WATKINS GLEN, NY - It looked early on like Saturday was going to be a long day for Morgan Shepherd and his Faith Motorsports crew. Just a handful of laps into the Zipp 200 at Watkins Glen International, Shepherd reported the bad news to his crew. The alternator wasn't charging!
"We could either come in and fix it and loose a bunch of laps or stay out and hope for the best," Shepherd said. "Morris and the guys kept working on it every pit stop and we limped it through the race. It was a miracle we were able to finish that race."
The scenario played out at least three times during the Saturday event. Shepherd would power past a dozen cars or so to reach near the Top 20 and then pit under caution for the crew to change four tires, fuel his Impala SS and check under the hood in an attempt to get the battery charging again. The long stop for alternator repairs would send him back on the track in the back of the pack each time.
"We had to have long stops to keep trying to get the alternator wires right and get is secured to where it would at least charge a little," Shepherd said. "We would start off in the back and have to work our way up through the pack every time, but that is what we had to do. That pit crew worked their tails off every stop to keep that car running."
Thanks to a late race crash or two, Shepherd was able to bring the Racing With Jesus Chevrolet home in 21st place, his three straight Top 25 run in recent weeks.
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