Courtesy of Johanna Long PR

First Time Short Track for PM Truck
Panhandle Motorsports makes its short track debut in Martinsville (Va.) at the Kroger 200 on Saturday, October 23rd.  It’s also the first race at the .526-mile oval in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) for 18-year-old driver Johanna Long.  The start will be her fifth NCWTS race this year, after three starts with Billy Ballew Motorsports where she logged two top 20 finishes; and one start with Panhandle Motorsports at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
 
Long Continues the “Racing Education”
A Blizzard Series Champion in late models, Johanna looks to continue her Truck education at Martinsville with a veteran crew. After 20 starts in 2010 in different stock car Series, she’s logged five top-Fives and 10 top-10 finishes – giving her momentum to keep putting knowledge under her belt.  “I’m in a little bit better comfort zone at short tracks, based on my career so far,” said Johanna.  “This year has been more about learning the speedways, like ORP, Nashville and Las Vegas.  I’m excited to gain track knowledge at Martinsville, this time on the short track side.  As a team, our whole goal is to really get comfortable at Martinsville, race clean, learn the key components of success there, and then hopefully come home with a respectable finish. We’re continuing our learning season as we prepare for 2011.”
 

Testing…Testing…1,2,3
Johanna was able to gain short track knowledge in the No.20 Panhandle Motorsports Toyota Tundra the week prior to the race at Caraway Speedway in North Carolina.  Since the team is using the secondary truck for short track racing, it was also an opportunity to make truck adjustments going into Saturday’s race.
 
A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Inspiration
Johanna will be the guest speaker of the Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council on Thursday evening, as she talks to local Scouts about inspiration, following a dream and hard work. “I’m looking forward to meeting the Girl Scouts and telling them my story,” Johanna said. “It’s hard to believe that at 18, I can inspire younger girls to follow a dream in whatever they want to do – I don’t normally think of myself that way.  It’s neat that through racing, I can meet so many people who help inspire ME to do what I love to do every day.”  Johanna will be speaking at the Walker Fine Arts Center at Patrick Henry Community College from 6-7pm EST in Martinsville on Thursday the 21st. It is open to the public.
 
One Chief, Two New Indians
Panhandle Motorsports is again enlisting the help of veteran crew chief Kevin ‘Cowboy’ Starland, who will be handling the truck chief duties for the No. 20 Panhandle Motorsports Toyota Tundra.  Starland, well-known as crew chief for the No.15 Billy Ballew Motorsports (BBM) truck, has the benefit of working with drivers such as Johnny Benson, Steven Wallace & Nelson Piquet, Jr.  He will also be joined in Martinsville by two new “honorary crew members” – Shawna Barbour and Shawna Murdock of the Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council.  As part of the partnership with the Girl Scouts through the weekend, the girls will have a chance to learn the ins and outs of being part of a NASCAR crew.

 
Chassis Info:
No. 20 Panhandle Motorsports Toyota Tundra: Chassis No.02, built by Kyle Busch Motorsports & Triad Technologies.  First track appearance by this chassis.
 
Team:
Crew Chief: Kevin “Cowboy” Starland
Chassis: 02
Race: Saturday, October 23, 2010
Length: 200 laps/105.2 miles
Track Layout: .526 mile oval
 
SCHEDULE:
TV: SPEED TV Prerace 12:30pm, Race 1pm EST; Radio: MRN Broadcast, Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128
 
MEDIA CONTACT:
Demi Knight Clark, Girl Friday PR & Marketing
Johanna Long & the Panhandle Motorsports No.20 Toyota Tundra
demi@girlfridaypr.com
803.389.7153