John Long Sr.

My passion for cars, and pretty much anything mechanical, began at a very early age. I remember rebuilding the engine on my mini-bike when I was about nine or ten years old in the front yard of my parents’ house. Like most teenagers of the late 70s, I had my hand in hot rodding muscle cars down the local drag strip, but I also had a strong interest in off-roading and four-wheel drives.

In the mid-80s, I started competing in mud drags with a series of Jeeps. My claim to fame was a CJ7 I built with a 258 cubic inch inline six-cylinder. With a healthy cam and a few internal tweaks, it could outrun V8 Jeeps all day long. After several successful seasons, I stepped away from mud racing to start my family. Even though I wasn’t behind the wheel, I never lost my passion — I was still a regular at the drag strip and mud drags, always bringing John Jr. along to watch from an early age.

In 1997, I made the investment to purchase a junior dragster so John Jr. and I could start racing together. From day one, I’ve always been meticulous about our equipment. If something wasn’t exactly the way I wanted it, it soon would be. Every new chassis was stripped to the bare frame and rebuilt before the start of each season. Every nut, bolt, and adjustment had to be right. Every engine, clutch, and carburetor we used was hand-built in our two-car garage. In 2002, I was honored to receive Texas Raceway’s Jr. Dragster Crew Chief of the Year award. Over the years, I’ve developed a strong knack for tuning on alcohol and reading weather conditions — skills that have come from countless hours of trial, error, and experience.

Once John Jr. moved up to his 2001 Camaro and the junior dragster days came to an end, I decided it was time to get behind the wheel again. In 2009, I bought a 1969 Chevrolet Nova with a 355 cubic inch small block, Powerglide, and a street 2500 stall converter. Even at 3,400 pounds, we managed to push it deep into the 12s in the quarter mile. My love for trucks never went away, though — dating back to my high school and mud racing days — so in 2011, I built an S10 and began racing in No-Electronics classes at local tracks. I still preferred to crew at bigger races, traveling with John Jr. and running off-and-on through 2014.

Between the 2014 and 2015 off-seasons, I decided to take racing seriously again as a driver. I purchased a 1997 S10 shell and did what I do best — meticulously built the perfect bracket truck. The 2015 season started with plenty of testing and tuning as I worked through new-engine and suspension setups. Late that year, the hard work paid off with my first event win in more than 20 years at Little River Dragway in Temple, Texas.

The 2016 season was one to remember. In the first six races, I made five final-round appearances and scored four straight wins. That same year, I stepped up to larger events, including the Sooner State Challenge at Thunder Valley Raceway Park in Noble, Oklahoma, making deep runs both days.

Today, I continue to race my S10 in local index and bracket events, still refining every detail and helping the rest of the  team stay competitive. The drive to go faster and improve has never faded — it’s just evolved with the next generation.

6X NHRA E.T. FINALS QUALIFIER

4X IHRA E.T. FINALS QUALIFIER

2002 TEXAS RACEWAY CREW CHIEF OF THE YEAR

WON MULTIPLE CHAMPIONSHIPS AS TUNER

WON MULTIPLE RACES IN MANY TYPES OF MOTORSPORTS

Bracket Racing

Index Racing

Super Street