It hasn't been the season the crew at ML Motorsports expected or hoped for. With that being said, the Warsaw-based NASCAR Nationwide Series team is using Saturday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to build some momentum for the 2014 season, which opens in February at Daytona International Speedway. “It's been disappointing,” said Team Manager Tony Barnes. “We thought we'd have a better season than last year, but we haven't. We know our cars are capable of finishing in the top-15, top-10 on a consistent basis. We know we're better than this.” Running a partial schedule, the team has competed in 19 of the 32 Nationwide Series races this year with 21-year-old Pensacola, Fla., native Johanna Long behind the wheel of the Mary Louise Miller-owned No. 70 Chevy. Long's best finish this season is a 12th-place run at Iowa Speedway, which also ties her career-best finish in 40 Nationwide Series starts. In 19 races this season, Long has an average starting position of 23rd and an average finish of 23rd. After nine of those races, Tim Frantz, the team's truck driver, has hauled a wrecked racecar back to the team's shop on U.S. 30W. “Last year, with Johanna as a rookie, our goal was to finish in the top 20 or 25,” said Barnes. “This year we upped our goal to top-15 finishes, and we just didn't get it done. With the equipment and motors we have, we’re better than this.” ML Motorsports buys chassis from Richard Childress Racing and engines from Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines. It's the same package Austin Dillon has under his No. 3 RCR Chevy. Dillon holds an eight-point advantage over Sam Hornish Jr. in championship standings heading into the final race of the season. “We're already working on cars at the shop for next season,” said ML Motorsports crew chief Mark Gutekunst. “A good run, a good finish, something to give us momentum going into the offseason, is what we're looking for this weekend. It hasn't been the season we hoped it would be. We need to go down to Miami and finish the season strong.” Long's contract with ML Motorsports is up at the end of the season.
