Concord, North Carolina – Matt Long and his Circle K Racing Team are set to close out their 2011 racing in December at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Florida. The 7^th Annual GM Performance World Championships sanctioned by the NeSmith Dirt Late Model Series is scheduled for December 1^st through the 3^rd. The 100 lap feature event, which runs in conjunction with the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Orlando, will pay $10,000 to win. “We were trying to decide between East Bay and Swainsboro to end the year. We have been to Swainsboro a few times recently so we decided to try East Bay this year. It made the most economical sense. We were going down to the PRI Show anyway so it just makes sense to take the car and race. There will be a lot of our sponsors and friends in the area for PRI so it will be nice to be able to race where they can come down and support us”. Long said.

Long and his team are fresh off the FASTRAK Grand Nationals Finals which were held at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tennessee. Long entered the final two nights locked in a tie for the 7^th position overall. Matt didn’t get the finishes he had hoped for mustering a 12^th and 19^th in the final 2 events. His Volunteer troubles relegated him to a 12^th place overall finish in the final standings which still garnered him a $3000 check from FASTRAK. “We had some bad luck in those final two races. I just can’t seem to get any luck at all when we race at Bulls Gap. We had a good car both nights but we had the flat in the one feature and got turned in the other. But we had a solid effort and we were in the hunt at least. We picked up a pretty good payday and we will just keep moving forward.” Long commented.

2011 has been an up and down year for Long and his team but he is proud of what they have been able to accomplish. “This year was tough in a lot of ways. We didn’t win nearly as many races this year as we did in 2010 but we still ran well. There were several races I feel like we should have won but we just had small issues that kept us out of victory lane. The competition has really picked up in our area too. There are 8 or 10 guys that are capable of winning everywhere we race at. When I hurt my hand I figured I was out for the rest of the year and put us even further behind. But my doctors did a great job with getting me put back together and I feel like we rebounded well after taking a few weeks off. I am happy with what we have done this year. We can always improve and that’s our plan; just keep working hard and improving our program.” Long concluded.

Matt would like to thank the following for their continued support of his Circle K Race Team : Circle K Convenience Stores, Heintz Performance, VP Racing Fuel, Integra Shocks and Springs, Port City Racing, FK Rod Ends, Kooks Custom Headers, Raceceiver, JM Adams Oil, Q Racing Oil, Franklin Racing, Dirtwrap, Jim Cook Transmissions, K&N Filters, Stock Car Steel, SRI Supplies, ButlerBuilt, City Chevrolet, , Valken Racing Wheels, MD3 Noses, Team Clay, KELCAR Motorsports Media, J&J Race Cars, Brembo Brakes, Fragola, and Simpson.

Race fans can keep up with Matt Long and his Circle K Racing Team in several ways. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattLongRacing or you can “friend” Matt Long Racing on Facebook or you can simply point youir web browsers to the all-new www.mattlongracing.com . There you will find a fully up-to-date schedule as well as information about the team and their sponsors. The latest Circle K Team apparel will also soon be available via the site or at the Circle K Team Hauler at the track. For more information including store locations visit the Circle K Company website at www.circlek.com

Upcoming Circle K Racing Team Events:

December 1-3 – PRI Show – Orange County Convention Center – Orlando, Florida

Thursday, December 1 – East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL – NeSmith World Championships    

Friday, December 2 – East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL – NeSmith World Championships

Saturday, December 3 – East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL – NeSmith World Championships

Long built on his momentum from the previous FASTRAK event at Wythe Raceway for the make-up of the rained out Dirt Late Model Super Nationals. Long turned in a qualifying effort good enough for 11^th quick overall. After scoring a flag-to-flag win in the NOS Energy Drinks Heat race, Matt drove his Circle K sponsored Rocket up to finish in the 5^th position when the final checkered flag flew. “It is amazing to me.  I know I keep saying this but it’s true, I had the best car that I have ever had at Wythe. I don’t know if I had anything for Watts but my car was awesome. We didn’t have a caution the last half of the race. I believe if we could have caught a caution we could have finished better than we did.” Long added.

Long and his team will now turn their attention on the 2 races this coming weekend at Volunteer. “We have always run good at Volunteer but we don’t have the finishes to show for it. We have had a few mechanical issues and got caught up in some wrecks that kept us from having the good finishes. But we hope we can turn that around this weekend. We would love to be there Saturday night leading the points or really close. We are going to up there and give it our best shot and see where we end up.” said Long.  

Matt would like to thank the following for their continued support of his Circle K Race Team : Circle K Convenience Stores, Heintz Performance, VP Racing Fuel, Integra Shocks and Springs, Port City Racing, FK Rod Ends, Kooks Custom Headers, Raceceiver, JM Adams Oil, Q Racing Oil, Franklin Racing, Dirtwrap, Jim Cook Transmissions, K&N Filters, Stock Car Steel, SRI Supplies, ButlerBuilt, City Chevrolet, , Valken Racing Wheels, MD3 Noses, Team Clay, KELCAR Motorsports Media, J&J Race Cars, Brembo Brakes, Fragola, and Simpson.

Long had a stellar run this past weekend at Wythe Raceway in what was to have been the first of a two night FASTRAK Racing Series event. Night #1 of the Dirt Late Model Super Nationals (formerly known as the Pro Nationals) saw Long rally from his 7^th starting position to finish 4^th in an event that he won in 2010. “Wythe is by far my favorite racetrack. We always seem to run well there. We had hoped that we could improve on the 4^th place run and maybe get another win on Saturday night but Mother Nature had other plans.” Long said. Mother Nature did indeed intervene on the event deluging the ½ mile surface for nearly 2 hours. The event has yet to be rescheduled but Long expects it to be. “I’m sure Fred (Brown – owner of Wythe Raceway) and Stan (Lester – FASTRAK President) will come up with a make-up date and we can get back up there and try to get that win.” Long added.

Long returned to the seat in mid-August traveling to West Virginia’s Thunder Mountain Speedway for a FASTRAK SE/ME Touring doubleheader. “Thunder Mountain was a really neat place. We enjoyed the trip up there. It had a really cool atmosphere with a big crowd to watch us run. It had tight corners but it was still pretty racy. We had a rough night on Friday. The car just wasn’t very good and then it got worse when lost the brakes. Thunder Mountain is impossible without brakes so we parked and worked on it.” Long lamented. On Saturday however Long was able to get a better feel for the track and felt like he had a shot at a top 5 finish. “We made lots of changes for Saturday and had the car pretty good. We qualified 9^th and the car was much better in the feature. We made it up to 6^th and had a flat tire. I know we had at least a 4^th place car but we just had some bad luck.” Long said.

“We have had kind of an up and down few weeks but I believe we are hitting our stride just at the right time. There a lot of big shows coming up and I want to capitalize on the momentum that we have built with the last couple of races.” Long added. Long will return to action at Carolina Speedway in Gastonia, North Carolina this Friday for night #1 of NDRA Dirt Wars. Long is optimistic about his chances at Carolina. “We ended up finishing 3^rd at Carolina in the final NDRA Road Show a couple of weeks ago so I feel like we definitely have a good shot at the win.” Long will then move south to the ½ mile Lancaster Speedway in Lancaster, South Carolina for night #2 of Dirt Wars. Long picked up his first win of 2011 at Lancaster back in June. Long also plans to be at Cleveland County Speedway on Friday night, September 16^th for the Inaugural Bill Hendren Memorial which will be a FASTRAK SE/ME Touring event.

Matt would like to thank the following for their continued support of his Circle K Race Team : Circle K Convenience Stores, Heintz Performance, VP Racing Fuel, Integra Shocks and Springs, Port City Racing, FK Rod Ends, Kooks Custom Headers, Raceceiver, JM Adams Oil, Q Racing Oil, Franklin Racing, Dirtwrap, Jim Cook Transmissions, K&N Filters, Stock Car Steel, SRI Supplies, ButlerBuilt, City Chevrolet, , Valken Racing Wheels, MD3 Noses, Team Clay, KELCAR Motorsports Media, J&J Race Cars, Brembo Brakes, Fragola, and Simpson.

Race fans can keep up with Matt Long and his Circle K Racing Team in several ways. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattLongRacing or you can “friend” Matt Long Racing on Facebook or you can simply point youir web browsers to the all-new www.mattlongracing.com . There you will find a fully up-to-date schedule as well as information about the team and their sponsors. The latest Circle K Team apparel will also soon be available via the site or at the Circle K Team Hauler at the track. 

For more information including store locations visit the Circle K Company website at www.circlek.com 

Matt would like to also have his fans and supporters check out the Circle K Southeast Chevrolet Camaro give-away going on now. Visit http://www.facebook.com/CircleKSoutheast?sk=app_210624788971449 and register for a chance to win 1 of 2 ThirstBuster Chevrolet Camaros from Circle K Southeast.

Upcoming Circle K Racing Team Events:

Friday, September 9 – Carolina Speedway – Gastonia, NC –NDRA Dirt Wars Night #1

Saturday, September 10 – Lancaster Speedway – Lancaster, SC – NDRA Dirt Wars Night #2

Friday, September 16 – Cleveland County Speedway – Lawndale, NC – FASTRAK Bill Hendren Mem.

Click Below to Enter

http://www.facebook.com/#!/CircleKSoutheast?sk=app_210624788971449

Lancaster, South Carolina

On Friday night Long returned to Carolina Speedway for the NDRA Weekly Racing event where he turned in a 5^th place qualifying effort. At the drop of the first green flag Long knew he had a car capable of winning. “I just took off. Everybody, or at least I thought everybody, was still struggling with the new configuration at Carolina but our car was just locked in. We got to the lead in about 5 or 6 laps and I was thinking we were finally gonna get back into that City Chevrolet Victory Lane but with just a few laps left Parker caught us. We had a hell of a race and in the end he was able to get by me to win. That guy is strong right now. He came from the rear of the field so congrats to him on the win. We will be back to try and beat him next week.” Long added.

Saturday found Long and the Circle K Team at Lancaster Speedway in Lancaster, South Carolina for another NDRA Weekly Racing event. Long laid down a lap in time trials which put him second quick overall just a few ticks behind quick qualifier Ross Bailes. “The car was great in the feature. We were able to grab the lead right off the bat and then led every lap to get the win. We really needed it. That really helps us to get qualified for the NDRA Roadshow that’s coming up in a few more months. We have worked really hard on the car the last few weeks trying to dig out of the hole that we seemed to be in lately. We haven’t been terrible by any means. In fact we have had several good runs this year but we needed to get that win to solidify that we were going in the right direction.” said Long.

This coming weekend Long and his team will head back to Carolina Speedway for the NDRA Weekly event. This weekend however Long will have some extra incentive to get his second win of the year. Carolina Speedway has placed a $500 bounty on Ron Parker. If someone can take the win and Parker finishes on the lead lap that driver will pick up an additional $500. Add to the longtime Matt Long Racing sponsor FK Rod Ends has added another $500 if an FK sponsored driver can pick up the win. With the bounty money and increased purse for the weekend Long will be gunning for a possible $2100 winner’s purse.  Long will make a decision on Saturday racing closer to the weekend but he has narrowed it to ether the Fastrak Southeast Touring event at Hartwell Speedway in Hartwell, Georgia or the Fastrak Weekly event at Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Virginia. Watch the website and the Matt Long Racing Facebook page for the schedule decision.

Matt would like to thank the following for their continued support of his Circle K Race Team : Circle K Convenience Stores, Heintz Performance, VP Racing Fuel, Integra Shocks and Springs, Port City Racing, FK Rod Ends, Kooks Custom Headers, Raceceiver, JM Adams Oil, Q Racing Oil, Franklin Racing, Dirtwrap, Jim Cook Transmissions, K&N Filters, Stock Car Steel, SRI Supplies, ButlerBuilt, City Chevrolet, , Valken Racing Wheels, MD3 Noses, Team Clay, KELCAR Motorsports Media, J&J Race Cars, Brembo Brakes, Fragola, and Simpson.

Race fans can keep up with Matt Long and his Circle K Racing Team in several ways. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattLongRacing or you can “friend” Matt Long Racing on Facebook or you can simply point youir web browsers to the all-new www.mattlongracing.com . There you will find a fully up-to-date schedule as well as information about the team and their sponsors. The latest Circle K Team apparel will also soon be available via the site or at the Circle K Team Hauler at the track. For more information including store locations visit the Circle K Company website at www.circlek.com 

Matt would like to also have his fans and supporters check out the Circle K Southeast Chevrolet Camaro give-away going on now. Visit http://www.facebook.com/CircleKSoutheast?sk=app_210624788971449 and register for a chance to win 1 of 2 ThirstBuster Chevrolet Camaros from Circle K Southeast.

Upcoming Circle K Racing Team Events:

Friday, June 24 – Carolina Speedway – Gastonia, NC –NDRA Weekly – possible $2100

Saturday, June 25 – TBA – Hartwell Speedway or Wythe Raceway

On Friday night Long returned to Carolina Speedway for the NDRA Weekly Racing event where he turned in a 5^th place qualifying effort. At the drop of the first green flag Long knew he had a car capable of winning. “I just took off. Everybody, or at least I thought everybody, was still struggling with the new configuration at Carolina but our car was just locked in. We got to the lead in about 5 or 6 laps and I was thinking we were finally gonna get back into that City Chevrolet Victory Lane but with just a few laps left Parker caught us. We had a hell of a race and in the end he was able to get by me to win. That guy is strong right now. He came from the rear of the field so congrats to him on the win. We will be back to try and beat him next week.” Long added.

Saturday found Long and the Circle K Team at Lancaster Speedway in Lancaster, South Carolina for another NDRA Weekly Racing event. Long laid down a lap in time trials which put him second quick overall just a few ticks behind quick qualifier Ross Bailes. “The car was great in the feature. We were able to grab the lead right off the bat and then led every lap to get the win. We really needed it. That really helps us to get qualified for the NDRA Roadshow that’s coming up in a few more months. We have worked really hard on the car the last few weeks trying to dig out of the hole that we seemed to be in lately. We haven’t been terrible by any means. In fact we have had several good runs this year but we needed to get that win to solidify that we were going in the right direction.” said Long.

This coming weekend Long and his team will head back to Carolina Speedway for the NDRA Weekly event. This weekend however Long will have some extra incentive to get his second win of the year. Carolina Speedway has placed a $500 bounty on Ron Parker. If someone can take the win and Parker finishes on the lead lap that driver will pick up an additional $500. Add to the longtime Matt Long Racing sponsor FK Rod Ends has added another $500 if an FK sponsored driver can pick up the win. With the bounty money and increased purse for the weekend Long will be gunning for a possible $2100 winner’s purse.  Long will make a decision on Saturday racing closer to the weekend but he has narrowed it to ether the Fastrak Southeast Touring event at Hartwell Speedway in Hartwell, Georgia or the Fastrak Weekly event at Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Virginia. Watch the website and the Matt Long Racing Facebook page for the schedule decision.

Matt would like to thank the following for their continued support of his Circle K Race Team : Circle K Convenience Stores, Heintz Performance, VP Racing Fuel, Integra Shocks and Springs, Port City Racing, FK Rod Ends, Kooks Custom Headers, Raceceiver, JM Adams Oil, Q Racing Oil, Franklin Racing, Dirtwrap, Jim Cook Transmissions, K&N Filters, Stock Car Steel, SRI Supplies, ButlerBuilt, City Chevrolet, , Valken Racing Wheels, MD3 Noses, Team Clay, KELCAR Motorsports Media, J&J Race Cars, Brembo Brakes, Fragola, and Simpson.

Race fans can keep up with Matt Long and his Circle K Racing Team in several ways. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattLongRacing or you can “friend” Matt Long Racing on Facebook or you can simply point youir web browsers to the all-new www.mattlongracing.com . There you will find a fully up-to-date schedule as well as information about the team and their sponsors. The latest Circle K Team apparel will also soon be available via the site or at the Circle K Team Hauler at the track. For more information including store locations visit the Circle K Company website at www.circlek.com 

Matt would like to also have his fans and supporters check out the Circle K Southeast Chevrolet Camaro give-away going on now. Visit http://www.facebook.com/CircleKSoutheast?sk=app_210624788971449 and register for a chance to win 1 of 2 ThirstBuster Chevrolet Camaros from Circle K Southeast.

Upcoming Circle K Racing Team Events:

Friday, June 24 – Carolina Speedway – Gastonia, NC –NDRA Weekly – possible $2100

Saturday, June 25 – TBA – Hartwell Speedway or Wythe Raceway

After a couple of weeks off Long is very excited to get back to racing beginning this Friday night at Carolina Speedway in Gastonia, North Carolina. “I have been very busy the last few weeks with business and family obligations that prevented us from racing. We had a family wedding that was out of town and the then the following weekend I was traveling on business. So I am itching to get back to the racetrack and get our momentum back going. We were starting to get back to where we were at towards the end of last year as far as comfort and momentum. So I am ready to get back after it and try to get Circle K back in the winner’s circle again.” Long added.

As of now, Long definitely plans to be at Carolina Speedway on Friday night for the NDRA Weekly event. His Saturday plan is still somewhat up in the air. “Saturday is probably going to be a last minute decision. We are fortunate to be close to several tracks that are running Crate Late Models on Saturday nights. We will likely choose from Wythe Raceway (Rural Retreat, Virginia), Lancaster Speedway (Lancaster, South Carolina) or Friendship Speedway (Elkin, North Carolina). All three are great places to race. A lot will depend on how Friday night goes. But we plan on racing somewhere on Saturday night for sure.” Long concluded.

Matt would like to thank the following for their continued support of his Circle K Race Team : Circle K Convenience Stores, Heintz Performance, VP Racing Fuel, Integra Shocks and Springs, Port City Racing, FK Rod Ends, Kooks Custom Headers, Raceceiver, JM Adams Oil, Q Racing Oil, Franklin Racing, Dirtwrap, Jim Cook Transmissions, K&N Filters, Stock Car Steel, SRI Supplies, ButlerBuilt, City Chevrolet, , Valken Racing Wheels, MD3 Noses, Team Clay, KELCAR Motorsports Media, J&J Race Cars, Brembo Brakes, Fragola, and Simpson.

Race fans can keep up with Matt Long and his Circle K Racing Team in several ways. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattLongRacing or you can “friend” Matt Long Racing on Facebook or you can simply point youir web browsers to the all-new www.mattlongracing.com . There you will find a fully up-to-date schedule as well as information about the team and their sponsors. The latest Circle K Team apparel will also soon be available via the site or at the Circle K Team Hauler at the track. For more information including store locations visit the Circle K Company website at www.circlek.com 

Upcoming Circle K Racing Team Events:

Friday, May 6 – Carolina Speedway – Gastonia, NC – NDRA Weekly

Saturday, May 7 – TBA

Concord, North Carolina – As the 2011 racing season begins to get cranked up around the country, Concord, North Carolina racer Matt Long and his team are busy preparing their Rocket Race Car for their first event of the year. For 2011 Long’s #25 machine will have the Circle K Convenience Stores brand dominating his new paint scheme. “We had such a great run with GazZu Energy Drinks as our primary sponsor for the last three years. The sampling that we did was so popular with the race fans. It definitely made our pit area a stopping spot and I believe we were very successful in introducing the GazZu brand to tons of new consumers. For 2011 the folks at Circle K, which is the parent company of GazZu, decided to turn the focus of their marketing efforts with our team to their more stores and their ThirstBuster® fountain drinks. We have a great looking new blue and white Circle K ThirstBuster® paint scheme and we are excited about kicking off the season in our new digs.” Long commented.

“We are very happy with the exposure that Matt and his team have given us the last few years. He has brought our GazZu Energy Drink line to multitudes of new consumers and we felt like Matt could bring that same level of exposure to our Circle K Convenience Stores and specifically to our ThirstBuster® Fountain Drink brand. Matt and his team present a very professional image at the racetrack and they do a very good job for Circle K. We couldn’t be more proud to be associated with Matt and his team.” said Circle K Category Manager Russ Kidd. For more than 50 years, Circle K has been one of North America’s most popular and successful operators of convenience stores. Today, there are more than 3,000 Circle K stores across the USA and over 4,000 international locations. Circle K’s mission is to be the best and most convenient place to shop, and work. Their stores are known around the world for offering busy consumers a wide variety of quality products and services in a fast, friendly, and clean environment. Your neighborhood Circle K store features Circle K Premium Coffee® ThirstBuster® fountain drinks, beer, snacks, candy, ATMs, prepaid wireless phones, Gift Cards, money orders, and general merchandise.

Long is hopeful that he and his team will continue to improve upon their strong 2010 performance which included 8 wins, 19 top five finishes and 31 top ten finishes in the 43 events he entered. Highlighting Long’s 2010 was his victory in the crate late model portion of the very prestigious 38^th Annual Carolina Shrine 100 at Carolina Speedway in Gastonia, North Carolina. “We had already won a few races at Carolina earlier in the year but that win at the Shrine 100 was huge. Everybody really wants to win that race and have that on their racing resume. The race has such a rich history and it really means a lot to our team to add our name to that list of winners.” Long added. Also among Long’s 2010 triumphs were three victories at Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Virginia. Wythe Raceway is widely regarded as one of the Southeast’s best racing facilities. “I just love Wythe. It is an awesome track. It’s super-fast and very racy. There is also some of the toughest crate racers in the country there every week, so to get three wins up there was very special.” said Long.

Matt would like to thank the following for their continued support of his Circle K Race Team : Circle K Convenience Stores, Heintz Performance, VP Racing Fuel, Integra Shocks and Springs, Port City Racing, FK Rod Ends, Kooks Custom Headers, Raceceiver, JM Adams Oil, Q Racing Oil, Franklin Racing, Dirtwrap, Jim Cook Transmissions, K&N Filters, Stock Car Steel, SRI Supplies, ButlerBuilt, City Chevrolet, Valken Racing Wheels, Five Star MD3 Noses, Team Clay, KELCAR Motorsports Media, J&J Race Cars, Brembo Brakes, Fragola, and Simpson.

Race fans can keep up with Matt Long and his Circle K Racing Team by pointing their web browsers to the team’s home on the World Wide Web located at www.mattlongracing.com there you will find a fully up-to-date schedule as well as information about the team and their sponsors. The latest Circle K Team apparel will also soon be available via the site or at the Circle K Team Hauler at the track. For more information including store locations visit the Circle K Company website at www.circlek.com 

Upcoming Circle K Racing Team Events:

March 4 and 5 – Modoc Speedway – Modoc, SC – Fastrak – Modoc 100

March 11 and 12 – Carolina Speedway – Gastonia, NC – NDRA – Skyler Trull Memorial

Concord, North Carolina – As the 2011 racing season begins to get cranked up around the country, Concord, North Carolina racer Matt Long and his team are busy preparing their Rocket Race Car for their first event of the year. For 2011 Long’s #25 machine will have the Circle K Convenience Stores brand dominating his new paint scheme. “We had such a great run with GazZu Energy Drinks as our primary sponsor for the last three years. The sampling that we did was so popular with the race fans. It definitely made our pit area a stopping spot and I believe we were very successful in introducing the GazZu brand to tons of new consumers. For 2011 the folks at Circle K, which is the parent company of GazZu, decided to turn the focus of their marketing efforts with our team to their more stores and their ThirstBuster® fountain drinks. We have a great looking new blue and white Circle K ThirstBuster® paint scheme and we are excited about kicking off the season in our new digs.” Long commented.

“We are very happy with the exposure that Matt and his team have given us the last few years. He has brought our GazZu Energy Drink line to multitudes of new consumers and we felt like Matt could bring that same level of exposure to our Circle K Convenience Stores and specifically to our ThirstBuster® Fountain Drink brand. Matt and his team present a very professional image at the racetrack and they do a very good job for Circle K. We couldn’t be more proud to be associated with Matt and his team.” said Circle K Category Manager Russ Kidd. For more than 50 years, Circle K has been one of North America’s most popular and successful operators of convenience stores. Today, there are more than 3,000 Circle K stores across the USA and over 4,000 international locations. Circle K’s mission is to be the best and most convenient place to shop, and work. Their stores are known around the world for offering busy consumers a wide variety of quality products and services in a fast, friendly, and clean environment. Your neighborhood Circle K store features Circle K Premium Coffee® ThirstBuster® fountain drinks, beer, snacks, candy, ATMs, prepaid wireless phones, Gift Cards, money orders, and general merchandise.

Long is hopeful that he and his team will continue to improve upon their strong 2010 performance which included 8 wins, 19 top five finishes and 31 top ten finishes in the 43 events he entered. Highlighting Long’s 2010 was his victory in the crate late model portion of the very prestigious 38^th Annual Carolina Shrine 100 at Carolina Speedway in Gastonia, North Carolina. “We had already won a few races at Carolina earlier in the year but that win at the Shrine 100 was huge. Everybody really wants to win that race and have that on their racing resume. The race has such a rich history and it really means a lot to our team to add our name to that list of winners.” Long added. Also among Long’s 2010 triumphs were three victories at Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Virginia. Wythe Raceway is widely regarded as one of the Southeast’s best racing facilities. “I just love Wythe. It is an awesome track. It’s super-fast and very racy. There is also some of the toughest crate racers in the country there every week, so to get three wins up there was very special.” said Long.

Matt would like to thank the following for their continued support of his Circle K Race Team : Circle K Convenience Stores, Heintz Performance, VP Racing Fuel, Integra Shocks and Springs, Port City Racing, FK Rod Ends, Kooks Custom Headers, Raceceiver, JM Adams Oil, Q Racing Oil, Franklin Racing, Dirtwrap, Jim Cook Transmissions, K&N Filters, Stock Car Steel, SRI Supplies, ButlerBuilt, City Chevrolet, Valken Racing Wheels, Five Star MD3 Noses, Team Clay, KELCAR Motorsports Media, J&J Race Cars, Brembo Brakes, Fragola, and Simpson.

Race fans can keep up with Matt Long and his Circle K Racing Team by pointing their web browsers to the team’s home on the World Wide Web located at www.mattlongracing.com there you will find a fully up-to-date schedule as well as information about the team and their sponsors. The latest Circle K Team apparel will also soon be available via the site or at the Circle K Team Hauler at the track. For more information including store locations visit the Circle K Company website at www.circlek.com 

Upcoming Circle K Racing Team Events:

March 4 and 5 – Modoc Speedway – Modoc, SC – Fastrak – Modoc 100

March 11 and 12 – Carolina Speedway – Gastonia, NC – NDRA – Skyler Trull Memorial

Just as the previous week, Long started Friday night off at Carolina by winning his heat race in dominating fashion. “We actually improved our lap times over last week. I really didn’t know that would be possible. But the car was even better this week. I have been really praising the guys at Integra Shocks and Springs the last few weeks. They have put together a package specific to the crate car that is just right on the money. Because the crate cars run slower they really need some different things than that of a super late model. We have always had great support from our other sponsors but we were just missing that little something. I really think the biggest part of this year’s improvement in our performance has been the Integra Shock program. It just fits what we needed and got us up and over the hump. I couldn’t be more pleased with what we have going on right now.” Long added.

On Saturday the team traveled to Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Virginia for a Fastrak Weekly Racing Series Twin Feature double header. “We wanted to go to Wythe and run up there to help us get in our races for Fastrak. And I really love Wythe. Fred Brown and his wife are great folks who have one of the best short tracks anywhere in the Country. So I like to get up there as often as I can.” Long said. Long met with some difficulty in time trials and found himself starting deep in the field for the first feature of the night. “I just screwed up in qualifying. I can’t blame anyone but myself for that one.” However Long’s machine was strong for the feature as he worked his way up to finish third behind winner Brandon Umberger and runner-up Fastrak National Champion Shanon Buckingham.

The second feature was lined-up by inverting the top six from the first feature. This put Long starting out in the fourth position. When the green flag waved for the second feature Long immediately began moving to the front. Taking the lead early from Clinton Cook, Long marched on to take his second win in as many nights and his first ever win at Wythe. Long was followed to the line by Buckingham, David Watt and Cook. “I cannot tell you how much it means to me to get a win at Wythe. Winning there was almost as big as my first win. I just love that place. And the track was really awesome Saturday. It was really slick and you could move around and race all over it. That was just the icing on the cake for such a great weekend.” Long said.

Matt would like to thank the following for their continued support of the GazZu Energy Drinks Race Team: GazZu Energy Drinks, Circle K, Heintz Performance, VP Racing Fuel, Integra Shocks and Springs, Raceceiver, JM Adams Oil, Quaker State, Franklin Racing, Dirt Wrap, Jim Cook transmissions, K&N Filters, Stock Car Steel, SRI Supplies, ButlerBuilt, City Chevrolet, Valken Racing Wheels, Victory Manufacturing, Five Star, SMP Motorsports, Deluxe Metals, KELCAR Motorsports Media, J&J Race Cars, CV Products, Simpson and Motorsports Designs.

Race fans can keep up with Matt Long and the GazZu Orange Energy Drinks Racing Team by pointing their web browsers to the team’s home on the World Wide Web located at www.mattlongracing.com .There you will find a fully up-to-date schedule as well as information about the team and their sponsors. The latest GazZu Energy Drinks Team apparel is also available via the site or at the track at the by visiting the GazZu Energy Drinks team hauler. Free GazZu Energy Drinks samples are also available at the team hauler.

Long’s Friday night performance was a very strong showing. “We won the heat and led every lap of the feature. And we put up our best lap times of the year Friday night. Our program is just really working like it should right now. I still can’t thank the folks at Rocket Chassis and Integra Shocks and Springs for getting us pointed back in the right direction. We have been in the hunt at every race we have been at since they put us on this new package.” Long added. On Saturday night Long finished in the ninth position which propelled him into fifth in the overall NDRA Heintz Performance Road Show standings. “We had a pretty good car at I-77 I have just got to figure out the adjustments I need when I’m there. We were just a tick off where we needed to be.” said Long.

Long and his GazZu Race Team will be appearing Tuesday night, May 4th at Buffalo Wild Wings in Gastonia on the Red Clay Tuesday Radio Show. Red Clay Tuesday is broadcast every Tuesday night on WGNC AM 1450 and on the web at www.wgnc.net every Tuesday night from 7 to 8 PM EST and features dirt racing drivers from around the region. Long is excited about being on the very popular show. “There are just a ton of people who show up for the show. It is a very neat experience to get to meet and interact with those fans. Plus the radio broadcast is also very popular so we really get the chance to promote our team and more importantly we can introduce GazZu Energy Drinks to even more folks. We will be giving out GazZu samples as well as some t-shirts and things. So we hope to see a lot of people down there on Tuesday.” Long said.

Long and his GazZu Team will once again be headed to Carolina Speedway this Friday night for another NDRA Weekly Racing Series event. The team’s Saturday plans are still up in the air however they are leaning towards making the northern trek to Fred Brown’s Wythe Raceway for their Fastrak Weekly Racing Series event. For more information stay tuned to the team’s website at www.mattlongracing.com

Matt would like to thank the following for their continued support of the GazZu Energy Drinks Race Team: GazZu Energy Drinks, Circle K, Heintz Performance, VP Racing Fuel, Integra Shocks and Springs, Raceceiver, JM Adams Oil, Quaker State, Franklin Racing, Dirt Wrap, Jim Cook transmissions, K&N Filters, Stock Car Steel, SRI Supplies, ButlerBuilt, City Chevrolet, Vulcan Racing Wheels, Victory Manufacturing, Five Star, SMP Motorsports, Deluxe Metals, KELCAR Motorsports Media, J&J Race Cars, CV Products, Simpson and Motorsports Designs.

Race fans can keep up with Matt Long and the GazZu Orange Energy Drinks Racing Team by pointing their web browsers to the team’s home on the World Wide Web located at www.mattlongracing.com There you will find a full and up-to-date schedule as well as information about the team and their sponsors. The latest GazZu Energy Drinks Team apparel is also available via the site or at the track at the by visiting the GazZu Energy Drinks team hauler. Free GazZu Energy Drinks samples are also available at the team hauler.

Upcoming GazZu Orange Energy Drink Racing Team Events:

May 7 – Carolina Speedway – Gastonia, NC – NDRA Weekly Event

May 8 – TBA