Carl Long's Tough Break

Carl Long hoped that he could make as many races as possible this season. That dream may be shot down.
At this year's Sprint Showdown, Long's engine was found to be too big in one of the inspections. He had to change engine's, start in the back, and then he had a problem with his car which sent him out of the race. Then he got the penalties. It was the biggest penalty in NASCAR ever.
He, his wife and owner Danielle, his crew chief Charles Swing, and his entire team, Carl Long Racing, were suspended from 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, and suspended from all of NASCAR until August 15. In addition, Long was penalized 200 driver points, owner Danielle penalized 200 owner points, and crew Charles Swing fined $200,000. Long's team was entirely in the red.
First of all, Long made no races, so he now had -200 points. His #46 car had made two attempts, and scored 47 owners points. He now had -153. Most importantly, Long's annual income was only $100,000, give or take $20,000 depending on many races he made. This was only half of the penalty. The worst part of this is Long is $200,000in the hole, and it is because of .09 of a cubic inch.
Long then appealed his penalty, but he lost. The only that changed was that Carl and Danielle Long, and Charles Swing were no longer suspended from all of NASCAR, just the Sprint Cup Series. Long was angered by this. He then made an appeal to the National Stock Car Commissioner, Charles Strang. His penalty was reduced 12 races suspended to 8, but the fine remained.
However there is hope for Carl Long. Some of his fans have started a donation site. As of June 18, 2009, they have earned $16,342.78, and the donations been taking place for about a month. Part of that was donated by fellow drivers David Reutimann and Boris Said, as well as racing analyst Dave Despain. Fans can donate by going to a link that is posted at the bottom of this article. Once there, a fan can click on the Donate button or can purchase Carl Long merchandise by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page. Hopefully, Charles Swing will have a NASCAR license for 2010.

Here is the link
http://www.carl-long.com/donations.htm