Saturday’s failure to make the field [at Montreal] did more damage as a result of the financial toll that missing the field brings. “I had to let just about everybody go on Monday when we got back,” Shepherd said. “We will go to Atlanta and I will just have to do it pretty much by myself. We just can’t pay people when we don’t have anything coming in.” Monday’s layoffs included many shop and track crew personnel, including crew chief Morris Van Vleet. The cutbacks leave the team with just one shop mechanic and one track crew member. Shepherd said if the team doesn’t get some sponsorship soon or if it fails to make the starting field at Atlanta that he will have to make some tough decisions. “There is no quit in us, but we can only go so far without money. We’ll see after Atlanta what we are able to do.”(Race with Faith PR)(9-2-2009)
UPDATE: After missing his sixth straight race, Morgan Shepherd was forced to lay off his final track crew member and will rely on family to help field the car at Dover in two weeks. “I’ve got one guy in the shop helping me get the car ready and when we get to Dover it will be myself, my wife, my daughter and my secretary,” Shepherd said. “That’s all we’ve got left.” While Shepherd’s low-budget operation had never rivaled the staff numbers of his competitors, the team’s lack of performance since early summer has resulted in cut after cut. “There isn’t anything else left to cut,” Shepherd said. “We were fortunate that we had a handful of guys who have helped us in year’s past volunteer to help us at Richmond. Hopefully, some of them will be able to help us again at Dover.”(Race with Faith PR)(9-14-2009)
