[1] The three Texans pooled their limited resources and forged a longstanding partnership[2] after Bobby Cross left the team to pursue his own business ventures.
The Reher-Morrison-Shepherd team won NHRA's Division 4 Modified championship in 1973,[3] and took a class win at the 1974 Winternationals in a pumpkin orange Chevrolet-powered F/Gas[citation needed] Ford Maverick.
[4] Shepherd ran back-to-back 10.67s to defeat John Smith’s M/Gas Volkswagen and defending event champion Bob Riffle’s C/Gas Dodge Colt.
In the final, Shepherd unleashed a pass of 10.39 seconds at 130.62 mph (210.21 km/h), defeating Jim Marshall’s A/MP Dart and good enough to set an F/Gas national record.
At the Gatornationals, the next event on the NHRA calendar, the qualifiers in Pro Stock lined up on the track before the start of eliminations in a missing man formation with the pole position being left open for Lee Shepherd.