Continuing the underfunded team series and how low budget teams make it to each race. This week we take a look at MBM Motorsports who is a team owned by Carl Long. The team fields the number 66 on a part-time basis in the Monster Energy Cup Series and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series fielding the 13 and 40. Both of these rides have numerous drivers throughout the year.
Carl started racing in 1983, but he started “eagle motorsports in 1994 to keep his late model team organized,” Long said. “Jim Robbins from Romeo Guest Construction helped me with getting a corporation started.”
With low budget teams always trying to make it to every race, it can be challenging and difficult at times. For most teams, they sometimes have to plan weeks in an advance on who will race for them. In Carl’s case, this is what he is doing most of the time as an owner of two teams. “It’s hectic,” Long said. “I’m always trying to plan ahead with which cars to use, different drivers to drive, the engines and so on. “It’s very tough,” Long exclaimed. “I can not buy anything new hardly, so all my cars used. If it was not for Derek White and Josh Jackson, we would have not made it this far.”
Most of the time a team has only volunteers working for them, but sometimes, there are some teams that do have full time employees. However, that can be rare for most teams, as it varies across all three series and depends how much the team can afford to pay its workers. For MBM Motorsports, it has “10 full time employees,” Long said. In this case, teams are working hard 24/7 to make it to each race weekend, even on an off weekend teams are continuously prepping for the next race.
The last time Carl Long fielded his own team before 2017 was eight years ago, where they attempted to qualify at Daytona but failed to do so. Recently, he was welcomed back into the series, where the team made their first attempt at Kansas this year. Long was certainly feeling the love. “My highlight of my career was being allowed to go back into the Cup series,” Long said. “With all the people saying welcome back.” While they have attempted some races, there was a rough patch where he withdrew from the Coca Cola 600 back in May. However, the MBM Motorsports team recently had a big success at Indianapolis, where the team finished 14th.
For a team low budget team, it gives them and their sponsor exposure. “Indianapolis finish is big because it allows us to show potential sponsor, that we are a legitimate team,” Long explained. For the rest of 2017, Long has a main goal in mind. “To get my cars fast enough,” Long said. “People will want to bring sponsor money to drive with MBM.” Not only does he have a main goal throughout the season, he has a future outlook in store in a highly competitive sport, “to be fully sponsored and a top 20 effort weekly.”
Social Media interaction is a huge difference maker in the sport. For Carl, he does most of the work, “social media is addicting,” Long emphasized. “I post most of my updates and comments. I also stop stop rumors sometimes created by uninformed web surfers.” In regards to social media, he hopes fans “keep tuning in to our Facebook page and buy products from our sponsors.”
You can like MBM Motorsports Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/MBMMotorsports/, while you can like Carl Long Motorsports as well at https://www.facebook.com/carllongmotorsports/.
You may also follow MBM Motorsports on Twitter @MBMMotorsports
