Long loses car, but not sense of humor

'Next thing I knew.....I saw people eatin' chicken'

	Carl Long

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. - Carl Long, a good ol' boy from suburban Raleigh, N.C., occasionally drives a sponsorless, self-owned racecar in NASCAR's most expensive series. Hence, any media coverage is a priceless score.

Well, almost any. He's all for free publicity, but not when it requires barrel rolling down the back straightaway.

Long's No. 46 Dodge will most certainly be a staple of sports broadcasts nationwide Sunday evening and into Monday morning, but for reasons he'd just as soon never experience again.

On Lap 265 of Sunday's Subway 400 at North Carolina Speedway, Long was racing Joe Nemechek out of Turn 3 when Brendan Gaughan got into Nemechek, who subsequently turned Long nose-first into the outside retaining wall.

Upon impact, Long got turned sideways and his car began to barrel roll down the straightaway. After five-and-a-half flips, he came to rest on the inside apron, bottom up.

"Basically, when I got sideways, nose into the wall, I just braced on the steering wheel," Long said. "But I had no idea I was going over on my roof. At that point, my knees hit the dash, so I just held them against the dash to try to keep them from slapping back and forth. As soon as it stopped, it was time to get out."

Uninjured, he quickly hopped out of the car and walked unaided to a waiting ambulance, all parts -- not to mention his sense of humor -- still intact.

"Somebody must've gotten around me on the outside or the inside, spotter didn't say anything," Long said. "One of my earplugs, on the right ear, went away, so all my hearing was on the left side. We had the volume turned up, but didn't hear anybody (say) 'inside, outside, looking.'

"I don't know if anybody was there, but apparently somebody was there because next thing I knew I saw the people on the backstretch in the bleachers up there eatin' chicken."

Long, ever the racer, was happy to escape unscathed and hoped the spectacular crash would in some way assist his racing endeavors.

"I'm just happy not to be hurt," Long said. "That's the biggest thing there was. A lot of sparks come in the car. I smelled gas. Who knows, maybe this will get me on TV and get somebody to let me ride their stuff, get me a sponsor."