Carl Long's final appeal

   
Carl Long (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
   

   By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

   BROOKLYN, Mich.
   When it comes to 'little guys' in NASCAR racing, they don't come much smaller or with more limited racing funds than Carl Long.
   So when Long was hit with a record NASCAR penalty last month, it caused an uproar among some fans, who agreed with Long that the punishment didn't match the 'crime.'
   Long will make his final appeal Monday June 15th to NASCAR over that record-breaking $200,000 fine, 200-point penalty and 12-race suspension.
    Long's case will be heard by Charles Strang.
    Yes, the long-retired, virtually never seen Charles Strang, who holds the title of National Stock Car Racing Commissioner.
    It is unclear if Strang has ever been interviewed by the media.
    Strang's racing days go back to the Carl Kiekhaefer era of the 1950s. He was once head of the Outboard Marine Corp.
    Long is a long-time NASCAR crewman and spotter who, at 47, has run maybe 30 Cup races during the past eight years, on his own, as a very part-timer, far-under-budgeted driver.  He was penalized by NASCAR last month for having an illegal engine during the All-Star weekend at Charlotte; he was attempting to qualify for the Open preliminary event when that engine, bought from the Ernie Elliott-Chip Ganassi stockpile, blew up. He got a second engine, ran dead last in the Open, and made $5,000.
    Three days later NASCAR hit him with the fine. NASCAR said the illegal engine measure 358.17 cubic inches, just over the 358 c.i. maximum.
   Cruel and heartless? Outrageous?
   Here are the facts; you decide:
    Long appealed to a three-man NASCAR board two weeks ago, but that board rejected his appeal and let the huge penalties stand.
    As a result, Long will likely lose his current job and also be banished from the sport, because he says there's no way he can pay a $200,000 fine.
   
The list of race fans donating to the Carl Long NASCAR penalty fund has grown quite large. Check them out HERE.
    Long says his crew chief Charles Swing was hospitalized with heart problems after the penalty was first announced.
    This is Long's story:
   "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.
    "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 gone 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 don't consider myself a cheater.
     "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."