Long gone?

Mansion Motorsports has finally given up the unequal struggle to remain on the NASCAR Winston Cup grid and announced that they were folding leaving driver Carl Long looking at an uncertain future.

A statement on the Mansion Motorsports website www.mansionmotorsports.net read that due to a lack of funding the team had no choice but to cease its NASCAR Winston Cup operation after two and a half years struggling to find the money to compete in NASCAR's top echelon.

However the statement also read that Long, with SR Racing and Glenn Racing, the two other teams he was set to compete with in 2002, would be combining efforts in a bid to qualify for August's Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The Thee Dixon led team arrived in Winston Cup at the Daytona 500 in 2000 with an unsponsored Ford Taurus. Despite having a single figure number of staff the team managed to qualify for three races in eleven attempts including the prestigious Coca Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

In an act of pure selflessness, Long then bowed out of what would have been his Winston Cup debut and handed the car to the retiring Darrell Waltrip who had failed to qualify for what was his last Coke 600. Waltrip started and handed the car to Long during the race and the two combined for a 36th place finish.

2001 saw Mansion Motorsports seal a deal to run Dodge Intrepid's with engine prepared by Petty Enterprises' Mike Ege but with continuing financial constraints Long was only ale to qualify or thee of the twelve races he and the team attempted. In those three races Long did notch up a best finish of 29th in the autumn Charlotte race.

2002 began with an ambitious three-pronged attack on the Raybestos Rookie of the Year title for Long with Mansion, SR Racing and Glenn Racing. However the #85 team failed to qualify for the first five races it attempted and Long crashed the team's best car during the non-points Winston open event.

Prior to NASCAR's all-star break Long admitted that he desperately needed to qualify for the Coca Cola 600 but after his Winston Open accident it was no surprise when he failed to make the cut.

Refusing to go out without one final effort, Long made a late decision to enter the Pocono 500, in which he was guaranteed at least a start due to a low car count. Long and a friend drove for almost twelve hours to the Pennsylvania track with no idea who they would be using as a crew. Sadly in the race the #85 team's lack of resources worked against them once again when they were forced to retire with brake problems, the results of not having the proper ducts.