Over
the
past
few
years,
Carl
Long
has
became
a
model
of
determination
and
consistency
in a
sport
where
drivers
careers
can
sometimes
be
measured
in
weeks.
Long
moved
to
the
upper
echelons
of
NASCAR
in
1998,
when
he
began
competing
in
the
Craftsman
Truck
Series.
Long
has
been
in
and
out
of
the
SPRINT
CUP
Series
over
the
years
but
has
never
given
up
the
hope
of
securing
a
full-time
ride.
This
determination
was
exhibited
at
Daytona
last
week,
when
Carl
could
be
found
in
the
garage
welding
nose
supports
on
his
Dodge
Charger
while
his
fellow
competitors
were
relaxing
in
their
buses.
Carl
Long
took
his
John
Carter
/ EM
Motorsports
owned
Millstar
/
Rhino's
Energy
Drink
sponsored
Dodge
Charger
to
Daytona
with
a
young
crew,
coupled
with
seasoned
veteran
and
EM
Motorsports
teammate
James
Hylton.
The
effort
was
dubbed
"Long
Shot"
by
Carter
and
soon
a
"Long
Shot"
decal
was
made
and
placed
above
the
driver
door.
Practice
speeds
were
a
little
under
what
was
needed
but
Long
and
the
Charles
Swing
led
crew
didn't
give
up,
they
just
worked
harder.
During
Thursday's
Gatorade
150,
Long
was
able
to
hang
with
the
pack
and
had
managed
to
move
all
the
way
up to
15th
place.
However,
the
fortunes
of
racing
did
not
hold
well
for
Long
as he
was
caught
behind
Kurt
Busch's
slowing
car
on
lap
nine.
This
caused
Long
and
his
Millstar
/
Rhino's
Energy
Dodge
Charger
to
lose
the
draft,
which
of
course
is
fatal
in
restrictor
plate
racing.
Losing
the
draft
coupled
with
ignition
difficulties
and
rear
spring
mounting
issues
soon
put
Long
a lap
down
to
the
field.
Ironically,
the
rear
spring
issues
that
caused
the
car
to
slow
also
caused
the
car
to be
disqualified
by
NASCAR
based
on
car
height
at a
post
race
inspection.
"Once
we
got
bottled-necked
behind
Busch
and
lost
the
draft,
I
didn't
really
get
too
concerned.
I
knew
from
experience
that
their
would
be a
few
cautions
that
would
enable
us to
catch
up"
stated
Long
"Unfortunately,
the
next
caution
didn't
come
out
until
lap
56 of
the
60
lap
race.
We
were
a lap
down
and
the
NASCAR
"Lucky
Dog"
procedure
doesn't
occur
with
less
than
ten
laps
to
go".
"I'm
really
disappointed"
stated
Carl
Long
"because
I
knew
we
had a
car
that
was
capable
of
being
in
the
Daytona
500".
While
Long,
Carter
and
their
Dodge
will
not
be in
this
Sunday's
Daytona
500,
they
did
show
NASCAR
fans
that
it is
still
possible
for a
driver
to
prepare
his
own
car
and
race
it in
the
world's
most
competitive
form
of
motor
racing.
The
team
showed
the
racing
world
that
sheer
determination
coupled
with
competitive drive
can
still
be
a force
in
this
era
of
teams
with
500
plus
employees,
charter
airplanes
and
unlimited
budgets.
Some
suggest
that
Long,
Carter
and
their
efforts
hearken
back
to
those
of
the
independent
drivers
during
the
early
days
of
NASCAR.
When
coupled
with
NASCAR's
ultimate
independent
driver,
James
Hylton,
on
board
as a
teammate,
Carl
Long
has
became
the
torch
bearer
in
keeping
the
spirit
of
NASCAR
legends
like
Alan
Kulwicki,
J.D.
McDuffie
and
Elmo
Langley
alive.
Over
the
past
few
years,
Carl
Long
has
became
a
model
of
determination
and
consistency
in a
sport
where
drivers
careers
can
sometimes
be
measured
in
weeks.
Long
moved
to
the
upper
echelons
of
NASCAR
in
1998,
when
he
began
competing
in
the
Craftsman
Truck
Series.
Long
has
been
in
and
out
of
the
SPRINT
CUP
Series
over
the
years
but
has
never
given
up
the
hope
of
securing
a
full-time
ride.
This
determination
was
exhibited
at
Daytona
last
week,
when
Carl
could
be
found
in
the
garage
welding
nose
supports
on
his
Dodge
Charger
while
his
fellow
competitors
were
relaxing
in
their
buses.
Carl
Long
took
his
John
Carter
/ EM
Motorsports
owned
Millstar
/
Rhino's
Energy
Drink
sponsored
Dodge
Charger
to
Daytona
with
a
young
crew,
coupled
with
seasoned
veteran
and
EM
Motorsports
teammate
James
Hylton.
The
effort
was
dubbed
"Long
Shot"
by
Carter
and
soon
a
"Long
Shot"
decal
was
made
and
placed
above
the
driver
door.
Practice
speeds
were
a
little
under
what
was
needed
but
Long
and
the
Charles
Swing
led
crew
didn't
give
up,
they
just
worked
harder.
During
Thursday's
Gatorade
150,
Long
was
able
to
hang
with
the
pack
and
had
managed
to
move
all
the
way
up to
15th
place.
However,
the
fortunes
of
racing
did
not
hold
well
for
Long
as he
was
caught
behind
Kurt
Busch's
slowing
car
on
lap
nine.
This
caused
Long
and
his
Millstar
/
Rhino's
Energy
Dodge
Charger
to
lose
the
draft,
which
of
course
is
fatal
in
restrictor
plate
racing.
Losing
the
draft
coupled
with
ignition
difficulties
and
rear
spring
mounting
issues
soon
put
Long
a lap
down
to
the
field.
Ironically,
the
rear
spring
issues
that
caused
the
car
to
slow
also
caused
the
car
to be
disqualified
by
NASCAR
based
on
car
height
at a
post
race
inspection.
"Once
we
got
bottled-necked
behind
Busch
and
lost
the
draft,
I
didn't
really
get
too
concerned.
I
knew
from
experience
that
their
would
be a
few
cautions
that
would
enable
us to
catch
up"
stated
Long
"Unfortunately,
the
next
caution
didn't
come
out
until
lap
56 of
the
60
lap
race.
We
were
a lap
down
and
the
NASCAR
"Lucky
Dog"
procedure
doesn't
occur
with
less
than
ten
laps
to
go".
"I'm
really
disappointed"
stated
Carl
Long
"because
I
knew
we
had a
car
that
was
capable
of
being
in
the
Daytona
500".
While
Long,
Carter
and
their
Dodge
will
not
be in
this
Sunday's
Daytona
500,
they
did
show
NASCAR
fans
that
it is
still
possible
for a
driver
to
prepare
his
own
car
and
race
it in
the
world's
most
competitive
form
of
motor
racing.
The
team
showed
the
racing
world
that
sheer
determination
coupled
with
competitive drive
can
still
be
a force
in
this
era
of
teams
with
500
plus
employees,
charter
airplanes
and
unlimited
budgets.
Some
suggest
that
Long,
Carter
and
their
efforts
hearken
back
to
those
of
the
independent
drivers
during
the
early
days
of
NASCAR.
When
coupled
with
NASCAR's
ultimate
independent
driver,
James
Hylton,
on
board
as a
teammate,
Carl
Long
has
became
the
torch
bearer
in
keeping
the
spirit
of
NASCAR
legends
like
Alan
Kulwicki,
J.D.
McDuffie
and
Elmo
Langley
alive.