Johanna Long’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team is scheduled to test at Mobile International Speedway on Wednesday May 4th. Long’s #20 Panhandle Grading & Paving Toyota team will be testing from 10:00 am – 4:00pm. “We hope this is the beginning of more NASCAR teams utilizing Mobile International Speedway as a test facility. Our track surface is very smooth saving money on tires and the banking simulates a number of NASCAR tracks around the country,” said Rick Crawford Manager/Promoter of Mobile International Speedway. Grandstands will be open to the public free of charge.(Mobile International Spedway PR)(5-3-2011)
UPDATE: Driver Johanna Long, an 18-year-old newcomer on the national scene, spent the day testing at the Rick Crawford Performance Track with her NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. Crawford, the longtime truck series driver who’s the manager and promoter at MIS, would like Long’s outing to be the first in a series of NASCAR tests at the high-banked, half-mile oval. Long’s Panhandle Motorsports team will be at one-mile Dover International Speedway on May 13 for the next Camping World Truck Series race. NASCAR prohibits extra practices at tracks that host races. But Long didn’t come to MIS to prepare specifically for Dover. Instead, her crew traveled from North Carolina to test on a track that, unlike the far-flung speedways of the truck circuit, the Pensacola teen knows intimately. “I’m really used to running late models in Pensacola and Mobile,” Long said. “I’ve been racing these racetracks forever — well, four years as compared to a few races. I’m not used to the big mile-and-a-half tracks yet, and Daytona was a big swing for me. “And there’s a difference with the trucks. They’re so much heavier than a late model. The competition in the truck series is crazy. We just need some top-10, top-15 finishes to keep on going with our team. We’ve just got to keep on digging. Hopefully, we can find the sponsorships to run all 25 races. If we can do that, I think we can be really competitive.”(AL.com) [During a break in the session, witnessed Rick Crawford spending some time giving rookie Johanna Long some pointers on what he considers the best way to get around Dover International Speedway and how to gain the most momentum coming off the corners. Long is currently competing in her rookie season in the Camping World Truck Series and is still hoping to pick up additional sponsorship to enable the team to run all events this season.(Nancy/Jayski)](5-5-2011)
