6/20/2012
Five Flags Speedway
The Girl is Back in Town: Pensacola’s Johanna Long Returns for Blizzard Series Coors Light 100 on Friday
By Chuck Corder
Life has always moved fast for Johanna Long.
Heck, it came with the job description when she chose to pursue her dreams of being a stock car driver at the ripe age of 8.
But as Long returns home for the Coors Light 100 on Friday at Five Flags Speedway, even the Nationwide Series rookie could not have envisioned the warp speed in which her life travels these days.
Long, fresh off her best NASCAR finish to date, headlines the fourth of five Buddy’s Home Furnishings Blizzard Series races for Super Late Models.
“I’m really excited to get back to Five Flags,� Long said. “It has been a while. (Her team is) working hard on (the car). Hopefully, we can run really well this week and get it dialed in for the (Snowball) Derby.�
With fireworks cascading across the famed half-mile, asphalt oval throughout Friday evening, they will also fall from above thanks to the annual pyrotechnics show.
The Sportsmen and Bombers also share the night’s marquee when the gates open at 5 p.m. Friday.
Grandstand admission is as follows: $15 adults, $14 seniors, $12 military/students (ages 12 thru 17), $5 children ages 6 to 11 and free for kids under 6. Pit passes are $25.
As Long and her team made the long drive down Wednesday morning from their Concord, N.C., home, Long conducted an impromptu question-and-answer session with her 12,000-plus Twitter followers.
She shared “juicy� personal revelations, such as that Miley Cyrus’ “The Last Song� is her all-time No. 1 flick and Las Vegas has been her favorite stop on the Nationwide Series so far this season.
“Twitter is awesome to be able to interact with fans,� said Long, who owns four top-20 finishes in nine Nationwide races this year, including a 16th at Michigan last week.
Hard to imagine, though, that any place will ever hold more of a special place in Long’s heart than Pensacola’s high banks.
Not only does she still consider Five Flags her home track, but it is also home of her crowning achievement in racing — winning the 2010 Snowball Derby.
“It’s always fun to get back home and see family,� Long said. “It’ll be a lotta fun to see all of them and the fans.�
This week marks her second appearance in Pensacola this season, but first behind her SLM.
Long drove to a sixth-place finish in the Allen Turner Pro Late Model Series 100-lap opener in March.
“I ran at that track for a long time, so that’s definitely in the back of my head,� the recently-turned 20 year old said. “I’m really looking forward to it. It’s been a while.�
After finally reaching a comfort level on the Nationwide Series, Long is thrilled to get to mix it up with her old SLM rivals, such as Bubba Pollard, Augie Grill and D.J. VanderLey, who returns fresh off a two-race suspension in Pensacola.
Although, she has noticed a growing trend of young faces to the Blizzard Series, such as the likes of 14-year-old Kylie Benjamin.
“I remember being 14 and racing like they are,� Long said. “It makes me feel old.�
Old? At the spry age of 20?
Johanna Long’s life certainly does move fast.