Carl Long is living the life most NASCAR fans can only dream about.

He works as a crewmember for a Sprint Cup Series team, as a spotter for Nationwide teams, and has competed in 45 NASCAR events. He’s never really been a contender but he has done more than most in the sport all on a shoestring budget.

On May 16 however Long’s world began to slowly come apart. During practice for the qualifying race for the All-Star event, the engine in Long’s racecar failed. As they are supossed to do, after changing it the team handed the engine over to NASCAR inspectors who found that the engine Long’s car was too big.

According to NASCAR the engine was 0.17 cubic inches beyond the 358-cubic inch limit spelled out in the rules. Later that week they gave Long a 12-week suspension from all NASCAR competition, docked him 200 points, and fined both him and crew chief Charles Swing $200,000—the largest amount in NASCAR history.

For a guy who makes his living as a journeyman in NASCAR, not being allowed to go into a NASCAR garage was a huge blow to Long.

Long naturally appealed the punishment.

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