NCWTS Youngest Driver--

Meet Johanna Long

Photo credit: NASCAR Media Group

Eyes Forward for Panhandle Motorsports Team & Johanna Long - NCWTS Texas Race Recap

18-year old Shows Talent by Qualifying 9th; Accident Ends Race Early

Mooresville, NC (November 7, 2010) - Young NASCAR driver Johanna Long, 18, was all smiles for her first race at Texas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Winstar World Casinos 250k (NCWTS) under the lights Friday night. Her strong qualifying run in the No. 20 Panhandle Motorsports Toyota Tundra of 30.185 seconds at top speed 178.897 placed her 9^th on the starting grid on her first appearance at the tough 1.5-mile oval. Plus, after a strong lead-lap finish in Martinsville just two weeks prior, she was in positive spirits and ready to log the miles with trusted crew chief Kevin "Cowboy" Starland. Posting solid practice runs the day prior while working through tough wind conditions and cool temps to try to gain speed, the former Blizzard Series Champion and Pensacola, Fla. native was ready for the night's challenging 147 lap race.

Unfortunately, she wasn't able to show her true talent under the lights, as an early shift caused an unavoidable brush with competitor Ricky Carmichael in turn four of the first lap. The No. 4 truck cut the rear left tire of the No. 20 Panhandle Motorsports truck as Carmichael tried to go below Long to avoid a crash, sending Long into the wall as the tire went down. After attempts on pit road to fix the truck, crew chief Starland made the call to bring it to the garage - where excessive damage to key truck components made it impossible to return to the track for laps. Long finished in 36^th place.

Texas Motor Speedway was the continuation of Johanna's "learning year" in one of NASCAR's toughest Series with her new team - driving the No. 20 Panhandle Motorsports Toyota Tundra. Long had a great practice and qualifying day with a veteran crew, to include crew chief Starland - whose critical coaching relationship has been successful in Long's progress. Showing a quick study to the 1.5-mile oval, she qualified in an impressive 9^th position that night in a good simulation of race night conditions - cool and dark on the track. Her busy race day showed that she could handle the pressure of the on-track learning curve and off-track fan signings early on - spending most of the day at the track signing autographs for Toyota Racing and Texas Motor Speedway fans in an effort to build more awareness. Long hoped to finish with her first top-15 of the season, but those hopes were dashed as turn four beckoned on the backstretch.

Long, ever the racer, keeps her chin up and eyes forward - focusing now on the upcoming Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19^th. The Blizzard Series Champion will also return to late model competition on December 4^th at the Allen Turner Snowflake 100, then December 5^th at the prestigious 43^rd Annual Snowball Derby, both at Five Flags Speedway - days of grueling competition heralded in the stock car community. Competing at some of the NCWTS schedule's toughest speedways earlier in the season, Long has completed six starts, with two top-20 finishes and top 20 qualifying grid starts at all races started.

"I'm really disappointed that we couldn't get back out on the track Friday after we worked so hard this week at Texas," Long said. "We made so many great strides during the practice runs, and I was really comfortable at qualifying time. It must have showed in the qualifying run - even I was surprised we hit that high on the board! I'm really trying to get a handle on the speedways this year. It was heartbreaking for me to be out so early, but I have to stay positive and just focus on Homestead. Every time I get a chance to drive, I have to make the most of it. We learned a lot this week - now we're going to take that to Florida and see how we can gain ground for a great finish."

ABOUT DRIVER JOHANNA LONG & PANHANDLE MOTORSPORTS:
Johanna Long, 18, is the youngest driver in the elite NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Her career to

date has included racing in NCWTS in 2010 with family race team Panhandle Motorsports; as well as three starts with Billy Ballew Motorsports in the NCWTS; and two starts in 2009 in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. Former Blizzard Series Champion on the Gulf Coast & driver since the age of five, Long has caught the eyes of many top teams over the years as an "up-and-coming" teen driver. For more information, please visit www.JohannaLong.com, Facebook: http://bit.ly/bglf8H or Twitter: http://twitter.com/JOHANNALONG.

Photo credit: NASCAR Media Group

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Trucks Pole Report: Hornaday Wins Pole for Mountain Dew 250

Ron Hornaday takes the pole for the Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway with a lap of 52.839 (181.230 mph.) in his No. 33 E-Z-Go 2Five Street Legal Vehicle Chevrolet for KHI.  Just behind Hornaday on the grid is Jason White -0.093 behind in the No. 23 GunBroker.com / Pursuit Channel Toyota. 

"People say that Ron Hornaday is a short-track driver, and to come to Talladega and sit on the pole is so cool," Hornaday said. "There are only four tracks I haven't won at, and Talladega is one of them. I want to get that off my check list, just like I got this one off my list with the pole here. It's pretty awesome."

For all of the race coverage you can head on over to SPEED at 3 p.m. EST with the Set Up at 2:30, after last years Halloween spectacular you just never know what you will get this year!  Happy Halloween from Talladega and enjoy the race!

1. Ron Hornaday
2. Jason White
3. Austin Dillon
4. Ken Schrader
5. Aric Almirola
6. Chris Fontaine
7. Ricky Carmichael
8. Johnny Sauter
9. James Buescher
10. Todd Bodine
11. Matt Crafton
12. Grant Enfinger
13. David Starr
14. Narain Karthikeyan
15. Timothy Peters
16. Mike Skinner
17. Justin Lofton
18. Kyle Busch
19. Craig Goess
20. Max Papis
21. Jennifer Jo Cobb
22. Mario Gosselin
23. Donnie Neuenberger
24. Jeffrey Earnhardt
25. Tony Jackson Jr.
26. Ryan Sieg
27. Mike Garvey
28. Justin Hobgood
29. Norman Benning
30. Mike Harmon
31. Brent Rayner
32. Andy Lally
33. John Jackson
34. Bryan Silas
35. Dominick Casola
36. Jerick Johnson

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Kyle Busch on Pole for TheRaceDayRaffleSeries.com 175

Kyle Busch, the driver of the No. 18 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports, won the pole for the Camping World Truck Series Race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The driver and owner had a 29.292 lap (130.029 mph). Right behind him is the other driver/owner in the other front row position, Kevin Harvick in the No. 2 JEGS.com Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc., with a lap of 29.328 (129.869 mph), only -0.036 seconds behind Busch.

Who do you think will be in Victory Lane after the 19th race of the 25-race season? To catch all the racing action, you can watch the race on SPEED with the SetUp at 2:30 p.m. EST. 

1. Kyle Busch
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Ron Hornaday
4. Austin Dillon
5. James Buescher
6. Aric Almirola
7. Johnny Sauter
8. Timothy Peters
9. Todd Bodine
10. Justin Lofton
11. Matt Crafton
12. David Starr
13. Ricky Carmichael
14. Stacy Compton
15. Mario Gosselin
16. Mike Skinner
17. Bobby Hamilton Jr.
18. Donny Lia
19. Jason White
20. Dennis Setzer
21. Ryan Sieg
22. Eddie McDonald
23. John King
24. Peyton Sellers
25. Mike Harmon
26. Mike Garvey
27. Brent Raymer
28. Tim Bainey Jr.
29. Carl Long
30. J C Stout
31. Jennifer Jo Cobb
32. Butch Miller
33. Norm Benning
34. Chris Laferty
35. Donnie Neuenberger
36. Brian Weber

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Harvick In Atlanta Winner’s Circle Again

HAMPTON, Ga. — Brand new truck. Same old result.

Driving a No. 2 Chevrolet that saw its first action this weekend at Atlanta, Kevin Harvick dominated Saturday's E-Z-Go 200 to win for the third time in his last three starts in NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series.

Kevin Harvick celebrates in Victory Lane – Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

In a race that saw several championship contenders fall by the wayside, Harvick crossed the stripe 1.308 seconds ahead of Kyle Busch at the end of a 14-lap green-flag dash to the finish. Aric Almirola came home third, followed by Steve Wallace, the 25th driver to register a top-five in his first race in the series.

Todd Bodine survived a spin to finish fifth. Ricky Carmichael, Timothy Peters, Johnny Sauter, Rick Crawford and rookie Austin Dillon completed the top 10.

KHI Driver Ron Hornaday Jr. was on the pole but fell out early after a tire rub led to an accident – Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

Harvick said his occasional appearances in the truck series are designed to "protect his turf" and keep Busch out of victory lane as often as possible. To that end, Kevin Harvick Inc. builds new trucks for its owner and teammate Ron Hornaday Jr. to drive. Used trucks are sold to other teams.

"We probably have a third of the field out on the racetrack," Harvick said. "That's how we make truck racing work. We have a lot of customers that we hang bodies for and give a lot of technical support for, and that's what keeps our team going.

Steve Wallace made his first truck series start with an impressive finish of forth -  Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR 

"If they want this one (Saturday's winning truck), they can come have this one, too."

Busch recorded the best finish for his fledgling Kyle Busch Motorsports team, which was formed during the offseason.

"We weren't quite as fast as we would have liked to have been, but we're not sure if that came from our damage early in the race on Lap 1 or not," Busch said. "We still had a real decent effort, and I'm real proud of the way the KBM team ran today, with myself and the way (teammate) Tayler (Malsam) came up through there."

Pole Sitter Ron Hornaday Jr. leads Kyle Busch to the Green Flag - Brian Lawdermilk/HHP - Pool/Getty Images for NASCAR

Malsam ran well in the second half of the race, but an off-sequence pit stop dropped him to 13th at the finish.

Four-time series champion Ron Hornaday Jr., who won the pole for Saturday's race, took another body blow against the defense of his 2009 title when a blown left rear tire shot his No. 33 Chevrolet backwards into the Turn 4 wall. Hornaday, who opened the season with a 27th-place finish at Daytona last month, was credited with a 34th place result at Atlanta.

Hornaday's troubles started, however, at the start of the race, when Matt Crafton took Hornaday and Busch three-wide moments after the green flag. The right front of Busch's Toyota rubbed the left rear of Hornaday's Chevy, damaging both vehicles.

Busch and Harvick battle for the lead – John Harrelson/Getty Images 

Harvick inspected a tire rub on the No. 33 and told Hornaday he thought the tire would last. Harvick was wrong, and Hornaday slammed the wall when the tire blew, injuring his truck beyond repair.

"Hate to see it, but we had a good truck, and we'll come back," Hornaday said after leaving the infield care center. "Kyle and I spun our tires a little (at the start) and that's what got (Crafton) the run."

Crafton, who finished second to Hornaday in the series standings last year, had his own succession of problems. On Lap 60, Crafton slipped in Turn 2 and collected the Toyota of Bodine, who remained on the lead lap despite the accident.

The Kyle Busch Motorsports team executes at pit stop at Atlanta – Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

A cut tire on Lap 69 sent Crafton hard into the Turn 2 wall for the second time and ended his race. He finished 27th and dropped from fifth to eighth in the series standings.


Notes: The win gave Harvick victories at Atlanta in all three of NASCAR's top touring series—trucks, Nationwide and Sprint Cup. He also has accomplished the feat at Phoenix, where he won the truck race last November to start his current streak of three wins in three straight starts. … Busch posted his sixth top 10 in six races at Atlanta. … Bodine took the series lead from Peters, who trails by four points through two races.

Recap via Reid Spencer: Sporting News Wire Service

Final Results: E-Z-GO 200

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Kyle Busch
3. Aric Almirola
4. Steve Wallace
5. Todd Bodine
6. Ricky Carmichael
7. Timothy Peters
8. Johnny Sauter
9. Rick Crawford
10. Austin Dillon
11. Jason White
12. Brad Sweet
13. Tayler Malsam
14. Mike Skinner
15. David Starr
16. Donny Lia
17. Chris Fontaine
18. Ryan Sieg
19. Stacy Compton
20. Justin Lofton
21. Jennifer Jo Cobb
22. Mario Gosselin
23. Brett Butler
24. Donnie Neuenberger
25. Norm Benning
26. Geoff Bodine
27. Matt Crafton
28. Shane Sieg
29. Dennis Setzer
30. Ryan Hackett
31. Tim Bainey Jr.
32. Butch Miller
33. Brent Raymer
34. Ron Hornaday
35. Chad McCumbee
36. Mike Harmon

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David Starr secures 2010 sponsor for No 81 truck

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver, David Starr, will be sponsored by Zachry Holdings, Inc. Randy Moss Motorsports announced the 2010 season deal for the No. 81 Zachry Toyota Tundra on Friday.

Karla Blackstock, senior director of marketing for Zachry affirmed, “We are excited to begin another season of sponsorship as we strengthen our relationship with our employees and customers.”

David Dollar, managing partner at Randy Moss Motorsports said, “We are looking for great things out of David [Starr] and the No. 81 Toyota Tundra this season. Zachry has become a staple in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series garage and we are looking forward to a winning season.”

“Watching [David] Starr race the green and black Zachry Toyota has become a new practice within the company,” Blackstock said. “Employees and customers alike enjoy the excitement and connection that is cemented through the racing season and beyond.”

Source: RMM Team PR

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