mechanical troubles in the last half pushed them back to fifth place in the final standings.
Igloo came on as a sponsor in 1991 for $1.5 million-a hefty chunk in those days. But Morgan says the team only bought one new car.
"I really liked Bud," Shepherd says. "But he was known for taking his money and putting it on his farm. I was so disgusted at the time that I called Ford and told them to get me out of the situation."
The team did win once at Atlanta, before the Moore-Shepherd combination dissolved at the end of 1991.
The Wood brothers came calling next. The combo produced one win in three years at, you guessed it, Atlanta. In the end, however, sponsor Citgo wanted to go with a younger driver. Shepherd was replaced by Michael Waltrip for 1995.
At that point Morgan was 53. He hitched a ride with Butch Mock for the 1996 season. He drove sporadically in 1997 for Richard Jackson.
"From a personal standpoint, it's been really tough for me," Shepherd says. "I've done everything I could do to get a ride since then. I tried to get on ESPN to get publicity, but it wouldn't help me. It was really depressing because I've been in this sport for so long."
Shepherd tried to do his own deal in 1999. He had sponsorship from a group of South Carolina insurance agencies, or so he thought. "It was a $25 million multi-year contract," Shepherd says. "They pulled out and left me hanging with a big debt. That put me in a bad financial situation." The failed deal is still in litigation.