Phoenix Racing, one of the most notorious “start-and-parks” of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Season, was ironically one of the strongest underdogs in the field. With Jeff Purvis, the team quickly found victory lane in ARCA and the Busch Series, and with backing from the Miccosukee Tribe of Florida, veterans like Geoffrey Bodine and Mike Wallace were turning heads on the superspeedways. Featuring an interview with James Finch, this is the story of one of the most successful independent teams – and one of its most unusual seasons. #RiseOfTheFieldFillers SPECIAL THANKS *James Finch, for his interview *Gabe Wood, for his additional info on the team’s 2004 campaign *Bryan Hallman, for his photos from Phoenix Racing’s history VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjZQnMo0uMCGEmQdp4r9v146GsO0q5kC2 ARTICLES *“Background on Seminoles,” https://sites.rootsweb.com/~fltttp/seminoles/seminolebackground.htm *FOX Sports, “Big Sponsor Ditches Phoenix Racing,” FOX Sports, February 4, 2010. *Fryer, Jenna. “NASCAR calls Ruttman run ‘a sham.’” ESPN.com, February 24, 2004. *Gillis, Chad. “Voices of the Everglades,” News-Press, April 28, 2014; https://www.news-press.com/story/life/outdoors/2014/04/28/voices-of-the-everglades-florida-indians-pay-price-for-prosperity/8403947/ *Indianz.com / NASCAR.com, “Miccosukee Tribe cuts sponsorship for NASCAR driver,” Indianz.com, February 8, 2010 *@StartAndParkCar. “2004 Subway 400 (Joe Ruttman, Jams Finch S&P Debacle), April 19, 2020; https://docs.google.com/document/d/10qWoZO7SQlgABwqKy0p9bK3Ap1cJAQHSO3fDme2TSk8/edit?usp=drivesdk *Washington Post, “Subway 400 Sandwiched by Field-Fillers,” February 22, 2004; https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2004/02/22/subway-400-sandwiched-by-field-fillers/5e809905-c983-408c-8a72-e5395478627a/ PHOTOS *Alchetron.com *Bryan Hallman, BRH Racing Archives *CIA Stock Photo *Getty Images *Jayski’s Silly Season Site *Joel Bray *John Harrelson *Motorsport.com *@PhoenixRacing51 *@Phoenix51Racing WEBSITES *Jayski’s Silly Season Site *Miccosukee.com *Racing-reference.info *Wikipedia ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gibcw7mvTRU

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For more than five decades, Morgan Shepherd has seen it all. He’s driven for more than twenty of NASCAR’s biggest teams, scoring each of his four Cup wins for a different organization. Three of those wins came at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he was always a threat for victory. In 1999, at an age where most drivers would retire from the sport, Shepherd turned his attention to team ownership. With just one car, but many friends, he would gradually grow his team through a tumultuous 2004, laying the groundwork for the operation he and wife Cindy still run today. SPECIAL THANKS *Morgan Shepherd, for his interviews from 2017 through 2020, and his wife Cindy for helping arrange this latest interview. *Collin Maybee, for sponsoring this video and consulting on the script *Bill Mares, for contributing his stories and photos *Bryan Hallman at the BRH Racing Archives, for contributing his photos VIDEOS https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjZQnMo0uMCEv4SPmAwZU2A01f7DKUL6v ARTICLES *41 WMGT. “69 Year Old NASCAR Driver Chases Down Thief In Las Vegas,” March 1, 2011; https://41nbc.com/2011/03/01/69-year-old-nascar-driver-chases-down-thief-in-las-vegas/ *Bonham, Chad. “A conversation with NASCAR legend Morgan Shepherd,” BeliefNet.com, February 2012; https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/inspiringathletes/2012/02/a-conversation-with-nascar-legend-morgan-shepherd.html *Gregory, Allen. “Morgan Shepherd Still Racing With Faith After 42 Years,” Bristol Herald Courier, August 21, 2009; https://heraldcourier.com/sports/morgan-shepherd-still-racing-with-faith-after-42-years/article_ad509472-cf41-55e5-aaba-ee3892078fa4.html *Long, Dustin. “Shepherd: We’ll go until we can’t go no more,” May 19, 2005; https://greensboro.com/sports_professional/auto_racing/shepherd-we-ll-go-until-we-can-t-go-no-more/article_f43ca0f2-5801-56be-8c63-95cd03486441.html *nascarman, “The NASCAR Christmas 500 in Australia,” Racing-reference.info, December 22, 2016; https://www.racing-reference.info/showblog?id=2872 *nascarman, “The Ballad of Morgan Shepherd,” Racing-reference.info, October 12, 2017; https://www.racing-reference.info/showblog?id=3118 *Sharp, Seth and Sutton. “Memory Lane: Morgan Shepherd,” KeepIt35.com, October 3, 2017; http://www.keepit35.com/memory-lane-morgan-shepherd/ *Whisenant, David. “At age 75, Morgan Shepherd still chases the checkered flag,” WBTV, February 10, 2017; https://www.wbtv.com/story/34477874/at-age-75-morgan-shepherd-still-chases-the-checkered-flag/ *Williams, Deb. “Morgan Shepherd,” NASCAR Illustrated, August 1990. UNCREDITED ARTICLES *Associated Press. “Shepherd Edges Marlin to Win NASCAR Race at Melbourne,” Los Angeles Times, December 19, 1988; https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-19-sp-407-st ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXrf2EDmMAI

In his brief NASCAR Cup Series career, Gary Bradberry had one of the most statistically unique in the sport’s recent history. Characterized by surprising qualifying runs for long-struggling single-car teams, Bradberry left a unique mark on the sport that can only be appreciated when looking back on it. Special thanks to LASTCAR.info supporter John P. who suggested the subject of this video, and to Bryan Hallman at the BRH Racing Archives for sharing his incredible photo collection. PHOTOS Bryan Hallman, BRH Racing Archives CharlieBradberry.com David Taylor, Getty Images eBay Motorsport.com Southeastern Racing Memories Facebook Page VIDEOS https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjZQnMo0uMCHKHmhh35_ZjIJfEuBKvSzc ARTICLES *Baldwin, Mike. “Pile-ups damage track’s reputation,” The Daily Oklahoman, April 6, 1998. *Brooks, Steve. “Success story sets 400 stage,” The Daily Reporter, August 3, 1996. *Fryer, Brit. “Alabama’s best lag behind,” The Montgomery Advertiser, April 26, 1998. *Korth, Joanne. Times Wires, Tampa Bad Times, February 9, 1997. *McCollister, Tom. “NASCAR rookies different men, same dream,” The Atlanta Constitution, February 5, 1995. *Poole, David. “Gordon’s success simple to explain,” The Charlotte Observer, May 26, 1998. *Robinson, Mark. “Rookie seeks advice and pays attention,” The Indianapolis Star, August 3, 1996. *Utter, Jim. “Bradberry finds a seat near the front for 600,” The Charlotte Observer, May 21, 1998. UNCREDITED ARTICLES *“Bickle keeps up hot streak, wins competitive Snowball Derby,” The Prattville Progress, December 6, 1990. *Bradberry profile, The Anniston Star, February 11, 1998. *Bradberrry quote on Texas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, April 6, 1998. *“Car No. 41,” The Anniston Star, April 13, 2000. *Frank Kimmel on Bradberry, The Courier-Journal, May 14, 1994. *“Hut, Hut, Hut. . .” The Tribune, January 22, 1999. *“Irwin takes first career pole at NAPA 500,” South Florida Sun Sentinel, November 7, 1998. *“LaJoie avoids crash near end to win GN race,” The News and Observer, August 3, 1996. *“Martin edges Dale Jr. for win,” The Courier-Journal, November 8, 1998. *“One makes evening reservation,” Tampa Bay Rimes, August 24, 1997. *Shoney’s Ad, Journal and Courier, July 28, 1996. *“Shootout Field Set,” Tampa Bay Times, November 9, 1998. WEBSITES CharlieBradberry.com Jayski's Silly Season Site ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDzmVQFizS4