John Long Jr.
About Me
I began racing junior dragsters in 1997 at the age of seven years old. Above
all of the wins and championships, my junior dragster career taught me
character. I learned how to win, but stay humble. I learned how to lose, and
keep my head up. And last but not least, I learned the importance of practice,
hard work, and dedication. After my junior dragster career came to a close, at
the age of sixteen, I began bracket racing a 2001 Camaro at local bracket
races. In 2007, my first year out of juniors, I won two track championships as
well as the Division 4 High School Championship. My racing career slightly
slowed from 2009 to 2011 while I pursued an Associate's Degree in
Automotive Technology at Texas State Technical College. After graduating
and finishing my ‘68 Camaro, it didn’t take long to line up a full racing
schedule. Since 2011 I have traveled to many states racing including Ohio,
South Carolina, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
In the 2017 season I took a different route from my typical racing format. Over
the '16-'17 off season, we worked diligently to transform the 2001 Camaro,
which I won the NHRA Division championship with back in 2009, over to an
IHRA legal Pure Stock Car. Competing in Stock Eliminator had always been a
lifelong dream of mine. Restricting rules makes it very difficult to compete in
the class without a large budget, but with an open mind and a proven car, we
were ready for the challenge. At the last IHRA race of the year, at Dragway 42
in West Salem, Ohio, we earned enough points to clinch the number 10 spot
in the world with the IHRA.
In 2018, with IHRA changing their racing format, we made the jump back to
NHRA and began competition in the Super Street category. In my first year
in the class, i managed to finish 4th in Division 4, obtain a win our third race
out, and advance to the quarter final round of competition at the AAA Texas
Fall Nationals. In 2019 I joined forces with multi-time world champion Vernon
Rowland and joined the Super Gas ranks behind the wheel of the
Rowland Motorsports 1976 Chevrolet Chevette. With a top ten finish in our
first year of partnership I will continue to drive the Chevette continuing into
the 2020 season. 2020 will also mark my first season of Super Comp competition
in our newly acquired 2011 Racecraft Chassis rear engine dragster.
In 2016 I joined Luke Bogacki's "This is Bracket Racing Elite" racer growth
program. When enrolled in this program, multi-time world champion Luke,
works one on one with each racer to grow their knowledge and skills to
better their performance on the race track. This program is only offered to a
very limited amount of racers, so I am very excited to be a part of it. I have
very high expectations for my growth, both on and off the track in the
seasons to come.
Accomplishments
OVER 250 SINGLE EVENT WINS
7X TRACK CHAMPION
4X TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP RUNNER UP
12X NHRA E.T. FINALS QUALIFIER
2X NHRA RACE OF CHAMPIONS QUALIFIER
2007 NHRA DIVISION 4 HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPION
8X IHRA E.T. FINALS QUALIFIER
2017 #10 IN THE WORLD IHRA STOCK ELIMINATOR
2017 #3 IN IHRA DIVISION 4 STOCK ELIMINATOR
2018 #4 IN NHRA DIVISION 4 SUPER STREET
2018 NHRA DIVISION 4 RISING STAR AWARD RECIPIENT
2019 #8 IN NHRA DIVISION 4 SUPER STREET
2019 #7 IN NHRA DIVISION 4 SUPER GAS
Classes I Compete in
Stock Eliminator
Super Street
Super Gas
Super Comp
Bracket Racing
Index Racing