Daily Photo Challenge Week 3: Up In the Air

Midgets and sprint cars are prone to getting upside down

Rarely does anything good happen when a race car leaves the ground. The best that one can hope for is that no one gets hurt when a car goes airborne. It's almost expected that open wheel cars like sprints and midgets will catch air at some point, since the risk of wheel to wheel contact or interlocking wheels is ever present. Anytime you see it happen, it's scary and the result can be tragic. Thankfully, even though I have been shooting racing for over 30 years and have seen plenty of flying race cars, I have never been in a position to shoot an incident which ended tragically. I hope I never am. In my lead photo, USAC driver Shane Hmiel was able to walk away from this flip in his midget at Lucas Oil Raceway in 2008, but he is still recovering from serious injuries suffered in a dirt track race a couple years later.

That's the ugly side of being a motorsports photographer: getting pictures of incidents where drivers or spectators are injured or worse. As a photojournalist, you just know you have a job to do - bring home the stories of the event in pictures - and incidents often take center stage. Eventually, if you do this long enough, you will shoot all kinds of havoc. You may also run into other gremlins that make the job even more difficult. I wrote about the vagaries of bad weather in  my last post which gave the background on the seven pictures I used for my Week 2 theme of "water". But awful weather is just the beginning! If a car catches air, sometimes you're too far away to get a decent shot. Sometimes you're just in the wrong position through luck or timing. Or your equipment fails. Or you were tracking another race car. But sometimes it all comes together and you get "the shot". At those moments, when you've recorded something spectacular, it's a special feeling - one that I keep chasing from track to track.

I recently completed Week 3 of my 42 Day personal photo challenge after covering the themes of fire and water the first two weeks. For Week 3, I chose "air" as my theme. Some people say it is better to be lucky than good but I've never agreed with that. I do believe that luck is where preparation meets opportunity and I try to live by that at the racetrack. The stories behind the following photos will expound on that mantra so be prepared!

Air: Day 15

The following photo of Mike Conway's horrific last lap crash in Turn 3 at the 2010 Indy 500 was the most spectacular incident I have ever photographed. Race leader Dario Franchitti had already taken the white flag and I had just switched on my Sony digital voice recorder to get wild sound of the final lap and the public address system. I heard (and felt) a loud thump off my left shoulder so I turned and started shooting, at first picking up Ryan Hunter-Reay's damaged car, then following him until Conway's flying Dallara came into the frame. This photo was taken an instant before Conway's left front wheel snagged a catch fence pole and the car basically exploded. The race was over, the crowd behind me was absolutely buzzing, and I ended up with an incredible photo sequence along with about 15 minutes of sound from before and after the incident on my Sony recorder. Occasionally that sound file comes up in shuffle play in my iTunes and I am instantly taken back to that afternoon. I was prepared to shoot all the way to the checkered flag but have to say I got lucky that day too when the opportunity arose. Thankfully, despite serious injuries he sustained in this crash, Mike Conway returned to race again and win in Indycars and sports cars.

Air: Day 16

Everyone knows how much I enjoy shooting at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course. It's a scenic track, less than four hours from Indy and not far from where my Mom lives. The weekend is usually a three day feast of race cars and on-track action from dawn to dusk. The 2007 Indycar weekend was not marred by "moisture" which usually seems to hit the track on race weekends, and I had already logged two full days of walking and shooting when the Indycar race rolled around on Sunday afternoon. The Esses at the end of the backstretch is the place to be for race starts at Mid Ohio as the whole field must funnel into a downhill right hander then the track turns left almost immediately over the crest of a little hill. I like to go on the inside of that crest where the corner workers are stationed to get the fans in the background and get as close as possible to the racing surface. This photo is from the start in 2007 when Marco Andretti and Tony Kanaan tangled. Marco got the worst of it, ending up on his head in the grass across the track from where I was shooting.

Air: Day 17

During the Indycar weekend at Chicagoland Speedway in 2007, the ARCA series also raced and this photo was as much about luck and positioning as anything. I had gone to the inside of the first turn to shoot the start and early laps of the ARCA race, but since it was a relatively short race and would probably only involve one pit stop, I didn't plan to stay there long. After a dozen or so laps, I was walking back to the pits to shoot pit stops when I noticed three cars getting together near the start-finish line, so I stopped walking and started shooting. One car caught a little air and the carnage continued past me down into the first turn where I had just been. So I hustled back there and got photos of Josh Wise walking away from his wrecked race car, which was now crumpled and burning in the background as he walked toward me. This one had both air and fire: the only thing missing was water.

Air: Day 18

I don't get the chance to shoot dirt track racing as much as I would like, but this shot of Brian Paulus flying over the berm at Lincoln Park Speedway during a 2006 National Sprint Tour event almost didn't happen for me at all. Lincoln Park is less than an hour from Indy so my original thinking was that shooting winged sprinters would be a fun, short road trip. I had started shooting for American Motor Journal that summer but when I got to the track, I was told that they never received a credential request. So I walked around to see if I could find other angles that might work if I decided to pay my way in. I stopped at the concession stand for a Diet Coke and to gather my thoughts and decided if I couldn't shoot from the infield, then I would just go home. I was walking back to my car when a young man I didn't know introduced himself as a PR assistant for the Tour and asked me if I needed access. I was wearing my favorite photo vest, had two cameras, flash and battery pack mounted and I guess I looked the part, so I was able to shoot that night after all. I'm glad I did as the Tour only lasted this one season (2006) and I got to see Steve Kinser, Danny Lasoski and a bunch of other winged sprint car stars do their thing on some Indiana clay.

Air: Day 19

Another track where I've really enjoyed shooting is Kentucky Speedway which is a little more than two hours south of Indy. Indycar always put on great races there which seemed to end in photo finishes every year. The track was plenty wide enough for some real wheel to wheel racing, which is even more true for the smaller cars of the Indy Lights series. Right after the start of the Lights race, there was a massive pile-up coming off of Turn 2 onto the backstretch and I saw two cars get airborne. I was shooting with my 70-200 and Canon's 2X extender to have more reach and I'm glad I did. After the race, I went in to the media center to talk to the late Ed Reinke of Associated Press about whether he wanted to look at what I had since there were no other photographers around when the crash occurred. I wasn't even shooting for AP that weekend, and I had only done Talladega and Daytona earlier in the year for the wire service, but Ed found something usable and I ended up with a photo of the day on some websites as a result. Godspeed Ed, and thank you!


Air: Day 20

This photo of Joss Moffatt flipping in USAC Sprints at Kokomo Speedway in July 2009 was another event that almost didn't happen for me. While it may not have been the most spectacular flip, I loved the evasive action being taken by the driver in the foreground and the wall completely caked with mud in the background - except for the one shovel width of concrete which had been cleared by the track crew so the drivers would know where the clay surface ended and the wall began. One of my "fire" themed shots (Casey Riggs) also came from this race so I was especially pleased to be able to get into the infield and shoot with all the regular USAC sprint car shooters.

Air: Day 21

Another track where I have come to love shooting is Talladega Superspeedway. NASCAR's high speed pack racing is always edgy and anything can happen, right up until the checkered flag falls. My October 2013 weekend proved that point as both the trucks and Sprint Cup races had airborne racecars on the final lap. Both races were fairly uneventful from my position and I remember saying to myself over and over "Be ready, be ready". This shot was from my sequence of Austin Dillon flying on the backstretch. Dillon was subbing for the injured Tony Stewart that weekend and I was positioned clear across the track at the top of the frontstretch grandstands. Little did I know that weekend would be my last opportunity to work with Associated Press staffer Dave Martin who passed away unexpectedly the following New Year's Eve while shooting the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. "Mullett", as he was known by his friends, always took care of me at Talladega and gave me a chance to "make some f-king pictures". I will never forget that and will try to pay his kindness forward.

This story brings me halfway through my personal 42 Day challenge! My next weekly theme will be "earth", so stay tuned race fans.

2013 Racing Sampler, Part 1: New Video

Part of the thrill of chasing race cars around the country with my cameras is reviewing the finished product. That is also some of the most tedious work involved since there are usually hundreds, if not a thousand or two, images to sift through after a race weekend. Multiply that by the number of race events I've done (and this year there were 10) and the editing process can be overwhelming. Thankfully, however, because of the nature of my assignments, most of the concise editing is done at the racetrack on any given weekend and I am still quite happy if 1 out of every 10 pictures is a keeper. Of course, I consider myself my own worst critic, although photo editors of the people I work for often make the final call. So putting together slideshows or other presentations is often not as daunting as you might think.

One of my goals going forward is to create more video content, even if it means putting still photos together with music, wild sound or narrative soundtracks (or some combination of them all). The following is one attempt to do so and includes photos from the IZOD Indycar Series, the Rolex GrandAm Series, NASCAR's Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series and the Firestone Indy Lights series taken at Indianapolis, Barber Motorsports Park, Mid Ohio and Talladega. I am calling it Part 1 for 2013 as I intend to do others over the next few months before I head to Daytona to shoot the Rolex 24 Hours race in January. Once that race weekend gets here, all bets will be off for 2013 and the images mostly get archived to make way for a new crop of images at various events. I have a few "sequels" in mind, but I had to start off with one that has music created by my son Max and no narrative track. There will be more as I work to polish my video production skills in anticipation of a major project I am working on for the summer of 2014. Details on that will be revealed as that time gets closer. Needless to say, lots of road miles on my '99 Integra will be involved, and I will be embedded in a six week frenzy of travel, shooting multiple events, and special video compilations to add to this blog as continuing chapters in this photographer's journey. Welcome to Indiana-ville, y'all!

Back on the Road: Indycar Weekend at Mid Ohio Next

Scott Dixon returns to Mid Ohio in the favorite's role

After a hectic weekend shooting at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week to wrap up July's racing calendar, I am excited about returning to the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend to shoot the Honda Indy 200 Indycar race and support events for motorsport.com. This scenic natural terrain road course is an annual fixture on my racing schedule and Indycar is my first racing love, so the chance to shoot here again is quite special for me. It is also a track that I have driven myself in the Mid Ohio Acura High Performance Driving School, so I can empathize (somewhat) with the drivers as they negotiate the undulations and rolling terrain of the racetrack. When track announcers talk about competitors racing through the Keyhole, Thunder Valley, Madness, or the Carousel, I know exactly where they are and have a view in my mind's eye of what that looks like.

Scott Dixon

But the man to watch this weekend is Scott Dixon. Scottie D has been the master of Mid Ohio more often than not the last few years and with his recent hot streak of three wins in eight days, he must be considered the favorite this weekend. Naturally the other Indycar competitors are going to do everything they can to break Dixon's recent stranglehold on Mid Ohio, but his recent win streak has vaulted Dixie into second place in the season points battle behind Helio Castroneves. The 2012 IZOD Indycar Series champ Ryan Hunter-Reay is third in the standings and within striking distance of a repeat championship although he needs a win this weekend to regain his early season momentum. While these three focus on the top step of the podium and the series points battle, drivers like Marco Andretti, Will Power and Simon Pagenaud are stalking the favorites and hope to use this weekend as a springboard to a late season challenge for season honors. Pagenaud got his first Indycar win earlier this season and has been strong on road courses so he's my darkhorse candidate to pick up a Mid Ohio win.

Ryan Hunter-Reay

Hunter-Reay was quickest in this week's open test at the track followed by Pagenaud and Power so clearly these three are on their game and prepared to challenge Dixon for Mid Ohio supremacy. Sebastian Bourdais's recent second place finish in Toronto's second race bode well for Dragon Racing and he was fourth quick in this week's testing session. Helio and Dixon were fifth and sixth in the test so all the top guns are locked and loaded for this weekend.

Carlos Munoz has shown speed and talent in Indycar and Indy Lights

The Firestone Indy Lights Series returns to Mid Ohio after a two year absence and Indy 500 rookie sensation Carlos Munoz is hoping to grab the first series championship for boss Michael Andretti and his Andretti Autosport team. Munoz was spectacular at Toronto filling in for the injured Ryan Briscoe at Panther Racing in the second Indycar race of that weekend after jumping into the car on race morning, so the road course prowess he has shown in both series should transfer well at Mid Ohio in Indy Lights. Given his dominance of the Lights race at the Barber Motorsports Park road course this past April, Munoz should adapt quickly to Mid Ohio which is similar to Barber in many ways and should pad his slim series points lead over Sage Karam.

Carlos Munoz has been Michael Andretti's prized pupil in 2013

The car count for Indy Lights this weekend is up to eleven and recent announcements about chassis updates and new management for the series should boost the competitiveness of the series in years to come. Perhaps these changes come too late for this weekend, but there is little doubt that those running Indy Lights are serious about winning and moving up to Indycars. Munoz has his eyes on the big prize in the series which is a $1 million "scholarship" that he can use to move up to the big cars next season. He is certainly deserving and has shown the speed and adaptiveness necessary to be competitive.

There are other changes afoot for this weekend with new competitors in Indycar as well. Alex Tagliani is out at BHA Racing and Luca Fillipi is in - at least for this race. Former Indy Lights competitor and two time Mid Ohio winner in Indy Lights James Davison is also running an Indycar this weekend - for Dale Coyne's team. Oriol Servia is back with Panther for Mid Ohio as the open driver auditions continue for the Panther seat vacated by the mid-summer dismissal of J. R. Hildebrand following his Indy 500 crash and string of mediocre results. One of the great things about shooting Mid Ohio is the plethora of on track action, so these drivers not only will benefit from the open test seat time but from the multiple on track sessions. Support series on the Mazda Road to Indy are also on the weekend schedule as well as the Pirelli World Challenge, so the photo challenges will be numerous.

And did I mention that it always seems to rain at some point during this race weekend? Everyone needs to be prepared for that likelihood as well. My only regret about this weekend is that the American LeMans Series is not on the schedule, so it will be interesting to see how that effects the crowd, especially on Saturday when ALMS has traditionally raced. My photog friends still tease me about getting drenched during the ALMS race a couple of years ago, and they know I am shooting this weekend, so I'm sure I will hear about being the "rainmeister" if we do get some "moisture". Y'all just better be ready! See you at Mid Ohio!

Ryan Hunter-Reay was fastest in the July 31st open test at Mid Ohio and should challenge for victory this weekend

Hunter-Reay Wins Barber Indycar Battle; Angelleli & Taylor Take Grand Am

Ready to go to work at Barber!

My first race for motorsport.com was thoroughly enjoyable and I was crazy busy from the moment I stepped on the grounds at Barber Motorsport Park Friday afternoon. And the racing was good too! Four races over Saturday and Sunday, plus practice and qualifying in the IZOD Indycar Series and Firestone Indy Lights series meant there was little time to rest and hundreds of photos to edit and upload. But I live for that and if you think you want to be a racing photographer, this post will give you an idea of what to expect. But first the racing.

Defending IZOD Indycar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay put Chevrolet on the pole and then took his first win since winning the season title in 2012. RHR led 53 laps and held off Scott Dixon who pushed him hard over the last third of the race. Dixon's runner-up finish was his fourth straight at Barber but he was unable to lead a lap despite his strong pace. St. Petersburg winner James Hinchcliffe was the first driver out of the race and Dario Franchitti left Barber last in the points standings, adding a mechanical failure at Barber to his crash at St. Pete. The star of the weekend however was rookie Tristan Vautier who got into the Fast Six in qualifying after Takuma Sato's times were disallowed for a blocking violation and then raced in the top five most of the day before settling for 10th. Helio Castroneves had a strong race and led 25 laps before finishing third ahead of Charlie Kimball who enjoyed a highly competitive weekend. Will Power finished fifth and was the only other driver to lead any laps with nine (9) total on the point. Helio left Barber with the championship points lead and may finally be in position to claim his first Indycar championship if the first two races of 2013 are any indication of things to come over the remaining 17 races. Simon Pagenaud, Marco Andretti, Justin Wilson and Josef Newgarden took sixth through ninth places.


To view some of my IZOD Indycar series photos from Barber, go to the following link at motorsport.com:

http://www.motorsport.com/indycar/photo/main-gallery/victory-circle-race-winner-ryan-hunter-reay-andretti-autosport-chevrolet-3/?sz=2&s=2&id=1537665&i=58


Sunday's Indycar race wrapped up a hectic weekend schedule and followed the Firestone Indy Lights race which was won easily by Carlos Munoz from the pole heading up a disappointing nine car field. So now these series move on from the Alabama roller coaster natural terrain paradise at Barber Motorsports Park to the seaside streets of Long Beach, California - the site of one of Hunter-Reay's greatest Indycar wins, following not long after his mother died from cancer. Another Andretti Autosport win will surely set them up as favorites for the Indianapolis 500, practice for which opens in a little more than four weeks from now.

To view my Firestone Indy Lights Series photos from Barber, go to the following link at motorsport.com:

http://www.motorsport.com/indylights/photo/main-gallery/carlos-munoz-andretti-autosport-34/?sz=2&s=2&id=1538031&i=1

While Sunday at Barber was dedicated to open wheel racers, Saturday was a mixed bag with practice and qualifying in the morning for Indycar & Indy Lights, and the afternoon filled with sports car racing. The Rolex Grand Am Series race ran for two hours and was followed by a longer race for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge which took the racing action almost up to dusk. Both races were highly entertaining as Wayne Taylor's Corvette team took the protoype and overall win with Max Angelleli and Jordan Taylor at the wheel. The Continental Tire series had a huge field of cars and one of my favorite paint schemed cars, sponsored by Rum Bum and driven by Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi, took the GS win. I love these series and am so glad that the Grand Am and American LeMans Series will merge in 2014 under the banner of "United Sportscar Racing", a move I along with many other American fans of sports car and endurance racing have long awaited. I know the 2014 Daytona 24 Hours will be a sight to behold and I hope to be there shooting.

To view some of my Grand Am photos from Barber, go to the following link at motorsport.com:

http://www.motorsport.com/grandam/photo/main-gallery/gs-winners-13-rum-bum-racing-matt-plumb-nick-longhi-8/?sz=2&s=2&id=1538021&i=53

Even though this was my first race weekend to shoot in 2013, it still felt like old home week down in Alabama. And saying I was "busy" doesn't do the time spent justice, as Saturday was a very long day with continuous shooting or editing photos from the time I arrived at the track for the 7:15 a.m. photo meeting to when I finally shut down my editing for the night at the hotel after 11:00 p.m. local time. Sunday was similar and even though the photo meeting was later than on Saturday, I still was at the track shortly after 7:00 a.m. to edit photos and update my blog, and had another 11:00 p.m. curtain call that night after still more editing.

So you think you want to be a motorsports photographer? You better be ready for anything, and come prepared to become immersed in the different world which exists at the tracks. When I am at a race, I feel both safe and confident. People will ask me if I worry about the danger, and I tell them no because I know what I am doing. I do not discount the risks involved by any means, but I've been doing this since 1984 and I know certain things in my bones: don't turn your back on the cars; don't walk in front of a crash track; communicate with corner workers; keep your eyes and ears open; and above all, know where to dive if a car heads in your direction. The challenges at each track are different - access, finding your way around, technical problems with camera gear, the internet or your computer, shooting locations, lighting, etc., - but sometimes the greatest challenge involves just getting to the track, as I discovered earlier this year with my planned Daytona 500 trip. For this trip I changed time zones twice and drove over 1100 miles round trip to make it happen. So if you can manage all that and still come away with some good pictures that help tell the story of a race event, then as tired as you may be afterwards, you will sleep soundly knowing that you gave it your all. And the sounds of race cars will continue to hum in your head for days to come. Until the next race.

I will see you then!

Franchitti Fastest on Indy Carb Day - Guerrieri Takes Indy Lights Win

Dario Franchitti led teammate Scott Dixon in Indy's Carb Day final practice

The Target Chip Ganassi Racing boys have thrown down the gauntlet at Indy for Sunday's 96th Indianapolis 500 after setting the pace in the final one hour Carburetion Day practice session with laps in excess of 222 mph. They were the only drivers to crest that mark and with their fifth and sixth row starting positions in the middle of the pack, their progress will be exciting to watch on race day. Pole winner Ryan Briscoe was the fastest Penske in fifth just behind Takuma Sato. Marco Andretti was the pacesetter for Andretti Autosport in third with teammates James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay in eighth and tenth respectively.

I was talking to a spotter for Townsend Bell while walking to my Turn 3 shooting location before the Carb Day runs and he said he thought race speeds would be around 213 to 215, so the big numbers put up by Dario and Scottie D surprised me somewhat. Getting through raceday traffic is always an issue and this year perhaps moreso with the impact of the larger tow from the new Dallara design still largely unknown. My February 2012 blog pick to win Indy, Helio Castroneves, lurks with the 11th fastest time from Carb Day and last year's hard luck champ JR Hildebrand rounded out the top 12. It is going to be hot and greasy so the teams are going to need all the downforce they can muster during the race to get a grip on Indy, especially in the corners. It is going to be fun to watch.

Indy Lights winner Esteban Geurrieri in Victory Lane

The Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100 was a thoroughly entertaining race as another comeback story unfolded at Indy. Esteban Guerrieri won from the back of the grid with a daring charge through the field. He had a wicked crash in Turns 1 & 2 in this race last year so seeing him take a win at Indy in a race filled with overtaking and two- and three-wide racing was a real treat. An early four car crash in two brought out a red flag for a cleanup, but when the race resumed, the competition was furious as multiple drivers took turns in the lead. Pole winner Gustavo Yacaman settled into a race pace that occasionally dropped him as far back as fifth, but he was in the hunt for the win in the closing laps. Unfortunately, another accident in Turn 2 on lap 38 meant the race finished under yellow so the sun baked fans who swarmed to Carb Day for the festivities never got to see a final shootout among the Indy Lights leaders. These guys have really figured out how to race in close quarters at Indy and this was arguably the best Freedom 100 in years.

I will be back shooting in Turn 3 again Sunday for the 500, which is my 37th straight and 39th in total overall. I started out as a fan and became a photographer because of my love for this race and nothing has changed through the years to diminish that. My hair is more sparse and a lot more gray, and I don't have to worry about anything other than being ready when the action begins. See you there! Until then, here are two slideshows from my work during Carb Day.

IZOD Indycar Series Carb Day final practice

Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100

Indycar's Chevy Has Will Power - And Fuel Mileage Too!

Will Power Wins 2nd Straight

The Long Beach Grand Prix IZOD Indycar Series race was again a shot in the arm for Penske's Chevy powered team, with Ryan Briscoe taking pole position for and Will Power hanging on for a second straight road course win from deep in the pack. Willy P grabbed the headlines with a masterful drive from a 12th place starting position after winning from 9th at Barber the previous race. Power winning on a road course is not a shocker, but it was Chevy who really surprised everyone with great fuel economy in its twin turbo engine after every Chevy powered team lost 10 grid spots following wholesale engine changes dictated by the manufacturer were made before the Long Beach weekend.

2012 Indy 500 Entry List

Now the teams head to Brazil following an off weekend to prepare and controversy has begun to swirl around the Indycar paddock. Chevy objected to Honda's turbo modification request to no avail after an Indycar appeal fell on deaf ears. And Lotus has lost two teams heading to Indy (Bryan Herta Autosports and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing) who could see the writing on the wall and were fearful of being totally uncompetitive in the 500. Lotus teams have been woefully underpowered and under-supplied so far this season after the engine mark's late start for the 2012 season, and BHA/DRR are the first to jump ship. After winning Indy last year with the late Dan Wheldon at the com, there's no way BHA wanted to show up this year and possibly miss the show.

Simon Pagenaud

With Indycar in Brazil this weekend for the last race before the Indianapolis 500, getting bumped out at the Brickyard is looking like a real possibility after all, with 34 car-driver combinations announced on the entry list and the possibility of two more in the works - one for Michael Shank Racing and one for Newman Haas which would feature former F1 star Jean Alesi. So far this season it's been all Penske all the time with wins for Helio Castroneves and two by Power, and there's no reason to believe this weekend will be any different. The Long Beach race was not without other interesting developments, despite the appearance of Penske dominance. After Graham Rahal jinked over in front of Marco Andretti who was attempting a pass, Marco got airborne after running into the right rear of Rahal's Dallara, so now Rahal is on six weeks of  probation for his subtle maneuver which created "avoidable" contact. No such determination was made when pole starting Dario Franchitti punted aggressive rookie Josef Newgarden in the first corner at Long Beach, but I chalk that one up to cold tires for Dario and a rookie mistake by Josef. It sure would have been nice to see him stick that move and lead the race for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing! That kid is quick and fearless so I am looking forward to seeing how he handles Indy. It was somewhat surprising that the grid penalties for all the Chevy engine changes were overcome at Long Beach, but it made for a thoroughly entertaining race, especially when Simon Pagenaud starting chopping a second per lap off of Power's lead in the last 15 laps. Brazil will likely include more of the same dramatic action as the teams are getting increasingly comfortable with the capabilities of the new DW12 chassis and the engine wars are heating up.

Mr. Mayor, @Hinchtown

Watch out for my man James Hinchcliffe who's the Go Daddy guy and ready to win races after a third place at Long Beach. He said on the post race interview that he would shave his head if he won the Indy 500 this year, and I can't wait to see what the Mayor of Hinchtown has up his sleeve to entertain the fans next! I still think it is going to be hard to unseat Penske at Indianapolis, and Helio is a strong candidate for the pole and race win once again.

Helio at 2012  Indy Test

In two weeks, all the teams come to Indy and practice starts May 12th at the Speedway with Rookie Orientation set for May 10th. After the recent open test at Indy where top speeds were only in the 218 mph range, it will be interesting to see what tricks the teams have come up with, and whether the pole speed will top 220 or not. I am most interested in Carb Day May 25th to find out how quick they will run in a pack to see if the new Dallara may actually run better in groups than by itself as winning the pole at Indy is certainly special, but leading the last lap after 500 miles is the real prize. There are 800 left turns involved, not 799 as J. R. Hildebrand found out last year to Dan Wheldon's benefit, so anything is possible at Indy so stay tuned race fans, for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing!  

Salem Speedway in Salem, Indiana

While my Indycar friends are racing south of the equator Sunday, I am trundling off to "God's Country" in southern Indiana to shoot the ARCA race at Salem Speedway, the fast & bumpy high banked half mile. The two series and locations are indeed world's apart, but I need to shoot a race and no one has offered to pay me to shoot Indycar in Brazil yet. I'm not about to pout over it as my racing schedule gets busier starting now. Next weekend I head to Talladega to shoot NASCAR for Associated Press and the following weekend the real excitement in Indianapolis starts to build as the Speedway opens once again. Now that my schoolwork is done for my teaching license, I am really looking forward to getting my cameras a workout at racetracks this season. Who knows what opportunities await me out there. I will see you at the track!

Stefan Wilson & Josef Newgarden Indy Lights Winners

Kentucky winner Stefan Wilson

Stefan Wilson, younger brother of injured IZOD Indycar Series driver Justin Wilson, took his second win of the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights series at Kentucky Speedway this past Sunday. Wilson drives for Andretti Autosport and his oval track win is in addition to the street course win he picked up at Toronto earlier this summer. Wilson's win came after a first lap crash wiped out five cars in the 13 car field and even though Wilson started from pole position, he had to race back into the lead later in the 100 mile race after Josef Newgarden came to the front for several laps. The early crash took most of the drama out of the event as the incident involved the back third of the field coming off the second corner of the first lap. Gustavo Yacaman endured the wildest ride of those involved in the crash as he got airborne and rode backwards along the top of the SAFER barrier with the top of the car close to the catch fencing. The slideshow which follows this post has multiple shots from my photo sequence and shows the chaos which ensued as I picked them up coming out from behind the infield fencing all wadded up together. I was halfway down the backstretch when the incident happened so I was fortunate to get the shots I did. Since the area inside Turns 1 and 2 had been closed off for safety reasons this weekend, the vantage point I took was out of character for my normal race shooting strategy but this time it happened to work out for me. As a result, I only shot the beginning of this race and Victory Lane, using the middle part of the race to download my crash images. I was especially happy to see USAC star and Mazda Road to Indy driver Bryan Clauson find his way through the melee and soldier on to a fifth place finish, his fourth Top 5 out of five Indy Lights races run this season.

Josef Newgarden celebrates season title with SSM Team after Kentucky 100

While Stefan Wilson won the race, the big winner was Josef Newgarden who easily clinched the season championship by virtue of starting the race. Leading a few laps was a bonus for Newgarden but the series title was a much needed boost for Sam Schmidt Motorsports (SSM). It was the sixth Firestone Indy Lights championship for the team led by the wheelchair-bound former Indycar driver Schmidt, and came within days of the sudden death of the team's manager Chris Griffis who had collapsed after playing pickup basketball recently. The team sported CG stickers on Newgarden's helmet and equipment to honor his memory, and Schmidt commented during the weekend that his death had him seriously shaken to the point of contemplating getting out of racing. That would be a shame as Sam has done wonders for young drivers who have driven his Indy Lights cars and his foray into Indycar ownership this season after purchasing the FAZZT race team has been largely successful for a small team going against the Penske-Ganassi juggernaut. The team has set up a fund to help the Griffis family so please give if you can. More information is available at the following link: http://www.samschmidtmotorsports.com/sam-schmidt-motorsports-creates-griffis-family-fund/. God bless the SSM family in this tough time. I hope they can put their energies into helping Dan Wheldon win the $5 million bonus next weekend at Las Vegas. Perhaps that will salve some of the pain they must be feeling with the loss of their comrade.

Stefan Wilson Wins Kentucky Indy Lights Race

Indy Lights melee at Kentucky Speedway saw Gustavo Yacaman get airborn

Stefan Wilson took the Firestone Indy Lights win over Josef Newgarden and Jorge Concalvez in a race where the field was decimated by a first lap crash which eliminated five of the 13 starters. Newgarden's second place finish was enough to clinch the season title, the sixth for Sam Schmidt Motorsports in Indy Lights. More photos and info from this race later today.

Stefan Wilson Takes Firestone Indy Lights Pole at Kentucky

Stefan Wilson accepts his pole award at Kentucky

While older brother Justin Wilson is on the mend from his back injuries suffered at Mid Ohio in August, kid brother Stefan Wilson continues to be a pacesetter in Indy Lights, taking the pole position at Kentucky Speedway yesterday. Likely the most disappointed Indy Lights competitor was Anders Krohn who was quick in practice but had a miserable qualifying run and will start last as a result of an engine change after qualifying. Thirteen cars will start today's 67 lap race with Brandon Wagner starting a surprising second and rookie Jacob Wilson starting third. Jorge Goncalvez starts fourth, Esteban Guerreri starts fifth and champion-to-be Josef Newgarden will start sixth. Road to Indy and USAC star Bryan Clauson starts 11th after a hectic Saturday where he did double duty - Indy Lights here at Kentucky Speedway and USAC sprints at Lawrenceburg Speedway last night. He'll have a chance to move up today if today's race is anything like previous Indy Lights races at Kentucky.

Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100 Won by Josef Newgarden

Josef Newgarden in Victory Lane at Indy

Joseph Newgarden led a 1-2 finish for Sam Schmidt Motorsports over teammate Esteban Guerr1eri in the Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this afternoon. Newgarden and Guerrieri battled hard over the 40 lap distance but numerous accidents meant that 22 laps were run under yellow and Newgarden took the win under yellow and checkered flags. Noblesville, Indiana's Bryan Clauson started on the pole, also in a Sam Schmidt Motorsports car, based on owner points after Thursday's qualifying was rained out. Clauson was the 2010 USAC National Driving champion and earned the ride as a bonus on the Mazda Road to Indy. He finished fifth behind Vincent Garcia and Stefan Wilson in third and fourth. The race never got into a rhythm with four lengthy caution periods chopping the race into short green flag segments, and a wicked accident involving Jorge Concalvez on lap 34 could not be cleaned up in time for the leaders to race to the finish. The action was fierce among the top 5 during what little green flag racing there was and once again Schmidt's cars showed why they are the class of Indy Lights at Indianapolis winning for the 6th time in 9 editions of the Freedom 100.