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| 6/14/09 Long Prepares for Final Appeal in Chicago:  On Monday, June 15th, Carl Long will present his second and final appeal to National Stock Car Racing Commissioner, Charles Strang, regarding the penalties his team received. Long was penalized for having an illegal engine during the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway last month. The 12-race suspension, 200-point penalty and $200,000 fine are NASCAR records. The hearing will begin at 2 PM Eastern Time.
| 6/12/09 Important Notice Regarding Donations:
Attention Carl-Long.com readers, Carl wants to make it clear to his friends, fans and supporters that he is NOT affiliated with the website www.SaveCarlLong.com, OR with its petition page hosted by www.ipetitions.com. There has been some concern surrounding the petition page linked on www.SaveCarlLong.com, which asks after one has signed the petition to donate money. Money donated through that petition page goes to the www.ipetitions.com website to support THEIR website, NOT Carl Long or anyone affiliated with Carl Long Racing. The only online method to donate directly to Carl Long is through the Paypal Donate buttons located on the www.Carl-Long.com website. Anyone who sent a donation to www.ipetitions.com after signing the petition on www.SaveCarlLong.com, under the impression that the donation was going to Carl, should dispute the transaction with their credit card company as soon as possible.
| 6/9/09 Carl Long's interview on Wind Tunnel:  Part-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Carl Long joined Dave Despain in-studio Sunday night on Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain to discuss his recent NASCAR penalty for an oversized Cup engine during NASCAR Sprint All-Star weekend. Long’s appeal was heard but the penalties, including his suspension and $200,000 fine, were upheld.
►Transcript
►Video
| 6/4/09 Thank You:  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.
Thank you, I sincerely appreciate it.
See you on the track soon!
Carl
| 6/3/09 Statement from Carl 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. Careful Ryan Newman, if you have a maxed out engine that melts down, making it too big, you too can have a 12 week vacation and take Smoke with you. He is listed as owner, correct? This should not be able to happen to any team and their fans!
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.
We are all at the mercy of our supplier. An engine supplier usually sends his own employee to tune his engine and make sure no one looks in it. I hate to be negative to the sport I love so much! As a mechanic, I am always trying to fix things and there are things I feel can be fixed in NASCAR. No company, person, or team will really say a lot because they have too much to lose. I have very little left and for this last bit of fame. I hope my opinions will spark small changes and more respect from NASCAR for all racers, officials, and companies involved in the sport.
| 5/21/09 Statement from Carl and DeeDee regarding the recent suspension and fines...
First of all I would like to wish Charles Swing, my crew chief, well. Since this incident he was admitted Monday night to a Georgia hospital with heart problems. He is a stay-at-home dad who loves to go racing.
We purchased an engine from a reputable builder at the beginning of the season. We overheated the engine in practice and had to change it. We had the option to withdraw and go home before admitting it to inspection. Trusting that our blown engine wouldn't have any problems passing NASCAR tech, we submitted it and put our other motor in the car to get ready for the Showdown. As everyone knows it didn't pass tech. The rules are
358 cubic inches and ours is 358.17 cubic inches. The .17 is as wrong as if it would have been 400 cubic inches. This engine is 50 horsepower less than top teams but it was all that could be afforded. I would have never knowingly went to the race track with a big engine!!!
This suspension has not only stopped me from racing, it has also hurt me with my everyday job. It's hard to make a living working at the race track when NASCAR will not let you in. I can only hope that the appeal board will see things differently than the ones that came up with this penalty. I don't consider myself a cheater. I am addicted to the worst drug ever...RACING!!! Every dime we have been able to scrape up we use to race because we love the sport. It takes about a half million in equipment to be able to build an engine, so I have to rely on other people and this time it bit me. Thanks for supporting me in wherever this goes!!!
Carl & DeeDee
| 5/15/09 Long to Start 2nd in Showdown; Engine Change:  NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying for Saturday nights Sprint All-Star Showdown was cancelled due to rain. Due to the race being a non-points race, the line-up is based on qualifying draw. Carl Long was scheduled to go out 2nd in qualifying and was to start 2nd, but an engine change after a blown engine during practice will force Long and the #46 Romeo Guest Construction Dodge to the rear, along with polesitter Kirk Shelmerdine who wrecked in practice. Coverage starts Saturday at 7PM EST on SPEED.
►Starting Line-up
►Vote for Carl Long
| 3/3/09 NASCAR Veteran Setzer to pilot #46 at Martinsville:  NASCAR veteran Dennis Setzer will pilot Carl Long Racing's #46 Romeo Guest Construction Dodge during the March 29th Goody's Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville. Setzer has 7 career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts to his resume, all coming in 1998 driving for Bill Elliott Motorsports. Setzer went to victory lane at Martinsville just one year ago in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for Bobby Hamilton Racing and also won the 2007 Bailey's 300 at Martinsville driving for the Long Brothers and Romeo Guest. Additional sponsorship opportunities with Carl Long Racing are available.
| 2/08/09 Long qualifies 54th overall; starts 28th in Duel #1: Carl Long clocked his #46 Romeo Guest Construction Dodge Charger in at 181.032mph, 49.715 seconds which put him 54th fastest out of the 56 cars in Daytona 500 Coors Light Pole Qualifying. Long will start the first Gatorade Duel from 28th, the last position.
►Qualifying Results
►Gatorade Duel #1 Line-up
| 1/26/09 Carl Long to run the Daytona 500:  Carl Long has announced that he will be piloting the #46 Romeo Guest Construction Dodge in the 51st running of the Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 15th. The team's crew chief for the event will be Alex Astor, with racing engines supplied by Ernie Elliott. Romeo Guest Associates, Inc. of Durham, North Carolina will be the primary sponsor of team for the event. The car will sport a special retro paint scheme commemorating the 16-year relationship between Carl Long and Romeo Guest. The yellow-and-green Dodge that Carl will drive will be reminiscent of the original Romeo Guest Construction Late Model that Carl Long raced on North Carolina short tracks from 1993 until 1995. The Sprint Cup cars will first hit the Daytona high-banks for practice on Saturday, February 7th with on-track events continuing through the week. Carl Long plans to have veteran racer Dennis Setzer at the helm of his NASCAR Sprint Cup #46 Dodge at Martinsville Speedway in March, with Carl Long returning to the wheel for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Showdown at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May. Additional sponsorship opportunities with Carl Long Racing are still available. Inquiries are urged to contact Tom Czerwinski at tom85racing@gmail.com.
►2009 Daytona Speedweeks Schedule
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