The NASCAR Chase occurs at the same time as the NHRA Countdown to the Championship so my availability to shoot NASCAR has been much less than in years past but luckily I had an opening in my schedule to head to one of my favorite tracks, Talladega. The high banked restrictor plate track has always been called the wildcard race of the 10 race playoffs because one persons mistake can quickly become your problem. This years race would be no different.
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For most people the July 4th weekend is spent with family, friends and fireworks. Not for me, the July 4th weekend means one thing to me. Daytona. While the summer time temperature in Florida is ridiculously hot the action on the track is usually hotter. Lets get on with it.
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As most of you guys know I shoot several NASCAR races every year. 34 of the 36 races races take place on various oval tracks but two occur on road courses where the drivers have to make left and right turns. Thats where things get fun. On top of seeing top level drivers look like confused amateurs it also is great to shoot unique photos that you cant get at any other tracks.
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Ever since the beginning of the year when NASCAR officials made the now famous quote, “Boys have at it” in regards to relaxed rules with bump drafting and drivers self policing the garage everyone has been waiting for the drivers to get on track at the biggest and baddest track on the circuit. Talladega. The racing would more than live up to the hype. Strap in tight, its gonna be a bumpy ride!
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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!
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As with the previous four years of covering NASCAR the final race of the 2009 season would once again be all about Jimmie Johnson. This time he was closing in on a historic (and unprecedented) fourth straight championship.
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After several weeks in the past few months on the road covering NASCAR it was great to have a weekend at home as NASCAR made their second stop of the year to the Phoenix International Raceway for the second to last race on the year. While PIR isn’t known for exciting races it is absolutely known in the motor sports photography world for some amazing light. Check it out.
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After a few years of not shooting NASCAR at Charlotte I decided I wanted to cover the fall chase race at the Lowes Motor Speedway. It is a great track to shoot at and usually is an action packed race. The one thing I wasn’t expecting though was the low temperatures (40s) or the high ISO’s (6400).
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It had been three years since my last venture to New York to shoot NASCAR at the historic Watkins Glen International, and after the fun I had shooting the previous road race in Sonoma I figured why the hell not. Watkins Glen is in the middle of nowhere New York in the picturesque Finger Lakes region. Like the surrounding hills and green of the region, the track is a beautiful place to shoot. On to the fun!
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After 5 days of attempting to get over screwing up and missing the Carl Edwards crash in Talladega it was time to put it behind me as I made the trip up to Richmond, Virginia for a nice weekend of NASCAR on the 3/4 mile short track of Richmond International Raceway.
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