Johanna Long Pulls the Trifecta in the
Gulf Coast Championship Finale at Mobile
17-Year-Old Caps off Regular Season with the Pole, the Win and the Championship
Pollard and Augie Grill, in the standings to win the Gulf Coast Championship series by setting fast time and leading the final half of the 100-lap feature in the final SLM race at Mobile, which was also the finale of the track’s Miller Lite Series.
“It feels amazing to win the race and the championship,” said Long. “I never thought going into the final races that we would have a chance. Augie Grill and Bubba Pollard are really good Super Late Model drivers. I didn’t know if we could get enough points to pass them, but everything seemed to work in our favor and we ended up with the overall championship. I couldn’t ask for a better season.”
The Sunoco Gulf Coast Championship was a season-long contest combining competitors from Five Flags Speedway and Mobile International Speedway. Points accumulated based on finishes at both tracks. Long won the Blizzard Series Championship on the back of two victories in the five-race series at Five Flags. That momentum brought her into the final Gulf Coast Championship race at Mobile just 11 points behind Grill. Long made up the difference in qualifying as she earned the pole, which brought her to within two points of the lead.
“I knew it was going to be close,” said Long. “Freddie Query and my dad (Donald Long) kept telling me to just run my own race and not to worry about it. It wasn’t easy because Augie has been really good at Mobile all season. We had to work on the car because the track was very cold, but everything we did worked for us and the car.”
Long ran second for the first 40 laps until a caution sent the leaders to pit road. From there, her pit crew took over and got her back on the track first for the final half of the race. Despite a number of nail-biting restarts, Long held off Grill for the win and took the championship by only three points.
“I was nervous during the restarts,” admitted Long. “I have struggled all season on restarts, but I nailed those final three in the last 20 laps. It’s really hard to believe that we made it up and won the championship. I have to thank all the guys on my team and my parents. This year has really been unbelievable.”
For Long, the season continues with a trip to Nashville to run with the CRA Super Series in their 250-lap portion of the All American 400 on Sunday, November 1st. That, of course, is just a buildup for the 42nd Annual Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway on December 6th.
For more information on Super Late Model Champion Johanna Long, please contact Matt Kentfield at (704) 788-2134 x 2, and be sure to check out her website at JohannaLong.com
Seventeen-year-old Johanna Long captured two more highlights to her remarkable breakout Super Late Model racing season on Saturday, October 24th. Having already secured victories throughout the Southeast and a Blizzard Series championship at Five Flags Speedway in Florida earlier this month, Long added another pole, win and the Gulf Coast Championship to her resume all in one event at Alabama’s Mobile International Speedway.
Long emerged from behind two other Super Late Model stars, Bubba
Johanna Long won the pole, the race, and the Gulf Coast Championship at Mobile. (51 Sports Photo)
