Carl Long
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Carl Long (born September 20 1967) in Roxboro, North Carolina, is a NASCAR race car driver. He has driven for numerous independent teams in both the Nextel Cup and Busch Series, but is most famous for two reasons. In 2000, he qualified to make his Nextel Cup debut in one of its most prestigious races, the Coca-Cola 600. However, Darrell Waltrip, one of the top drivers in series history, who was retiring at the end of the 2000 season, failed to qualify. Long gave up his ride to Waltrip for the race. In 2004, Long's car flipped several times in a violent accident at the final race ever held at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina, where such crashes are very uncommon. Long was not injured, however, his accident in that race raised questions if drivers such as Long and Andy Hillenburg, a sprint car ace, who compete in inferior equipment in these types of races, should be allowed to compete in such prestigious events with such non-competitive cars. These questions gained further fire the next month at South Carolina's Darlington Raceway when a slow Hillenburg was tagged by a much faster Jeff Gordon, triggering an accident and angry words from Gordon. These questions have since faded out of the limelight. However, the incident gained publicity for the virtual-unknown Long, whose popularity among the fans peaked to unprecedented levels, and also got him a ride in the following Nextel Cup event at Las Vegas, driving for independent Hermie Sadler. However, Long was never in competition for a victory and soon disappeared from the thoughts of racing fans. For 2005, he hopes to run a limited schedule in his own #46 Dodge as well as in the #00 car owned by Raynard McGlynn.
Career Nextel Cup Stats, by year
- 2000 - 2 Starts, 107 points
- 2001 - 3 Starts, 147 points
- 2002 - 2 Starts, 46 points
- 2004 - 6 Starts, 267 points
- 2005 - 4 starts, 108 points