#46-Carl Long says he has lost his appeal of a 12-race suspension and penalty. The National Stock Car Racing Commission denied Long’s appeal at a hearing Tuesday, the driver said. The commission isolated Long’s suspension to the Sprint Cup Series, meaning he can find work in one of the sport’s lower levels. However, Long’s full-time job is working with the Front Row Motorsports #34 Chevy in the Cup series. The commission also told Long the $200,000 fine levied against crew chief Charles Swing would not fall to Long if Swing can’t pay it. Long was penalized for having an illegal engine at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last month. The 12-race suspension, 200-point penalty and $200,000 fine are NASCAR records. He said he plans to research how to go about appealing the penalty further. “I’m now suspended only from the Cup garage for 12 weeks,” Long told ESPN.com. “At the end of year, though, they’re still sitting there with their hands out. So my crew chief still doesn’t get his 2010 license if it hasn’t been paid. I’m very disappointed in them.”(ESPN/AP) MORE: As the realization that the National Stock Car Commission on Tuesday upheld the record 200-point, $200,000 penalty against him sunk in, Carl Long became increasingly frustrated. Frustration turned to anger. In minutes, he was livid. “Big Bill [France, NASCAR founder] and Bill Jr. ruled the sport like a father — at the end of the day they took care of their family,” Long said. “These guys don’t care. They don’t have any heart. Basically, it seems like they don’t care about the sport, they just want to make a dollar. I truly have a sour taste of the management in our sport. They’ve forgotten the roots of how this sport was created, and who are the people buying the tickets, sitting in the stands. The people in the stands are me.” Multiple calls to NASCAR for comment were not immediately returned. When Long had to change engines prior to the Sprint Showdown, NASCAR surveyed the first engine and determined it to be illegal. He was confident entering Tuesday’s appeals hearing. He thought he’d go in, plead his case, and come out with nothing more than a revamped concept of the lucrative engine-building-and-selling business in NASCAR. Not so. More at ESPN.com.(6-2-2009) UPDATE 2: Statement from Carl Long [savecarllong.com] Following the Appeal: ” I am very disappointed in NASCAR’s decision. I am not arguing that the size NASCAR measured is big. Ernie Elliott says this happened because of distortion from heat. Allow me the .17 for expansion or show me metallurgy that states how much a block can change at extreme temperatures. Then take this hole in the rules and make engine companies sign the inspection sheet and take responsibility. Fix the rule! Engine builders can argue with NASCAR and their engineers instead of leaving drivers, owners, and crew chiefs to explain properties of cast iron, nickel, and the growth due to heat. We have the option to appeal to the national board in Daytona. I am trying to overcome my emotions versus the facts. After today’s hearing, I have lost all faith in the way the appeal system works.(6-3-2009) UPDATE 3: from Carl Long concerning fan donations, including one by driver David Reuitmann: “I would like to thank all of the fans and supporters who have generously donated their hard-earned cash to help pay my fine and get Carl Long Racing back into NASCAR. I am stunned by the enormous forthcoming of support and could not have imagined that I would ever be this privileged. Carl-long.com – donation info there.(6-5-2009)
