Mooresville, NC (September 27, 2010) – Young NASCAR driver Johanna Long, 18, was excited for her first race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Smith’s Food & Drug Stores 350. After three previous NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts, she was gaining learning ground and progressing
conservatively through her first few races in the aggressive Series. Posting solid practice runs all day, the former Blizzard Series Champion and Pensacola, Fla. native qualified in a solid 16th position. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to prove how much she learned on the track, as a blown motor ended the race for the Panhandle Motorsports #20 Toyota Tundra team just as the green flag dropped. Long finished in 36th place.

Las Vegas was the continuation of Johanna’s “learning year” in one of NASCAR’s toughest Series with her new team – driving the #20 Panhandle Motorsports Toyota Tundra. Long also looked forward to working with a veteran crew, to include crew chief Kevin “Cowboy” Starland. Her busy race day showed that she could handle the pressure of the learning curve early on, posting 17th fastest in practice. Showing a quick study to the 1.5-mile concrete Tri-oval, she went on to qualify in an impressive 16th position. Long hoped to finish with her first top-15 of the season, but those hopes were dashed as the green flag waved on the frontstretch.

Ever the driver who stays “in the seat” as much as possible, Long is already discussing more NCWTS races in the next two months with Panhandle Motorsports, while still juggling her Late Model schedule in October. Competing at some of the NCWTS schedule’s toughest speedways earlier in the season under the BBM banner – Chicagoland Speedway, O’Reilly Raceway Park and Nashville Superspeedway, Long was able to tuck two top-20 finishes under her belt in 2010. In the new venture at Panhandle Motorsports, she is looking to gain more quiet experience at each track. NASCAR veteran crew chief Cowboy Starland said, “Johanna shows so much talent every time she sits in a stock car or Truck. It was so frustrating, after she worked so well all day with the team, to have such extraordinary bad luck before our race could even begin. I’m looking forward to moving on to our next Truck race this  year, where we can work again to really see her star shine on the track.”

“I’m so disappointed that our team couldn’t show how well they’ve done here at Las Vegas,” Long said. “It all came together in just a few weeks, and I am lucky to have so many experienced crew members behind my efforts. We ran so well day, I couldn’t wait to really get moving on that track under
the lights. I have to stay positive because racing at this level in NASCAR always has its ups and downs, and luck just wasn’t on our side here. We’re going to move forward and plan out our next race to show how we can really perform.”

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.