Wahoos to honor Johanna Long

NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Johanna Long will throw out the first pitch, meet with fans and sign autographs Saturday at the Pensacola Blue Wahoos home game against the Chattanooga Lookouts.

Long, 20, is a Pensacola native and attended Pine Forest High School. Her father, Donald Long, raced in the defunct NASCAR All-Pro Division; Johanna convinced her father to let her race go karts when she was 8. Long won the prestigious Snowball Derby in 2010 and raced in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series in 2011 before moving to the Nationwide Series this year. She ranks 17^th in the Nationwide points standings despite starting just 14 of 20 races. She’ll skip races in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Montreal before returning to the track Aug. 24 in Bristol.

The baseball game between the Wahoos, Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, and Lookouts, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Double-A farm team, begins at 6:30 p.m.