It’s like staring all over again for Johanna Long. Johanna Long is not entered in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Charlotte. It’s not because she lost the determination, will or talent that once made her an intriguing prospect – she just lost her ride. As a result, Long was back home in Pensacola, racing at her home track, Five Flags Speedway in the second-year Southern Super Series Late Model tour. Long wants desperately to return and says that she is nearing closer to securing a deal that will see her return to the upper echelon of stock car racing later this summer. ‘Right now it’s all about trying to find sponsorship that can take me back to the next level,’’ Long told Popular Speed on Friday. ‘When my team (ML Motorsports) shut down last year, I lost my ride – which was understandable – but it was a reminder to keep pressing forward to get back to Nationwide or somewhere in NASCAR. Long says she has been humbled by the number of ‘big name teams’ that have reached out to her but conceded that she has to work diligently at supplying the funding to join them. ‘We are working really hard,’ Long said. ‘We have some leads right now and are presenting them to different teams and them to the sponsors. So I think that by the end of the year, you should see me back out there but if you don’t, it’s not because I’ve given up. You’ve got to keep on digging.’(Popular Speed)
