JACK BEEBE
05/12/1925 - 10/08/2015
was a NASCAR CUP series car owner. He is shown here on the left being interviewed along side driver Ron Bouchard. From 1978 to 1986 car owner Jack Beebe fielded a car in 211 Cup races resulting in 2 wins, 32 top fives, and 82 top tens. In his 9 years of car ownership he employed only 5 different drivers, but he ran only one car number, the #47. Satch Worley was his first driver, and although he only ran four events, he did post an impressive ninth place finish at Pocono in 1978. Geoff Bodine would be hired with the intentions of racing the full CUP season. However, Bodine’s stay in the car was the shortest of all drivers (only 3 races). He was giving Bodine his Winston Cup debut in his cars. It seems that Bodine expressed some negative comments about the Beebe organization and Bodine was let go after only 3 races, he wouldn’t return to a full time NASCAR Cup ride for another 3 years. Harry Gant would
be hired to finish out the season. The opportunity to race for Jack Beebe’s ride would be Gant’s first full season in Winston Cup. He would contend for Rookie of the Year honors, but the rookie competition was stiff that year with Terry Labonte and eventual Rookie of the Year winner Dale Earnhardt. Sticking with a similar pattern as Bodine and Gant, next would be rookie Ron Bouchard’s debut in Cup competition. Unlike Bodine, Ron would keep the ride full time; and unlike Gant, Bouchard would claim the Rookie of the Year title. Bouchard would also claim a race win with an exciting finish at Talladega, slipping by both Terry Labonte, and Darrell Waltrip between the tri-oval and
Talladega win 1981
start/finish line as the two battled for the win. The picture at the left is Bouchard on his way to Victory Lane. Bouchard drove for Beebe through 1985 posting 18 top five finishes. In 1986 Morgan Shepherd’s name was above the driver’s window net. He would race in what would become Jack Beebe’s final 12 races in Cup competition. But of those 12 races, Morgan Shepherd would take the car to 6 top 10 finishes and one win. The win would come at the beginning of the 1986 season at Atlanta and it would be Morgan’s second of four career victories, and Jack Beebe’s
final victory as car owner. He was the last team owner not from the south to win a race until Furniture Row Racing in 2011. Beebe sold the team midway through 1986 to Cale Yarborough and it became Cale Yarborough Racing.
Morgan Shepherd 1986 Atlanta win
All Photos copyright and are property of their respective owners