Carl Long was 11th of the 16 drivers that got qualifying laps in Friday at New Hampshire. Credit: Autostock

Mother Nature foils good qualifying run by Long

Part-time driver might have made NHIS Cup field, if not for rainout

LOUDON, N.H. -- Carl Long changed jobs late Friday afternoon.

The rainout of Sylvania 300 qualifying sent Long home without a starting spot at New Hampshire International Speedway. But it left him with a full allotment of tires, and Long was working the soggy garage area to try to unload some of them.

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Long had qualified his No. 46 Dodge with a lap of 130.011 mph, good enough for 11th of the 16 drivers that took a lap before the remnants of Hurricane Ivan moved in central New Hampshire. And it likely would have been good enough to make the race.

"I was hoping that we would get it in," Long said. "And we did. I got mine in, but that was it. Now, I've got to see if I can find some guys here that's in the race who will buy some tires off of me."

Long was left out of the field because he didn't have enough car owner qualifying attempts. But it wasn't the first time Long was bumped by a NASCAR rule. He qualified 36th at Martinsville one year, but Brett Bodine went and ran the identical time.

Because Bodine was higher in the points, he was in. And Long was out.

Friday, Long was knocked out again. This one was tougher to take, for Long knew he was in the race. He still managed some of the down-home humor that has made him somewhat famous.

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"I don't know," Long said. "It seems like my luck -- I have to stay away from Vegas. I can't take no money there. I'll go there with $20. That's enough for the buffet."

Long brought his small, part-time team to New Hampshire because he's not as aerodynamically challenged here as higher-downforce tracks. Making the race would still take a Herculean effort, but Long and his team looked to have done it.

"It comes back more in driving skill, if you can get it to go through the corner," Long said. "We missed it in practice, changed some stuff and hit it pretty good in qualifying. Basically, all I did was make a good lap and a good statement.

"But that don't get me in no other seats, don't get me no sponsorship. It cost me a lot of money to come up here. Now, I've got to pay all these bills with no income."

Long estimated it cost him $20,000 to make the trip here. That's his own money, and none of it was offset by sponsorship.

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"I don't have it all," Long said. "Some of it's on credit cards."

But he won't stay in debt long.

"I don't like gambling that hard," Long said. "I won't owe nobody. I'll get it all paid off."

Had Long made Sunday's race, he would have made a small profit. And if not for the rain, Long wasn't a longshot with a 29.296-second lap around the 1.058-mile track.

"I felt like that time would have been comfortably in the race," Long said. "I was thinking it would probably take a low .50, high .40 to be in. And we ran a .20. I felt like that lap would have been good from 25th to 34th.

"This is my car, my deal, my money. I run it out of the back of my house in a small garage."

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Long has made six races in 2004, qualifying for two and getting provisionals for the other four. His best start was a 33rd here in July, while his best finish this year has been 38th.

That makes Long's batting average .545, for he's failed to qualify five times.

Next week, Long will drive Stan Hover's car at Dover. Hover put Ted Christopher in the No. 80 at New Hampshire because Christopher brought some sponsorship. Christopher will start Sunday.

"Maybe I can get (Hover) him to thump Ted out and put me in," Long said. "It's disheartening."

He still managed to smile. That should serve him well as he tried to unload his tires.