No Long-shot, Johanna Long Wins 43rd Derby
Debris littered the half-mile oval one final time Sunday atFive Flags Speedway. This time, though, no crew was about to clean it up. Pensacola teenager Johanna Long shed tears of joy after hoistingthe Tom Dawson trophy to celebrate an historic victory in the 43rd annualSnowball Derby. Long became the youngest, and just the second, woman to winthe Derby in one of the wildest finishes short-track racing’s most prestigious eventhas seen. She joins Eddie Mercer (2005), Dickie Davis (1971,’73) andWayne Niedecken Sr. (’68) as hometown heroes to find Victory Lane at the Derby. “It’s absolutely amazing,” Long, 18, said. “I can’t believeI did it. We worked so hard on this.” Long shifted into another gear late when several of Sunday’s16 cautions began to wave as the Derby neared its completion and drivers got antsy. Fresh tires allowed her to pass Landon Cassill on Lap 316for a lead she never relinquished, but not before Cassill went for a [...]