So on the first day of 2010 I present my final Best of 2009 blog. So without further adieu here are my best crash and burn images of 2009. Enjoy!
Below, ARCA RE/MAX Series driver J.R. Fitzpatrick slides on two wheels over as he crashes during the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway.
Nikon D3, 600mm with 1.7 convertor (1000mm), 640iso, f6.7, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority
Below, ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Ryan Fischer (15) nearly flips over during a multi car accident in the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway.
Nikon D3, 600mm with 1.7 convertor (1000mm), 1000iso, f6.7, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority
Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Brian Vickers (83) leads the field as Greg Biffle (16) and Dale Earnhardt Jr (88) spin during the Bud Shootout at Daytona International Speedway.
Nikon D3, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/640th, Manual
Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver A.J. Allmendinger (44) drives through the middle as Kyle Busch (18), Denny Hamlin (11), Kasey Kahne (9), Jimmie Johnson (48) crash during the Bud Shootout at Daytona International Speedway.
Nikon D3, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/640th, Manual
Below, you can actually see the soft wall bending at the moment NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano hits the inside wall during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
Nikon D3, 600mm with 1.7 convertor (1000mm), 1600iso, f6.7, 1/1600th , Aperture Priority
Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano spins through the infield grass after crashing during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
Nikon D700, 70-200mm, 640iso, f4.5, 1/800th, Aperture Priority
Below is a video of the crash.
Below, NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Michael McDowell drives in flames after blowing an engine during the Stater Bros 300 at Auto Club Speedway.
Nikon D3, 400mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual
Here is a video of McDowells fiery ride.
Below, NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Kyle Busch (18) and Scott Speed (99) crash during the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Nikon D3, 600mm with 1.7 convertor (1000mm), 800iso, f8, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority
Below, nostalgia top fuel dragster driver Dan Horan (right) goes airborne after crashing into Mike Chrisman during qualifying for the March Meet in Bakersfield, CA.
Nikon D3, 600mm, 640iso, f8, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority
Horan slides along the wall with a stuck throttle following the crash.
Nikon D3, 600mm, 640iso, f8, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority
Nostalgia funny car driver James Generalao exploded an engine during qualifying, below.
Nikon D3, 600mm, 800iso, f8, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority
One of my more exciting shots of the entire year would be shot by one of my remote controlled cameras. I had a few remote cameras set up on one lane, while I would use a handheld camera to shoot the other lane. During nostalgia funny car qualifying I shot the car in my lane as he went through the finish line. I put the camera down and noticed the other car had blown the body off. I was PISSED for missing it but much to my delight I checked the remote camera and got the below photo as driver Tom Padilla blows the body off his car after suffering an explosion.
Nikon D300, 80-200mm, 500iso, f8, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority
Below, the body from the funny car of Tom Padilla flies through the air following the explosion.
Nikon D3, 600mm, 400iso, f6.3, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority
To really appreciate how lucky my remote was as well as how ridiculously high the body of the car flew you MUST watch the below video clip.
Below, nostalgia top fuel driver Mike McLennan exploded an engine in a small fire during evening qualifying for the March Meet in Bakersfield.
Nikon D3, 600mm, 1600iso, f5.6, 1/1250th, Manual
Below, NHRA top alcohol funny car driver Ken Webster blows the body off his car during qualifying for the Summitracing.com Nationals at The Strip in Las Vegas.
Nikon D700, 600mm, 250iso, f7.1, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority
Below is a layout showing the full sequence of Websters spectacular explosion.
Later that same day during first round of eliminations in comp eliminator Peter Adams was racing against Justin Lamb. He red lit but evidently he didn’t see the light as he continued on the gas. He quickly got out of the groove and lost control, spinning around and going up on two wheels, below. Surprisingly Adams never touched the wall or flipped over.
Nikon D700, 600mm, 320iso, f5, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority
Below is the full sequence from the almost crash.
Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Mark Martin (5), Scott Riggs (36), Kevin Harvick (29), Jamie McMurray (26), Kasey Kahne (9), Jeff Gordon (24) and A.J. Allmendinger (44) crash during the Aarons 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Nikon D3, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 320iso, f8, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority
Shot with a remote camera set up nearly 3/4 of a mile from my shooting position, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48), Juan Pablo Montoya (42) and Bobby Labonte (96) crash during the Aarons 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Nikon D3, 400mm, 640iso, f13, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority
In what will most likely be one of the scariest crashes in NASCAR history, driver Carl Edwards (below) goes airborne on the last lap during the Aarons 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Nikon D3, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 500iso, f7.1, 1/800th, Aperture Priority
The actual impact of the crash sequence was garbage from my angle due to having WAAY too much lens. Don’t believe me? Look below.
After landing back on the ground Edwards destroyed car slid to a stop, below……..
Nikon D3, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 500iso, f7.1, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority
……where he quickly climbed from the car to run across the finish line.
Nikon D3, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 500iso, f7.1, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority
Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers David Stremme (12), Jimmie Johnson (48) and Kasey Kahne (9) crash during the Russ Friedman 400 at the Richmond International Raceway.
Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/640th, Manual
Indy Light driver Martin Plowman crashes during the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, below.
Nikon D700, 400mm, 400iso, f5.6, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority
Unlimited lite driver Leroy Loerwald flips end over end during practice for a Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series event in Lake Elsinore, CA.
Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 320iso, f6.3, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority
Here is the sequence of the spectacular accident.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch (18) spins after contact with Tony Stewart (14) on the last lap during the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, below.
Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/500th, Manual
After the hard crash an uninjured Busch walks away from his completely destroyed car.
Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/640th, Manual
Here is the video of the crash.
Below, IHBA top fuel hydro driver Scotty Lumbert (right) loses control and crashes alongside John Haas during qualifying for the Augusta Southern Nationals on the Savannah River.
Nikon D700, 600mm, 500iso, f6.3, 1/3200th, Manual
NHRA funny car driver Robert Hight explodes an engine during qualifying for the Fram Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway, below.
Nikon D700, 400mm, 1250iso, f2.8, 1/500th, Manual
Below, flames trickle into the cockpit of NHRA top fuel dragster driver Cory McClenathans car after blowing an engine during qualifying for the Fram Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway.
Nikon D700, 600mm, 250iso, f6.3, 1/1600th, Manual
Below, pebbles fly from a sand pit alongside the course as NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Matthew Carter (61) spins off course during the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International.
Nikon D700, 400mm, 400iso, f6.3, 1/2000th, Manual
Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Marcos Ambrose (47), Dale Earnhardt Jr (88), Reed Sorenson (43), Sam Hornish Jr (77) and Elliott Sadler (19) crash during the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway.
Nikon D700, 400mm, 200iso, f4.5, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority
Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kurt Busch does a 200 mph lawnmower job as he slides through the infield grass during the Amp Energy 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway.
Nikon D700, 600mm, 320iso, f7.1, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority
Below, sparks fly as NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Mark Martin slides on his roof after flipping over during the Amp Energy 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway.
Nikon D700, 600mm, 800iso, f4, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority
Here is the full sequence of the massive crash.
Below is the video of the crash.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Robby Gordon (7), Jeff Gordon (24) and Scott Speed (82) crash during the Amp Energy 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway.
Nikon D700, 600mm, 800iso, f4, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority
That wraps up 2009′s best crashes and fires!
5 Responses to “Best of 2009: Best Crash Photos”
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Thank you so much for sharing your shots Marc, as well as the full sequence. I love how you shoot through the entire event. I usually stop shooting earlier to avoid filling my buffer, save on card space, and not have as many throw-away shots, but I actually like what you do better. Thanks for helping me learn to shoot longer and find more gold in my photos.
err, Mark, not Marc. Happy New Years either way!
Noice work Mark, i need to start shootin some stuff from the deep end at the strip, pitty i dont have the baller 600 tho….
keep it up mate.
Amazing photo’s all of them, while i have see most of them on the bog its cool to see the photo’s again that where so great!
Mark,
Awesome photos, you captured all angles. The Carl Edwards/Talladega shot says it all.