So Morgan Shepherd is the Car Owner of the #3 Driven by Austin Dillon?

I think I started a timely discussion the other day when I said not to trust the car owners listed by the various stat sources for bygone years in racing.

Now I see that car owner Morgan Shepherd has been docked points along with driver Austin Dillon for the Kentucky winning Nationwide #3 car being too low.

Stupid me. I'd have sworn Austin was driving for his grandfather, Richard Childress. Now I discover that Morgan Shepherd is his car owner.

However, when I check 2012 Car Owner stats at Racing Reference, the only Nationwide Series driver listed for Nationwide Series owner Morgan Shepherd is Morgan Shepherd. Not an Austin Dillon to be found driving for Morgan Shepherd in the Racing Reference database of 2012 car owners.

Now, what am I supposed to believe? Who is the car owner and how do we correctly track that owner?

NATIONWIDE CAR OWNER STATS AS COMPILED BY RACING REFERENCE FOR MORGAN SHEPHERD

Nationwide Series Owner Statistics

Nationwide Series

View Morgan Shepherd's Nationwide Series results by track

Year Driver Races Win T5 T10 Pole Laps Led Earnings Rank AvSt AvFn RAF Miles LLF
1987 Ron Bouchard 1 0 0 0 0 14 0 1,875 67 39.0 40.0 0 35.0 0
1987 Morgan Shepherd 11 3 5 7 0 1623 179 42,738 24 13.0 12.5 8 1786.3 5
1988 Morgan Shepherd 14 1 3 5 0 1677 149 31,655 24 15.5 21.6 6 1773.3 2
1989 Morgan Shepherd 2 0 0 0 0 137 0 5,782 52 15.5 26.5 1 322.1 0
1990 Morgan Shepherd 2 0 1 1 0 260 0 5,245 34 29.0 19.5 1 294.8 1
1991 Morgan Shepherd 16 0 1 3 0 1495 9 37,857 32 13.4 27.6 4 1620.8 3
1992 Morgan Shepherd 11 0 2 4 0 1394 38 47,169 37 16.3 21.7 4 1629.5 3
1993 Dennis Setzer 1 0 0 0 0 199 0 8,100 53 38.0 22.0 1 298.5 0
1993 Morgan Shepherd 1 0 0 0 0 90 3 2,345 96 14.0 25.0 0 180.0 0
1994 Morgan Shepherd 8 0 0 1 0 939 5 33,555 45 23.2 22.0 5 1344.7 1
1995 Morgan Shepherd 7 0 1 2 0 858 23 34,880 45 18.0 20.9 4 1203.0 2
1997 Morgan Shepherd 1 0 0 0 0 98 0 4,790 115 38.0 32.0 1 196.0 0
2007 Morgan Shepherd 16 0 0 0 0 309 1 292,493 51 35.4 40.3 0 415.2 0
2007 Brad Teague 1 0 0 0 0 9 0 13,825 91 37.0 39.0 0 9.0 0
2008 Morgan Shepherd 27 0 0 0 0 2681 7 600,620 29 33.0 31.8 11 3546.7 1
2009 Morgan Shepherd 21 0 0 0 0 3450 3 512,603 30 31.9 26.8 15 4573.2 2
2010 Johnny Chapman 7 0 0 0 0 40 0 103,705 70 36.0 40.0 0 52.3 0
2010 Brett Rowe 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 25,100 144 38.0 41.0 0 8.1 0
2010 Morgan Shepherd 14 0 0 0 0 1090 1 258,996 28 33.1 33.5 4 1638.7 1
2011 Brett Rowe 8 0 0 0 0 42 0 101,238 69 36.9 40.5 0 56.0 0
2011 Morgan Shepherd 34 0 0 0 0 4907 0 609,976 21 36.2 29.2 19 6322.6 0
2012 Morgan Shepherd 12 0 0 0 0 932 3 148,846 25 36.5 32.3 2 1329.8 0
16 years 216 4 13 23 0 22247 421 2,923,393 28.5 28.9 86 28635.7 21

AND.....

Racing Reference clearly lists the car owner for all 2012 Austin Dillon Nationwide races as Richard Childress, but NASCAR fines Morgan Shepherd as the car owner. Again, who do I believe and how can we trust any of this car owner stuff if NASCAR says one thing and the statistician says something else???

Austin Dillon

2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results from RACING REFERENCE

Race Site Cars St Fin # Sponsor / Owner Car Laps Money Status Led Points Rank
1 Daytona 43 5 5 3 Advocare / American Ethanol ( Richard Childress)
Crew Chief: Danny Stockman, Jr. Chevrolet 120/120 65,388 running 0 39 3
2 Phoenix 43 9 4 3 Advocare ( Richard Childress )
Crew Chief: Danny Stockman, Jr. Chevrolet 200/200 34,818 running 0 40 2
3 Las Vegas 43 3 7 3 American Ethanol ( Richard Childress )
Crew Chief: Danny Stockman, Jr. Chevrolet 200/200 22,625 running 0 37 2
4 Bristol 43 9 12 3 Advocare ( Richard Childress)
Crew Chief: Danny Stockman, Jr. Chevrolet 300/300 20,150 running 0 32 4
5 Fontana 43 4 5 3 Advocare ( Richard Childress )
Crew Chief: Danny Stockman, Jr. Chevrolet 150/150 31,215 running 0 39 3
6 Fort Worth 43 4 5 3 American Ethanol ( Richard Childress )
Crew Chief: Danny Stockman, Jr. Chevrolet 200/200 37,758 running 13 40 3
7 Richmond 43 3 9 3 Advocare ( Richard Childress )
Crew Chief: Danny Stockman, Jr. Chevrolet 250/250 22,343 running 0 35 3
8 Talladega 43 5 17 3 Advocare ( Richard Childress )
Crew Chief: Danny Stockman, Jr. Chevrolet 122/122 23,443 running 4 28 3
9 Darlington 43 3 5 3 Advocare ( Richard Childress )
Crew Chief: Danny Stockman, Jr. Chevrolet 151/151 27,843 running 0 39 3
10 Iowa 43 6 4 3 Advocare ( Richard Childress )
Crew Chief: Danny Stockman, Jr. Chevrolet 250/250 36,218 running 0 40 3
11 Charlotte 43 2 11 3 Bass Pro Shops / NWTF ( Richard Childress )
Crew Chief: Danny Stockman, Jr. Chevrolet 200/200 21,843 running 0 33 3
12 Dover 43 11 6 3 American Ethanol / New Holland Agriculture ( Richard Childress )
Crew Chief: Danny Stockman, Jr. Chevrolet 200/200 24,518 running 0 38 3
13 Michigan 43 1 5 3 Advocare ( Richard Childress )
Crew Chief: Danny Stockman, Jr. Chevrolet 125/125 27,293 running 11 40 2
14 Elkhart Lake 43 23 18 3 Advocare ( Richard Childress)
Crew Chief: Danny Stockman, Jr. Chevrolet 50/50 18,493 running 0 26 2
15 Kentucky 43 1 1 3 Bass Pro Shops ( Richard Childress )
Crew Chief: Danny Stockman, Jr. Chevrolet 200/200 97,068 running 192 42 2

Penalty puts rookie Dillon out of Nationwide points lead
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By Sports Network
The Sports Network
Published: Monday, Jul. 2, 2012 - 3:28 pm

Austin Dillon's lead in the Nationwide Series point standings was short-lived after NASCAR handed down penalties to his team on Monday for a rules infraction that occurred this past weekend at Kentucky Speedway.

Following his first career Nationwide win in Friday's 300-miler at Kentucky, Dillon's No. 3 Chevrolet failed post-race inspection when officials discovered the rear of his car was too low.

As a result, Dillon was penalized with a loss of six points. The rookie driver held a two-point lead over his Richard Childress Racing teammate, Elliott Sadler, but Sadler is now on top by four markers.

Dillon's crew chief, Danny Stockman Jr., was fined $10,000 and placed on probation for the remainder of the year. Morgan Shepherd, who is listed as the car owner, received a six-point deduction as well.

Team owner Richard Childress, who is Dillon's grandfather, said over the weekend at Kentucky that a faulty rear jack bolt was to blame for the car being below the minimum height requirement.

Dillon led all but eight of the 200 laps and crossed the finish line 9.8 seconds ahead of his closest competitor, Kurt Busch.

Last month, NASCAR penalized Sadler's No. 2 RCR team for the same infraction that occurred at Iowa Speedway. Sadler was docked six points and his crew chief, Luke Lambert, received a $10,000 fine after their car did not meet the minimum rear car heights.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/02/4606116/penalty-puts-rookie-dillon-out.html#storylink=cpy

Buddy of mine tipped me off to that when the points penalty was announced. Took me by surprise. I knew points-selling was rampant in Cup, but didn't realize it was prevalent as well in NW.

My only guess was that RC bought Morgan's T35 NW points from 2011 to guarantee Austin a spot in 2012 races. But doesn't that bene run out after the 1st 5 races when current year teams have to stand on their own 2 legs? If so, why continue to field the team under the prior owner's name? I suppose its because of the owner's championship - which no fan really understands or cares about.

If Austin was now fielded in cars owned by RCR, Childress would be starting a half-season down in points as an owner. Right? But if Morgan continues to be listed as the owner, its possible Austin could win the championship as a driver and Morgan Shepherd ... errr, Richard Childress Racing would win the championship as the owner.

Seriously, if all continues to fall the #3's way, would Morgan REALLY be announced as the championship car owner? I'm guessing RC might pay Morgan's expenses to attend the banquet if that were to happen. Beyond that, I'm guessing no mention would be made of his role.

Yep, Chase....

Ole Morgan sold his 2012 guaranteed points starting deal for the first 5 races to RC for a new R07 engine.

Morgan, Tommy Baldwin, et al. No pride left. Just money.

Entry List
Subway Jalapeno 250 powered by Coca-Cola | Daytona International Speedway
July 06, 2012 | Race 16 of 33

CAR DRIVER HOMETOWN MAKE SPONSOR OWNER
1 Kurt Busch Las Vegas, NV Chevrolet HendrickCars.com James Finch
01 Mike Wallace St. Louis, MO Chevrolet JD Motorsports Johnny Davis
2 Elliott Sadler Emporia, VA Chevrolet OneMain Financial DeLana Harvick
3 Austin Dillon* Lewisville, NC Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops Morgan Shepherd
4 Danny Efland Irmo, SC Chevrolet TBA Rusty Wallace
6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Olive Branch, MS Ford NOS Energy Drink Jack Roush
7 Danica Patrick Roscoe, IL Chevrolet GoDaddy.com / NASCAR Unites "An American Salute" Kelley Earnhardt-Miller
10 Jeff Green Owensboro, KY Toyota TriStar Motorsports Mark Smith
11 Brian Scott Boise, ID Toyota Dollar General J D Gibbs
12 Sam Hornish Jr. Bryan, OH Dodge Wurth Roger Penske
14 Eric McClure Chilhowie, VA Toyota Hefty / Reynolds Wrap Mark Smith
15 Jeffrey Earnhardt Mooresville, NC Ford TobaccoFreeFlorida.com Rick Ware
18 Denny Hamlin Chesterfield, VA Toyota Dollar General Joe Gibbs
19 Tayler Malsam Sammamish, WA Toyota G-Oil / Ryobi Mark Smith
20 Joey Logano Middletown, CT Toyota Sport Clips Joe Gibbs
22 Brad Keselowski Rochester Hills, MI Dodge Discount Tire Roger Penske
23 Robert Richardson Jr. McKinney, TX Chevrolet North Texas Pipe Robert Richardson, Sr
30 James Buescher Plano, TX Chevrolet Ron Jon Surf Shop / Quicksilver Harry Scott, Jr
31 Justin Allgaier Riverton, IL Chevrolet Brandt Sandra Turner
33 Kevin Harvick Bakersfield, CA Chevrolet Menards DeLana Harvick
38 Brad Sweet* Grass Valley, CA Chevrolet Great Clips Steve Turner
39 Josh Richards Shinnston, WV Ford Joy Archie St Hilaire
40 Erik Darnell Beach Park, IL Chevrolet TheMotorsportsGroup.com Curtis Key, Sr
41 Timmy Hill Port Tobacco, MD Ford Poynt.com Rick Ware
42 Josh Wise Riverside, CA Chevrolet Curtis Key Plumbing Curtis Key, Sr
43 Michael Annett Des Moines, IA Ford Pilot Flying J Sandra Turner
44 Mike Bliss Milwaukie, OR Toyota Mark Smith Racing Mark Smith
46 Chase Miller Canton, GA Chevrolet TheMotorsportsGroup.com Curtis Key, Sr
47 Scott Speed Manteca, CA Chevrolet Curtis Key Plumbing Curtis Key, Sr
50 T.J. Bell Reno, NV Chevrolet TBA Rusty Wallace
51 Jeremy Clements Spartanburg, SC Chevrolet Clements Automotive Tony Clements
52 Kevin Lepage Shelburne, VT Chevrolet My Three Sons Vending Jimmy Means
54 Kyle Busch Las Vegas, NV Toyota Monster Energy Kyle Busch
70 Johanna Long* Pensacola, FL Chevrolet Foretravel Motorcoach Mary Louise Miller
81 Jason Bowles* Ontario, CA Toyota American Majority Gina MacDonald
82 Blake Koch West Palm Beach, FL Dodge SilverSaver.com Gina MacDonald
87 Joe Nemechek Lakeland, FL Toyota AM / FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves Andrea Nemechek
88 Cole Whitt* Alpine, CA Chevrolet Degree Men Dale Earnhardt, Jr
89 Morgan Shepherd Conover, NC Chevrolet MorganShepherd.com Morgan Shepherd
108 Bryan Silas Stuart, FL Ford Randy Hill Racing Randy Hill
124 Casey Roderick* Lawrenceville GA Chevrolet West Virginia Miners Jason Sciavicco
136 Bobby Santos III Frankin, MA Chevrolet Tommy Baldwin Racing Beth Baldwin
174 Mike Harmon Birmingport, AL Chevrolet Koma Unwind Relaxation Drink Mike Harmon
199 John Wes Townley Watkinsville, GA Toyota Barberitos Robby Benton

Where is Richard Childress????

Somebody better rush right out and tell Racing Reference that Richard Childress is NOT the owner of ANY Nationwide cars for 2012.... at least according to NASCAR.

But wait - I coulda sworn I've been pulling for the Richard Petty Motorsports NW entry driven by Michael Annett all season.

43 Michael Annett Des Moines, IA Ford Pilot Flying J Sandra Turner

Dang it, I'm so confused.

NASCAR / Honest = oxymoron