Local racer Brandon Long excited about chance to drive in Indiana

Brandon Long is by all accounts a young man at 27.

But in 2017, guys much younger than him are winning Indy Car races and NASCAR events.

But while the 2008 Burkburnett High School graduate is realistic about his chances of winning one of those events, he’s having a blast building his car and seeing how far his drive and talent can take him. After all, as he says, it’s a “13-month-a-year hobby.”

The Wichita Falls racer recently won enough racing sprint cars in Texas to take a shot at a circuit in Indiana.

“I was fortunate enough to get a good start here in Texas, running the ASCS 305 and up at Lawton Speedway in their weekly show,” Long said. “That gave me an opportunity to go on the road with Brady Bacon and eventually led this opportunity. I’m going to move to Kokomo, Indiana — I’ve got a good job there — and go racing in that area where most of your USAC and all-star and World Outlaws stuff is. I hope to knock a dent in it.”

Long loves driving but his passion for building the car came at a young age.

“It’s a passion. I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and think of something I need to do,” Long said. “I never have time. It’s a 13-month-a-year hobby.”

His recent success, winning $2,500 one weekend, was nice. But he realizes it’s a hobby, not a money-maker probably. The ones that get started that young on the big circuits tend to have a lot of money behind them. Money creates opportunities.

“If you can get your pit pass money and fuel money back, then you’re ahead,” Long said. “It’s like a second job that pays less than minimum wage. Long hours for not a lot of money. You have to love it.”

On the track, he did enjoy a move up in power with the sprint cars after a lot of racing at Lawton Speedway.

“The closing speed is so much different and the biggest thing is your competition level,” Long said. “You run against guys who have been on the Outlaw tour and if you start the race wrong, you’re done. Your margin for error is small.”

His goal with this move?

“Originally my goal was to run a competitive ASCS car like I’m in now, but since I’ve gotten to this point, I want to be competitive in a 410 and whatever I do I just want to be good at it,” Long said. “I take a lot of pride in it. I build my own engines.

“You’re only as good as the guys you race against. There are so many race tracks up there that it’s like a scene. Indiana is the heartland of the stuff.”

Steven Young, one of the directors for the Texhoma Racer’s Reunion, is proud to see a youngster interested in building his engine, not just ordering from a catalog.

“The neat thing is Brandon has the ability to build his own stuff and there’s not a handful of guys who can build their own engines who race in this degree,” Young said.

In some cases, Long was learning to do it himself to save his pocketbook.

“I can’t always spend the money, but there should be no excuse that anyone would outwork me,” he said. “I take care of a group of guys’ cars, too, for a side income. And I went on the road for a couple years (Brady Bacon) to learn about it. I was crew chief. Obviously, when you’re at the races you wish you were racing, but we ran like 90 times and you can really learn a lot. And I was fortunate enough to go to Australia.”

When asked about his other sports, he said he loved football “but I was never big enough. I always got creamed.”

But he found his passion. And he had a chance to run a race on the dirt track at Texas Motor Speedway. That was a big thrill, although he hopes his chance in Indiana will add more career highlights. He said local sponsors Kelly Propane, TNT Signs and KPE Racing "have played a huge part in the success I've had."

“Got a run there (at TMS) and Ricky Stenhouse and Tony Stewart and all the NASCAR guys were there and they put their driving suit on just like you do,” Long said. “It was a lot of fun. It was one of the biggest grandstands I’d seen.

“Being out there every week like they are, going 60-70 times in a year, my schedule is like 25 times. It puts a perspective on how much they have to want it. The thing is you’re not going to get any better sitting at home.”