2010 Snowball Derby Johanna Long Spins Out Landon Cassill and wins Snowball Derby

[ChambanaWags86]

This doesn't show who did what there. "Racin' Deal".

[BackRowRacing98]

What's wrong with tight racing? She could have just wanted to get on his bumper and spun him or she had more momentum. I don't think she purposely spun him.

[oldgeezerman1]

She won the race fair and square. if you don't get out of the way in short track racing, you get moved....period. If the roles had been reversed, it would probably have happened exactly the same way. That's short trck racing at it's finest. Door to door, bumper to bumper, paint scraping paint. Glad to see the young lady win. Hope she continues to be aggressive and steady handed. great job!

[weekendwelder]

@lehighraiders73 yeah it sure was!

[lehighraiders73]

I was ther and that was one hell of a race!!

[storm24awesome]

are you from pensacola because i'm from pace

[fisheye48]

Looks like he left a little of the bottom open she stuck it under him and he tries to push her down and she doesnt move and he spins...thats racing

[phillip0120]

I also understand the frustration of fans who see the leader spin after contact time after time, but Jo came through the field without incident before taking the lead after she got her last set of tires. Should she at least not be commended for that, even if you think what she did to Cassill was "dirty?"

[motorheadtr3]

@phillip0120 Coming through the field clean should definitely be commended. The Cassill/Elliott incident, it definitely looks like Cassill's nose is at least up to the rear tire past the S/F line before braking for turn 1 but it's hard to tell. Elliott is running noticeably lower than the cars that are single file in order to defend, so I don't believe it was his normal racing line. FWIW, I've raced before but never at Five Flags, I respect your opinion. Better to move someone than to dump them.

[phillip0120]

@motorheadtr3 I'm just getting mixed signals, ppl are saying it was ok for Cassill to dump Elliot bc Elliot was blocking. Then they say Cassill wasn't blocking when he got dumped. Its obvious ppl commenting are biased to certain drivers. I am a Jo fan, so I might show bias towards her. I just know if you got Cassill's honest opinion, he would tell you he was blocking. When someone is leading late in the race they are going to block when they know the car behind them is coming. They arn't moving

[motorheadtr3]

@phillip0120 it's not a double standard. Blocking a car that's already low is basically spinning yourself out, which is what Chase Elliott did, while Landon did not spin himself out. He literally got jacked from behind after cleanly passing the other dude for the lead the lap before. I just saw great footage on facebook that Johanna was tagged in. It's easy to differentiate the two accidents. Running the low line in the corner isn't blocking unless you cut someone off on entry.

[phillip0120]

@motorheadtr3 Cassill was blocking also, I don't know how many times I'm going to have to say that! Put yourself in his shoes. His spoter is telling him the 10 is coming fast. What are you going to do??? I know you don't know what its like to race a 5 flags, so I willtell you. At five flags, where there is only one grove, you are going to enter the corner low and exit lower. Look at Cassill's pass for the lead, he was higher on the track when he was making a PASS. Case closed...

[motorheadtr3]

@phillip0120 actually no, Landon wasn't higher on the track when he was passing for the lead according to every single video I've seen. Search the one on facebook, it has a great view of turns 1 & 2. I'm talking specifically about what caused these wrecks. Cassill did not make a block when he got dumped. What your'e saying holds no water, you're just defending blindly. Blocking while someone's low is different from getting run over doing nothing wrong. Don't race if you don't understand that.

[motorheadtr3]

@phillip0120 ah, I forgot you wrote that you're a Jo fan so that you may show bias towards her. That's pretty much what it comes down to. Just because you say something doesn't mean it's true. All the videos tell the tale. You may have raced at Five Flags, but I've raced at other ovals in the past and it basically comes down to clean racing vs dirty racing. I'm sure Landon did some blocking that race, I'm sure Johanna did too, but a block isn't what caused Landon to spin. All there is to it.

[phillip0120]

@motorheadtr3 I agree Jo dumped him, I'm not arguing that. What I am arguing, however is why she had to dump him. Back the tape up to the lap where cassil takes the lead in turn two. Notice how low he is on the track to make that pass...That's the same line he took the lap he got dumped. when you get in and off the corners lower than you normally would bc you know the car behind you is faster, it's called blocking! He knew how much faster she was on new tires, and he knew he had to block to win.

[phillip0120]

@motorheadtr3 Also, You don't have to swirve for it to be considered blocking. Altering your path so that the car behind you can't get around you is blocking also. I think you are confused on what blocking means. Jo is a vertran at 5 flags. She knows not to even try the outside there, and so does Cassill. One lap around the top will burn off your tires faster than 5 laps on the bottom there. Again, if you had old tires at the derby and a faster care was on your bumper, what would you do?

[phillip0120]

@motorheadtr3 Ceck out that "2010 Snowball Derby finish" video...Look at Jo's line when she was out front and leaving the field. Notice how high she entered trun 1? That is the fastest line at 5 flags. Enter a car length high and cut down to the end of the pit wall to the center. Cassill ran that same line in qualifying. Did he run that line when he got turned?

[motorheadtr3]

@phillip0120 I donno what line Cassill ran in qualifying, I'm just going off of the race videos. I couldn't say what line the different leaders were running aside from the clips I've watched. Makes sense if he entered early to protect the low line. I think with fresher tires and a clearly much faster car, she easily could've won the race cleanly by timing her run right off of turn 2. Instead, we saw what happened. I totally would respect the outcome of the race much more if it was clean. 

[phillip0120]

@motorheadtr3 As a race car driver, you know that cars don't get through the corners at the same speed lap after lap. Jo could have been timing her run based on his speed in the corner the lap before, and for whatever reason he didn't get through the corner as fast that time (ie cutting his entry to sharp). With two laps to go on a half mile track, you don't have time to wait. I just think it's unfair to put all the blame on her , that's all I'm saying. and your apology is excepted.

[motorheadtr3]

@phillip0120 either way, i think we both make sense to each other and our points have been made. i know i exuded arrogance at a few points so i apologize for that. i think we both know how we feel, i understand where you're coming from by saying that an early entry can be construed as blocking.. i just think it didnt make a difference at that point cause she didn't have position on him. a lot of big late model races turn into this, i guess it's the nature of the beast

[phillip0120]

@motorheadtr3 Also, my final observation is: did you notice Jo getting dumped at any point in the race? No, you know why? She never blocked anyone. It's hard to get dumped when you get out of the way. The reason you see ppl blocking and getting dumped more at 5 flags is bc there is only one grove (the bottom). The top is almost impossible pass on, especially when passing a good car. It shreds rubber like no other track. That's why the Derby is one of the most exciting races of the year.

[phillip0120]

My opinions on the matters I talk about are biased since I am a race car driver at 5 flags. Again, I know how hard it is to make a pass when a descent car is blocking, or at least driving lower than normal. All bets are off when going for the win at the Derby. Also, if you are going to bump someone, do it coming off the corner. This is not only my opinion, but also the opinion of every other driver I have talked to.

[phillip0120]

For the criticists out there who have never stepped foot in a race car at five flags, It is extremely difficult to pass a descent car cleanly when they are blocking. Cassill certainly had the right to block, but when you block at five flags be prepared to get dumped, especially when the car behind you has fresh tires and is going for the snow ball.

[Dredden1]

Dumped? He was a sitting duck with old toires. Get tires or get the F out of the way aT 5 fLags

[cookieboy17]

cassill deserved it for dumping chase elliot, he's nothing but a punk who got a good taste of karma.

[motorheadtr3]

@cookieboy17 car low vs driving into the back of somebody. Landon was there and Chase blocked, not exactly karma

[phillip0120]

@motorheadtr3 FYI if your nose isn't to the door of the car you're trying to pass, or at least to the rear tire, you are to back off if you want to pass cleanly. His nose was barely to the corner panel of Chase, who was running the fastest line on the track at five flags. Watch qualifying if you want to see the "line." anything below that line is blocking. Chase was running his "normal" line and since Cassill didn't have his nose far enough, Chase had the right to come down.

[weekendwelder]

@ajcrdstr24 I if Chase Elliot wouldn't have wrecked on the 298th lap, there wouldn't have been cautions, and I think he would have won.

[speedshot4591]

@weekendwelder There is yet another view of the incident, from the tower, where you can see the cars from the side, if that would help. Check out '2010 Snowball Derby finish'. It is one view of four cameras we had on the tower that night!!

[ajcrdstr24]

Nice to see things from a different angle. I was near the start-finish line and didn't get to see the Long/Cassill incident. If it wasn't for all those cautions at the end I don't think Johanna would've had enough time to catch Wilson for the win. However, it's the Snowball Derby! It would've been neat to see Donnie Wilson and crew chief Freddie Query pull off the upset, but congrats to Johanna Long and all her hometown fans.

[simracer]

Cassill blocked coming out of 2. Johanna was low and he came down on her.

[chadden24]

pollard came down on wilson. fuck its the snowball derby. if your complaining about this go watch sprint cup races. this is real racing!!! thanks for the video!!!!!

[weekendwelder]

@smfins My other video is of chase getting "dumped". That was an exiting race though, wasn't it!!

[Smfins]

respect? were you at the race? cassill "dumped" Chase Elliot just a few laps back, and Donnie Wilson who finished second "dumped" Bubba Pollard a few laps earlier. and on and on. My point is that all these front runners were guilty of a little Dumping! LOL But.......... What an exciting race!!!

[motorheadtr3]

@Smfins yeah, isn't it a shame when all the front runners get into a dumping match? what a shame that the "best" of the short track aces can't have a clean race. but to be fair, this uploader has the video of Chase Elliott getting spun, and Landon was there for the entire frontstretch and Chase went for a huge block and spun himself. Landon couldn't go any lower

[phillip0120]

@motorheadtr3 Did it not look like the same happened with Cassill, except it was coming off the corner? I'm pretty sure I saw Jo on the pavement on the inside of the track trying to get under him...

[motorheadtr3]

@phillip0120 Cassill wasn't blocking. When the camera pans over to the accident, Landon's already starting to spin and there's still only maybe 3 feet worth of room below his rear tires. No, the Chase Elliott incident wasn't the same as the Cassill incident when it comes to outside car blocking. It's clear that he wasn't deviating his normal racing line. I prefer clean racing to cheap shots, I guess you feel differently. That's just a personal opinion. Many agree with my opinion, & many don't.

[phillip0120]

@motorheadtr3 After rewatching, he did start to spin before she was as low as I thought when it happened. The point is that Cassill was blocking. I have driven at FFS and finished second in points in the open wheel modified division in 2009. I know what blocking looks like at this track. If you look closely, Cassill was higher on the track when making the pass for the lead than he was when he was spun. When a car is lower on the track when spun than he was making a pass, he is blocking.

[Leonefan]

To be fair, it wasn't really clear what happened. Just saw the tail end of Cassill going around.

[motorheadtr3]

can you say DUMPED? that may get you a win but that won't get you respect.