Catchfence

Panhandle Motorsports

Panhandle Motorsports makes its debut in Las Vegas at the Smith’s Food & Drug Stores 350 on Saturday, September 25th. It’s also the first race at Las Vegas for driver Johanna Long. The start will be her fourth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race this year, after three starts with Billy Ballew Motorsports where she logged two top 20 finishes.

Johanna Long

A Blizzard Series Champion in late models, Johanna looks to continue her Truck education at Las Vegas with a veteran crew. After 19 starts in 2010 in different stock car Series, she’s logged five top-Fives and 10 top-10 finishes – giving her momentum to keep putting knowledge under her belt. “I’m looking forward to getting to know the track at Las Vegas,” she said. “I’m grateful to have the opportunity to run with my family’s team, but our ultimate goal is to have the track performance over time to become a driver for another competitive team. Every race I enter, I learn, but I also get a chance to hone my skills to keep moving forward with my driving.”

…and a Little Skydive?

Johanna will participate in the NASCAR Driver Autograph Session on Friday before the race at the Stratosphere Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Not your typical autograph session, she will also be taking the “Skyjump” from the top of the building – nicknamed “the Ultimate Vegas Freefall from the 108th floor.”

Walking the Walk – Literally, with Speedway Children’s Charities

Johanna will not only drive the 1.5 mile Tri-oval in Las Vegas, she will walk it on behalf of the Speedway Children’s Charities. She will serve as an honorary “kickoff” driver of the event, the Speedway Children’s Charities Track Walk, at 2pm on race day – helping motivate the families participating in the annual event. “I work with my local Boys & Girls Club at my home track, and it’s great to work with kids whenever I can,” Johanna said.

New “Chief” in Town

Panhandle Motorsports is enlisting the help of veteran crew chief Kevin ‘Cowboy’ Starland, who will be handling the truck chief duties for the No. 20 Toyota Tundra. Starland, well-known as crew chief for the #15 Billy Ballew Motorsports (BBM) truck, has the benefit of working with drivers such as Johnny Benson, Steven Wallace & Nelson Piquet Jr.

Starland said, “I’ve worked with Johanna this year during her BBM starts, and we’ve developed a great communication pattern so far. We can’t thank Kyle Busch Motorsports enough for helping us prepare so quickly for this race. I couldn’t have done it without their help, and I’m looking forward to helping Johanna learn a new track and grow as a driver.”

Chassis Info:

No. 20 Panhandle Motorsports Toyota Tundra: Chassis #01, built by Kyle Busch Motorsports & Triad Technologies.

Team:

Crew Chief: Kevin “Cowboy” Starland

Chassis: 01

Race: Saturday, September 25, 2010

Length: 146 laps, 219 miles

Track Layout: 1.5 mile Tri-oval

SCHEDULE:

TV: SPEED TV Prerace 6pm, Race 6:30pm PST; Radio: MRN Broadcast

- Girl Friday PR & Marketing Press Release