Gary Longo, the racer

Gary Longo, 25, is in his first year of racing in the Trans-Am series. And in only his second full season as a racer, he had already shown his talent and ability before the tragic accident in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada.

Longo was racing in a new car at the Mosport event. He was in the LAC Motorsports Panoz Esperante when he came into turn one in a cloud of dust and T-boned the Corvette driven by Michael Gagliardo. Longo survived. Gagliardo did not.

Longo had surgery on Monday, May 20th for a broken neck (C2 vertebrae) at Sunnybrook Medical Centre in Toronto. His condition was upgraded from critical to serious and he is stabilized.

According to Keith Kelly, LAC Motorsports, Longo has communicated the fact that he wants to be able to return to racing next year. "It's just too early to tell," Kelly said. "There's substantial bruising to the spinal cord. When that goes down, we'll know more."

Longo is a former Marine and a former go-cart racer prior to becoming a marketing rep for Miller Brewing Company while attending college. However, his dream has always been to make a career doing what he loves best - racing! Longo attended the Skip Barber Racing School at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. In 2000, he won the Rookie-of-the-year title in the Barber Racing program.

Longo finished 28th at Sebring in his TransAm debut in March. At Long Beach, he finished in 20th position. In the first two races of the 2001 TransAm season, Longo was in a Camaro.

Longo's new bride, Molley (nee Akey) was at the track and remains with him in Toronto along with other family members.

Cards may be sent to Gary at: <pre> Mr. Gary Longo Attn: Wickes Lumber 706 North Deerpath Drive Vernon Hills, IL 60061 </pre>

Motorsports.com extends our thoughts and wishes for a complete recovery the Gary Longo and his family.

-nancys@motorsport.com