Welcome to Indiana-ville: Penske's Power Takes Indycar Grand Prix - Again; Carpenter Upsets Penskes for 500 Pole

Penske Racing owner Roger Penske - "The Captain"

There's a special connection between the Indycar teams of Roger Penske and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), and they proved it once again as Will Power got his third win in the Indycar Grand Prix on the IMS road course out of the five times the event has been held. That Penske stranglehold on P1 at IMS did not hold up for Indy 500 qualifying however, as local favorite Ed Carpenter was the only driver in Sunday's Fast 9 to crack the 230 mph barrier in taking pole position and holding off Penske's four horsemen, Helio Castroneves, Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud. Power took the Grand Prix pole position to kick off the month of May and then followed that up with a masterful drive on the road course to claim his 30th career Indycar win. It was also the 200th win in Indycar for Penske. The drive of the day was turned in by Scott Dixon however, who had a miserable qualifying effort and started 18th. After "throwing in the kitchen sink" before Saturday's final Grand Prix practice session, Dixon managed his fuel and tires to snag second place over rookie Robert Wickens who had another impressive outing after starting on the front row. Wickens admitted he did not have the experience to manage the dwindling late race fuel supply like Power or Dixon, but he managed another podium finish while holding off Alexander Rossi.

Robert Wickens (6) has been the series' most impressive rookie so far

Having a race on the IMS road course to start off the month of May is a relatively novel concept since it was only introduced in 2014 and this year's event was held Friday May 11th and Saturday May 12th to very receptive crowds. A little over a week later after several practice days on the oval, the field was set for the 102nd Indy 500 on Sunday May 20th. The Carb Day final practice period is already this coming Friday and the 500 is Sunday! Where did the month go? I have been so busy since the month started that I haven't been able to finish this blog post even though I started it over a week ago. For me, May is like working two jobs as I take care of my teaching responsibilities and then banzai out to IMS to catch time during practice on the weekdays. Then I am up until 10:30 or 11 each night to finish editing my images for the day and then upload them to the MPS Agency website and another French site every night. The time difference means my French counterparts will just about be getting up around the time I upload my images since they are 6 hours ahead of us. Then Saturday and Sunday brings Indy 500 Bump Day and Pole Day with very early photo meetings both days and 14 to 18 hour days taking photos or editing and transmitting them. It is physically exhausting but I don't mind for a second. My fiance calls me the "Energizer Bunny" since I keep going and going!

The Pagoda Tower plaza is quiet after practice

Whether it's the Grand Prix or the 500, I cover a lot of ground at the Speedway whenever I am there, and my step counts reflect that as I have to make my way around the circuit on foot. I have always felt like IMS is a home away from home since I've been going out there so long. I once calculated that if I added up all the days I have been at the Speedway for practice, qualifying or a race since I first started going in 1970, and you put all those days back to back, then you could say that I had spent almost 2 years of my life at the track! The coolest part is I am still learning as a photographer, even though my first race with credentials was in 1984. And I never take any of the experience for granted as it is humbling to think that I am contributing to the documentation of a great American sports institution at what one of my photographer friends called "The Cauldron of Speed."

Will Power is almost unbeatable on the IMS road course

While IMS feels like home to me, Will Power is turning the Indycar Grand Prix into his personal playground. Power said afterward that this year's race was the toughest he had driven on the IMS road course. I would chalk that up to a number of factors. First, the newer Indycar body kits with less downforce were noticeably slower in the corners and drivers were all having to work much harder to get their cars to turn in. Second, while I had expected record lap speeds due to the decrease in downforce, the opposite turned out to be true. The cars were obviously quicker in a straight line but that increased speed dissipated in later braking and more difficulty in putting the power down while exiting the corners. The good news for fans was that these factors created a lot of great racing and overtaking at the key braking zones in Turn 1 at the end of the oval's main straightaway, at Turn 7 at the end of Hulman Boulevard in the infield, and entering Turn 12 where they go inside Turn 1 of the oval track.

If a French driver like Simon Pagenaud wins the 500, that will help MPS Agency

I am providing photography this May for French media company, MPS Agency, and I had an absolute blast walking all over IMS during the Grand Prix weekend. I wanted to get lots of variety in the photos I would deliver to MPSA so shooting from multiple different vantage points was a must. I usually start off a race with something resembling a strategy and then adjust as I read the race, so this year was no different as I knew I would start the race in Turn 1 where history has shown that accidents often occur on the first lap. Sure enough, I had Jordan King come through the sand trap and stop at my feet after punting Simon Pagenaud who spun through the sand and kept going. On many races, I try to follow a "shoot 10 laps and move" strategy which allows me to cover most of a racetrack no matter its size. At Indianapolis, that is a daunting task and I ended up logging nearly 18,000 steps on my pedometer for the Grand Prix race day as a result. Thankfully the rains never came which had been predicted originally (I was prepared if it had rained) and the weather was warm but still pleasant. It was definitely a workout getting from one end of the circuit to the other with about 25 pounds of camera guy strapped on, and my legs were on fire walking up the stairs to the Penthouse seating with about 25 laps to go in the race. When the Grand Prix was over, I was exhausted but happy with the work I had done but I knew I still had a lot of editing to do to wrap up the event before the emphasis switched over to the Indy 500 in just a couple of days.

Helio Castroneves is a sentimental favorite to win the 500 for the 4th time

This past Tuesday was the first day of practice for the Indy 500 and my goal was to be working every day I could make it out to the track once my teaching duties had been fulfilled. I didn't miss a day but the time was extremely limited until Friday when I could be there all afternoon. As the sole representative for MPSA, I had some work to do with the IMS photo staff to ensure the access I needed to do the best possible job for MPS Agency and everything I could have hoped for came together. The weekend culminated with some great shot of the pole winner Ed Carpenter, his family and team after the pole award ceremony Sunday evening. I still am not sure about my race day access for the 500 yet but I will find that out on Carb Day. I am optimistic and excited to be shooting another Indy 500 as a credentialed photographer for the 31st time! There's nothing like it so come on out and join the fun this weekend.

To see photo galleries from my May work at IMS on the MPSA website, please click here for the Indycar GP and click here for Indy 500. See you at the track!