7 Days to the Indy 500

 

7 days to the Indy 500. I took this photo of Brian Herta in 2006 so I am declaring my support for his son Colton to win the 500 next Sunday.

I am incredibly disappointed about not getting media credentials to photograph the race, or even being able to attend, and that disappointment has added a foul edge to my life recently. As a result, I have decided to stop my daily countdown to the 500 after this post. I am going to try and let that disappointment go and support my photographer friends and colleagues who were lucky enough to be chosen to document the event. In addition, I will not be posting any more of my Indy 500 photography, which dates back to 1984, until this year’s 500 is over in order to defer to those who are out at the track working this race. .As the late Dave Martin at AP used to say, “Go make some freaking pictures.”

My close friends and family know why I say this most recent disappointment has tainted my life, but people who only casually know me may not understand why missing the 500 is such a big deal. For context, I would suggest the last 18 months of my life needs to be considered as a backdrop for this most recent punch in the gut. In February 2019, I had lung cancer surgery to remove part of my right lung; I had found out earlier in the year that I also had emphysema. As such, all of this year during the pandemic I have had to live with the knowledge that I am in a high-risk group and consequences could be dire if I were to contract the coronavirus. So try to imagine living under the cloud of constant anxiety every time you go out in public.

At the same time I was dealing with lung cancer recovery last year, my fiance was preparing for her own surgery after finding out she had breast cancer. So we were both trying to recover from major surgeries most ofl last year. Earlier this year, my fiance’s brother died of lung cancer. While he was struggling and ultimately succumbing to his cancer, my 85 year old father was in a rehab facility in Indy for a variety of illnesses. The last time I was able to see him in person was February 29, 2020. Meanwhile, a trip we had planned for France and Greece, and a return trip for me to shoot the 24 Hours of LeMans race, was scuttled and the Indy 500 was postponed because of Covid-19. On May 12th, we learned that my Dad had contracted the virus. The last time I talked with my father was on my birthday, May 31st and then he died June 10th as a result. In that last conversation he told me that 19 people in his facility had died from the virus, so watching him fight the virus on top of his other infirmities added stress all year long.

Within the last two weeks, I learned I would not be able to go to the rescheduled LeMans in September, nor would I get credentials for the 500. My string of consecutive Indy 500 races started in 1976 and was unbroken prior to this year, so missing out has just been the straw that broke the camel’s back. So if I’m curt or snap at you, then know in advance that I’m sorry. Try as I might to control my emotions, they burst through sometimes. If I am more of a jerk than normal, it’s because my nerves are raw. Living in a constant state of anxiety can only be done for so long before something has to give.

Being forced to miss The Race is no joke. Did I also mention that my work as Chief Photographer for the ARCA Menards Series totally evaporated this year as well? Loss after loss after loss these last 18 months has exacted a toll on me that’s left me feeling exhausted, constantly angry and nearly broken spiritually. But I am getting help and am grateful for the people in my life who can prop me up and point me in the direction I need to go. If I hadn’t been able to go out and ride my bicycle this spring and summer - and I’ve been riding the wheels off of my Trek  this year - I hate to think where I would be mentally.

I write this now not to make excuses for popping off but to explain the precarious state of mind I’ve been living with. The sarcastic joke in our family is that the “Shue Grit” combined with the Alley stubbornness is a double whammy.  I was raised to figure things out myself so it’s hard to ask for help. I do not normally show much emotion and I don’t get too close to very many people. Moving from town to town frequently as a Methodist’s minister's kid is partly responsible. My training as an athlete is behind some of that too - you can’t let people know when you’re upset or that you’re nervous; you have to keep your cool to perform when the pressure’s on. If you know me, then you know the things I am passionate about and motorsports photography is at the top of a fairly short list.

Like a bad country music song, when the things you love are stripped away one by one, what is left? I’m still trying to figure that out but I guarantee you I will. Once I do, I’ll be able to play that song in reverse and get back most of what I’ve lost and come out the other side a better and stronger person.

More Penske Power in Indy 500 as Will Wins His First

Will Power got his first Indy 500 win on the hottest race day ever

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway continued to be a Penske playground this May as Will Power waltzed into Victory Lane at the Indy 500 to take his first ever win on the big Indianapolis oval. This was the 102nd rendition of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" and most teams struggled to find grip on the melting asphalt of what some said was the hottest Indy 500 in the history. While it was Will's first Indy 500 win, it was Roger Penske's 17th win as a team owner, and there has rarely been a more excited winner than Willy P. Will's usual demeanor is all Aussie cool but he was going absolutely nuts in Victory Lane which was so out of character for him. During his lap around the track for the fan salute after he drank the winner's milk, he just kept saying "I can't believe I won the Indy 500". He did it in style with a calculated victory as other top contenders dropped out with self inflicted crashes or couldn't make the fuel numbers work to pull off a win similar to Alexander Rossi's two years ago. It was an amazing display of emotion from a guy who is usually as outwardly emotional as dry toast and it was awesome to be there to photograph it. I'd love to see more emotional displays like that from Will when he wins and I'm happy to see him finally grab the big prize at Indy.

Danica did well after being away from Indycars for several years

One of the big stories before this 500 was the fact that it was Danica Patrick's last race. She held station early on but crashed out on her own when her car snapped loose in Turn 2. Defending champion Takuma Sato had gone out just a few laps before Danica after running into the back of James Davison's awful handling machine in Turn 3. Before the day was through, there would be several other incidents involving some surprising names who struggled with the handling of their Dallaras with the new aero kits. Helio Castroneves spun and crashed on his own. So did Tony Kanaan, Sebastian Bordais, Ed Jones and Sage Karam. Danica couldn't explain what happened in her crash and it seemed to be the same mystery for just about everyone. From the outside it looked like a combination of factors: a ridiculously hot day, lack of grip on the slick surface which had been washed clean by a downpour the previous day, and the cars would suddenly get loose coming off the corners as a result of lower downforce levels, especially when drivers were running in a group. The most impressive drive of the day was put in by Rossi who came from 32nd starting position to finish second. He seemed to have a handle on his car like no one else and I saw him make some crazy outside passes in Turn 1 that had me flinching when I was shooting down there, but he made it work in spectacular style.

Sunrise on race day is special - quiet before the mayhem and roar of the event

It was a fun race for me and everything seemed to fall into place as the day went along. I got to the media parking about 5:00 in the morning and went into the track about 45 minutes later so I could shoot the sunrise over the Pagoda Tower. There are usually a lot of other photographers in the Penthouse sections on the front straightaway doing the same thing and this year the sunrise was absolutely gorgeous. That was a portend of things to come for the day as the skies above central Indiana were powder blue with cotton candy clouds all afternoon during the race which made for some spectacular scenic shots. My initial shooting position for the race has been the same since 2013 and even though I don't like heights, I am going to keep going up on the Penthouse roof over Stand E to shoot the pre-race pageantry and the start. The view from up there is incredible and though I only stay up there for about the first 10 laps, I love starting my race from that vantage point.

I managed to get photos of Simon Pagenaud's final pit stop

I more or less followed my normal "10 laps and move strategy" as the race went on since I was the only photographer representing French media company MPS Agency in order to get some variety in my photos. For the day as a whole I shot roughly 2600 images and walked over 15,500 steps by the time I got back to my car at 7:30 that evening. After starting on the roof, I went trackside at the end of the front stretch, then around to the outside of Turn 1 and then on a yellow, went inside Turn 1 for awhile as I had a feeling there might be a crash there. When that didn't materialize, I went to the inside of Turn 2 past the halfway point and then to the pits around lap 125. At the time I was debating whether to go on the top of the stands behind the pits or go directly to pit lane. I decided to go straight into the pits and am glad I did, as not long after I got there. I could see teams on the south end of pit lane were laid out and pole winner Ed Carpenter soon came in for service. I love shooting pit stops in Indycar and capturing the air guns as they get tossed aside and the smoking tires as drivers peel out to get back in the race. I continued to work pit lane or on the top of the stands behind the pits until about lap 180 when I decided to look for an angle to shoot Victory Lane since I did not have a reserved spot this year.

Will Power had calmed down by the time of the winner's photo shoot Monday morning

I went into the media center to grab a bottle of water and see if I could get a vantage point from one of the balconies but there were already too many people gathered around so I went back to ground level adjacent to the photographer's stand and just waited for the finish. It was cool to watch the late race fuel gamblers drop by the wayside and I was especially happy that Stefan Wilson led some laps but he couldn't stretch his fuel far enough, nor could Jack Harvey or Oriol Servia, Will Power was there to claim victory when those guys all had to pit for a splash of fuel in the last 10 laps. I wasn't finding a decent angle to shoot the winner's celebration so I decided to take a gamble on positioning myself next to the photographer's stand. That decision paid off as I got some great celebratory shots of Will when he first got out of the car. After his lap around the track, and the kissing of the bricks ceremonies, I went back by Victory Lane and got invited in to photograph the remaining hat dance and trophy celebrations, so I got photos I hadn't even planned on when the race started. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, but on this race day I felt I was both. I trusted the universe Sunday and I am grateful that everything woked out so I could do a good job representing MPS Agency.

My view from the roof

With the Month of May now in the history books, I finish out our school year in a couple of weeks and then get to take a week's vacation so it will be nice to relax and unwind. I gear back up in July to work more races for the ARCA Racing Series and work on 2019 which I hope will include Sebring, Indianapolis and Le Mans for MPS Agency. I turned 61 the last day of May and I am not ready to slow down by any stretch of the imagination, so I'm excited about what the future may hold. In the meantime, enjoy a few of my photos from the 500 or go to the MPS Agency website to see all of the photo galleries I contributed this month by clicking here. Come on out to a race sometime and say hello. I'll take your picture!

I was surprised that Josef Newgarden (1) wasn't more of a factor

Will Power (12) had the car to beat all day

Alexander Rossi seemed to be able to pass at will during the race

Passing this year occurred mainly on the straightaways and made for great photos

Alonso, Danica, Daytona, Le Mans and the Indy 500

F1 star Alonso wowed fans at Indy in 2017

So what does this blog post have to do with the biggest races in the world? And what does Fernando Alonso have to do with Danica Patrick? He's a two-time Formula One world champion seeking to win a prestigious triple crown while she's out of her NASCAR ride for 2018 and has announced her retirement as a full time driver. But Danica will try to wrap her career with a nice bow in 2018 at the place where she first gained fame: the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as she has said the Indy 500 will be her last race. Too bad they both couldn't be at Indy this year! Meanwhile, Alonso is taking on the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona this month to prepare for his attempt at winning Le Mans this coming June. I had hoped to be there to photograph all of these events in 2018. but it doesn't look like Le Mans is going to be possible after all. If I could arrange funding through sponsorship or a photo assignment for the trip to France, then it could still become a reality so if you are in need of someone to work races for you as your team or driver's personal photographer, then please keep me in mind.

Rolex 24 pre-race pageantry in 2017

With my ARCA Racing Series work and a return engagement with Vision Sport Agency at Indianapolis this May, I am anticipating a very busy 2018 as I will be flying to Daytona in a little more than two weeks to shoot the Rolex 24 Hours for Associated Press. It will be my third Rolex race and I am very excited to have the chance to work the event again this year. I do have the feeling that big things lie ahead this year so the Rolex race will be a great way to kick things off.

Danica Patrick  got a mixed reaction from fans at Texas in 2009

With Alonso in the headlines so often lately with his explorations in racing away from his full time ride with McLaren, it will be interesting to see how NASCAR starts its season off shortly after the Rolex weekend has concluded. Danica may or may not race the Daytona 500 - she said she would for the last time n 2018 but is not having much luck in putting a deal together. To say the bloom is off the rose is probably an understatement and I'll bet she faces the same issue for the Indy 500 this May. I know when she left Indycar, she did so with no hard feelings but many fans had grown tired of the surly temperament she often displayed around the garage area. The last straw for a lot of Indy fans was her comment on the public address system at Indy when she threw her team under the bus after a slow qualifying effort. Saying "It's not my fault" as she did is not going to win fans at Indianapolis and many people were happy to see her go to NASCAR.

When I took this photo, I wondered if Danica was waving goodbye

My perception has always been that Danica never really mastered how to drive a loose race car in the Cup series, having become accustomed to the high downforce Indycar package which more often than not produced tight racecars. The old saying is "loose is fast" so the learning curve in NASCAR must have been huge for her. Perhaps the new Indycar design for 2018 will present a level playing field for her return. I hope she gets back to Indyas it will offer another story line for the 500 and the chance for more publicity. Another old adage is that "any publicity is good publicity" and many would say that definitely applies to the Indycar series these days so her return might fall into that category. No matter what, she will probably sell some t-shirts and perhaps a few copies of her new book. If Danica can come back to Indy with an excited attitude and courts women and young girls who have always looked up to her, then I would say that her retirement from racing would be a success.

The 2017 Rolex 24 was hit by overnight rains which challenged everyone

The time for off-season speculation is just about at an end as the 2018 racing season got underway this past weekend at Daytona where all the IMSA teams gathered for their pre-season "Roar Before The 24" test. The 2018 rendition of the Rolex 24 Hours race promises to be one of the best in years with a star studded field of drivers and a highly varied equipment entry list with DPi and WEC LMP2 prototypes at the head of the pack and a plethora of production based GT cars filling out the class structure in GTD and GTLM. That variety is one of the great things about sports car endurance racing and why I am so excited to have the chance to go back again this year. While I shot the 2017 Rolex 24 for motorsport.com, this year I am working as a stringer for Associated Press - always a crapshoot economically - just as I did in 2014 in order to have another chance to prove what I can do and network with people who might be able to hire me in the future to shoot more racing.

I love working with ARCA  and its champions like Austin Theriault

This is, however, the beginning of a transitional year for me in racing photography as the financial returns have often not exceeded my investment of time, energy and funding. Over the last dozen years, I have really concentrated on making a name for myself in the business, a task which has proven to be much more difficult than I had imagined. Much as race teams need sponsorship, so do I need gainful assignments where I am not subsidizing my passion for racing as I have often done.  I am a teacher by trade, having decided to make a career change in 2009 in part so I could have time to pursue my photography interests more fully, and the change  has allowed me to do just that, so I have no regrets whatsoever. I just wish I could find more paying clients to make the pursuit of my passion truly self supporting.

At home at Indianapolis

Amidst the changing landscape of today's digital media world, I am grateful for every opportunity to be compensated for my racing photography such as my role as Chief Photographer for the ARCA Racing Series. After this year, I don't anticipate working "on spec" or in exchange for access or for photo credits in publications. That could change if there were some extraordinary circumstances involved, but I did that for a number of years trying to help a friend launch the defunct American Motor Journal publication and was aware even then that I was perhaps part of the problem in terms of the devaluation of photography services by the mainstream media. I have seen many news outlets cut back and eliminate staff photographer positions the last 10 years, so I hope I can be hired for the quality of work I produce and be paid fair compensation for that work product. As racers often have critical years in their careers, it feelss like 2018 will be a critical year for my career as a racing photographer as well.

I hope to shoot the Indy 500 as long as I am able

If you've read my blog before then you know that Indianapolis is my home track and I am a member of the Indy 500 Oldtimers so I will always have a photography role at the Speedway in May as long as I am physically able. This year will be my second year representing French media company Vision Sport Agency (VSA) and I will be seeing one of their owners at Daytona later this month to plan for that work. I am also hoping to do other sports car work for VSA if they run into scheduling conflicts with their other staff, and of course going to Le Mans in June is at the top of my 2018 list if funding comes through. So by the end of this month, I should know exactly what my 2018 schedule will include beyond the month of May as I have the Daytona 24 on tap, then ARCA races at Nashville, Salem and Talladega, before the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and the Indy 500. The end of this month will also be two years since I quit smoking so I am grateful to still be alive and kicking at an age when I see the names of a lot of my friends in the obituaries.

Thank God for exercise, good friends, and fulfilling work. Gotta love it! See you at the Rolex 24!

The first Japanese driver to win the Indy 500: Takuma Sato

I am looking forward to another great year shooting the ARCA Racing Series

Our trip to Le Mans last year was a dream come true; I can't wait to go back!

From Le Mans to Iowa Speedway

It was a gorgeous night for a race at Iowa Speedway

Needless to say, Le Mans, France and Newton, Iowa are worlds apart in so many ways. While they are a study in contrast, they also host races so they have that in common. Driving to Iowa from Indy took me about 7 hours and oddly enough, I was struck by some similarities about the Midwestern and French countrysides. We had traveled to Le Mans from Tours, France by car and by train, so we saw a lot of the area. The Le Sarthe and central Iowa regions both contained lots of farmland and numerous small communities, plus I saw corn and beans growing in both. Even the weather was similar: hot and humid. Both circuits also had exciting races with interesting finishes. But that's about where the similarities ended as ARCA's "Fans With Benefits 150" was over in less than 2 hours compared to 24 hours to run Le Mans.

Youngster Dalton Sargeant  won Iowa

An obvious contrast between Iowa Speedway and the Circuit de la Sarthe is size. Iowa is a purpose built 7/8ths mile banked oval which takes a stock car about 24 seconds to lap. On the Le Mans road course, which is comprised mostly of public roads, a lap is more than 8 miles long and takes a prototype sports car over 3 minutes to complete. The sounds you hear are completely different as well, but racing is still racing so I love them both. In case you were wondering, I am already thinking about how I can get back to Le Mans and if ARCA keeps going to Iowa, then I expect I will be back there next year too. I have to say I went through a bit of culture shock last weekend as I arrived at Iowa Speedway to shoot the ARCA race for the series. It was great to be back on the ARCA trail since I hadn't seen my friends and colleagues in the series since Talladega at the beginning of May. It was very cool to have so many people ask about my experience at Le Mans and I had a blast telling stories about our 17 day trip to France and Italy. It was nice to be back at a racetrack, especially since the Iowa race marked the end of my summer break from teaching and I had to go back to my school life on Monday following the weekend.

Helio Castroneves finally got a win after 54 races

Last year my brother met me at Iowa and we stayed through Sunday so we could work the Indycar race also. As much as I wanted to stay again this year, I just couldn't justify it. Last year I got home at 3:15 Monday morning because the Indycar race started so late Sunday afternoon and I remember being exhausted that first day back at school so I headed back to Indy Sunday morning this time. I was safely ensconced on my couch for this year's Indycar Iowa Corn 300 but it sure seemed weird watching the telecast from a track where I had just been less than a day earlier. I did manage to grab a few Indycar photos Saturday in between my ARCA duties, but I probably spent less than 20 minutes trackside to get those since ARCA was my first priority.

Every ARCA weekend starts with an early morning officials meeting

And Saturday had been a very long day at the racetrack as I got there a little after 6:00 a.m. for our 6:30 officials meeting and didn't leave the track until close to midnight. In between, I shot about 1600 photos for ARCA, got over 18,000 steps on my pedometer app, shot a sunset and the full moon rising over the track. This ARCA season has seen its share of wins by young drivers and the series has become known for that. It was fun standing in Victory Lane after the race talking with winner Dalton Sargeant, second place finisher Austin Theriault and third place Sheldon Creed in between photos as I really feel like I get to know these guys n ARCA. I have nine more races to do for ARCA this season and I'm sure that familiarity will come in handy. At one point Saturday, Austin had come into the ARCA marketing trailer where we work up our photos to look at what we had on the 52 car to see how the splitter looked relative to the track surface entering Turn 1. That was interesting and I know lots of drivers do that but it was the first time I had been there when it was happening. That's one of the advantages of familiarity in this series I think, and another reason why I enjoy working for ARCA so much.

My next race is another "home" race as ARCA comes to Indy to run on the short track at Lucas Oil Raceway on the westside Friday July 21st. That will be another very long day but the series always puts on a fantastic show at the relatively flat 5/8th mile oval and the 9:00 p.m. start guarantees we will be shooting under the lights, so it will be another opportunity to hone my night shooting skills. In the meantime, here are links to my photo galleries from Iowa Speedway and a few more photos from the event. Enjoy! Come on out to Lucas Oil Raceway next Friday and say hi!

Iowa Speedway ARCA Racing Series "Fans With Benefits 150"

Iowa Speedway Indycar Iowa Corn 300 Practice

Shane Lee put the 22 car on pole giving Cunningham two top contenders

JR Hildebrand hit the wall during practice but took a front row spot in qualifying later

Dalton Sargeant organized the obligatory team selfie after winning for the second time this season

The late afternoon sunlight Saturday made for some interesting shooting;  here's Graham Rahal in Turn 4

Race Photography Adventure Begins

Salem Speedway will host the ARCA series for the 101st time this weekend

And so it begins: a race photographer's heaven full of events starts this weekend with a road trip to Salem Speedway to work the ARCA race for the series. The weather forecast isn't great for either Saturday or Sunday but ARCA knows how to get an event in so I am pretty sure the 200 lapper scheduled for Sunday afternoon will get run sometime before I have to be back on my teaching job Monday morning. Those old Salem highbanks drain fast and the track workers know how to get it dried off. There have been numerous times where it didn't look like racing was possible there but it happened despite my prediction, so I am going to stay out of the weatherman business and just go with the flow. I will have pictures to make regardless.

Dega is one monster of a racetrack: I love it

This Salem weekend begins a stretch of racing unlike anything I have ever experienced before. Next Wednesday May 3rd is Fernando Alonso's test on the big oval at Indianapolis Motors Speedway (IMS) so my plan is to get out there for a couple of hours in the morning to get some photos for Vision Sport Agency. Then Thursday night May 4th I hit the road for Talladega as soon as I get out of work, which usually means I get there about midnight Indy time. Friday is ARCA's day on track at Dega so I will be there shooting for the series as we practice, qualify and race all on Friday. Then Saturday and Sunday I will stay over and shoot the NASCAR races for Associated Press, which should be interesting since Dale Earnhardt, Jr. announced this week that he intends to retire from NASCAR at the end of this season. The Alabama fans absolutely love Junior so I will be trying to get some candid shots of him at one of his best racetracks. Then I drive home Sunday night to be back at the head of my class Monday morning.

Simon Pagenaud won the 2016 Grand Prix

The following Friday May 12th action picks up on the road course at IMS for the Indycar Grand Prix event which includes support races for the Indy Lights series. I will be there both days for VSA and hoping that Simon Pagenaud or Sebastian Bourdais can snag a win as those pictures would go over well in Europe for VSA. I will be a one man gang for VSA at Indy this May so I will probably end up setting some steps records by the time the month is over. After the Grand Prix May 13th, I get Sunday off but I will probably still be doing some editing as the track time far outweighs the editing time for the road course event. The rest of that week I will be teaching all day and trying to zip out to IMS for Happy Hour any day the weather permits for Indy 500 practice and more photos of Alonso and all the rest of the Indycar regulars who will be getting ready for the 101st running of the 500. I will also keep an eye on Takuma Sato for Autosport Japan magazine which has used quite a few of my Indy 500 photos of Taku in its publication the last few years. Keeping up with international and domestic relationships has become a major goal of my photography work in motorsports. I am grateful for every opportunity.

There's nothing like the start of the Indianapolis 500

Saturday and Sunday May 20 and 21st are qualifying days for the 500 so I will be working at IMS both days. Then it's race week and after teaching Monday through Thursday I will be at IMS for Carburetion Day Friday May 26th, covering the final practice session for the 33 qualified cars, plus the Freedom 100 Indy Lights race and the pit stop competition. I have always considered race weekend my birthday weekend since my birthday is May 31st, so we will be celebrating my 60th the day after Carb Day. Then 300,000 or so people will join the celebration the next day at IMS for the 500 on May 28th. So between now and the 500, I will have one day off where I am not teaching or working a race event. And I couldn't be happier about that.

Then life calms down for a few days as we wrap up our school year and make final preparations for my biggest travel adventure ever. We leave 10 days after the 500 for Paris, France and the 85th 24 Hours of Le Mans. My fiance and I are going together and while I am unsure what kind of access I will have for the 24 Hours race, you know I will bring back pictures. That's what I do.

So stay tuned race fans! Follow me on twitter @alleygroup to read all about it!

Salem Speedway is a historic track which used to test the best that Indy had to offer

Talladega is a high speed crapshoot to see who can miss "The Big One"

Running clockwise at Indy during the Grand Prix still seems a bit odd to me

Indy 500 pit stops are choreographed mayhem where the quick and precise prevail

Mayor Hinchcliffe Completes Epic Comeback, Takes Indy 500 Pole Position

James Hinchcliffe won his 1st Indycar pole

Comeback stories are nothing new at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), but what we witnessed Sunday may top them all, as James Hinchcliffe took pole position as the last driver to run in the Fast Nine session which concluded Indy 500 qualifying. Barely a year removed from a life threatening Turn 3 crash which left him bleeding profusely after being speared by a suspension piece, the Mayor of Hinchtown loudly proclaimed himself fully healed and ready to win Indy with a stirring qualifying effort that had fans cheering every lap as it was announced on the Speedway's public address system. I was holding down a spot on Pit Lane for photos of the pole winner throughout the Fast Nine shootout, and when he finally wheeled into the Verizon Pit View stand area after four very intense laps, the ensuing scrum was absolutely crazy as people poured in from everywhere to congratulate James on his stunning achievement.

The grand prize - The Borg Warner trophy

Every year at Indy when I see something like this, it reminds me that these drivers are not like the rest of us. They are not supermen but their will to go fast and be first runs seemingly runs contrary to the basic survival instincts with which most of us "normal" people are familiar. Hinch came back from a near death experience at Indy in May 2015 to win the pole a year later. Buddy Lazier won the 500 in 1996 with a broken back. Mario Andretti won in 1969 with burns so severe on his face that his twin brother Aldo had to sit in for him on many official photos. Will Power overcame a broken back from a wreck at Sonoma to ultimately win the Indycar Series championship. And these drivers think nothing of hopping in a car whenever the track is green to try and run 230 mph laps for the first starting position in the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. They are not like us, I'm telling you. All the more reason for me to be out there every chance I can to grab those photographs which may help document Indy's history in some small way. At the very least, they help cement those moments into my memory and provide fodder for future story telling.

Lighting in Turn 1 Wednesday and Thursday was simply gorgeous

This year my time has been somewhat limited at IMS due to my teaching schedule. The best I could do was race to the track from Noblesville for Happy Hours during the week so I had only about 5 hours of shooting from 30 hours of track time last Monday through Friday. Saturday and Sunday were a different story however, as I was out there essentially dawn to dusk. I would not have wanted it any other way. One of the coolest things to every happen to me at IMS started on Wednesday and carried over into Thursday. Many times when I have limited track time to work, I don't go out with a preconceived idea of where I am going to take pictures. The Speedway is a big place and you can't physically cover it all when time is limited. Wednesday I thought I would go to the pits to get driver and people candids, but as I walked across Georgetown Road from our mudhole parking area, something told me to go to the Stand E Penthouse area at the south end of the front straightaway.

Simon Pagenaud's Dallara was never prettier

Once I got up there, I noticed an unusual pattern of sun and shadow in Turn 1 that I didn't think I had ever seen before. When I say "ever", that means since 1984, so I was drawn to work with this lighting in a way I could not have foreseen that day. It was incredible to see these cars blast out of the black shadows into the bright sunlight - roller coaster trains emerging from a tunnel. I went back there on Thursday afternoon as I wanted more of those shots and apparently the word had gotten out as there were quite a few other photographers up in the Penthouse whereas I had been the only one the day before. Lighting is everything so it has really been cool to see what everyone did with those conditions, which I surmised was a direct result of the new grandstand construction that created these most unusual light and shade patterns.

I was near the yard of bricks and grabbed Alex Tagliani's crash with Canon's 200-400 zoom

Another really cool aspect of being a credentialed photographer at Indianapolis is the opportunity to work with Canon USA, which sends technicians to the track to clean and check our gear, and provides loaner equipment. So it's fun to try out expensive gear like a 500 mm f4 lens or the 200-400 zoom with a built in 1.4 converter. While these are fantastic pieces of glass, one thing I noticed later is that my pictures don't immediately benefit. There's still a learning curve I have to go through to adjust to their weight, plus the framing and focusing is different than what I am used to on the gear I own and typically use day in and day out. Nonetheless, it's a great chance to try out equipment that I would hope to have someday. For the week, I shot about 3100 pictures last week for motorsport.com, submitted about 670 and they used 200, so it was a good week by just about any measure.

Now we prepare for Carb Day Friday and the race this Sunday. Friends and family from all over will be in town, and my new colleagues from France will get their minds blown Sunday morning once the green flag flies. I am already feeling the butterflies and can't stop thinking about my race day plan and where I will go to get pictures that tell the stories of the day. Strap in and hang on as this race promises to be as epic as the Mayor's comeback. I hope you have your tickets! Godspeed and safe travels everyone.

Pagenaud Rules Grand Prix of Indianapolis

Simon Pagenaud claimed the pole and race

On the coldest race day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since the 1992 Indy 500, Team Penske ace Simon Pagenaud continued his winning ways in 2016 with a dominant win on the IMS road course last Saturday in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. It was not surprising since he also started on pole position and seemed to have the field covered in almost every track session. Teammate Helio Castroneves took second while James Hinchcliffe prevented an all-Chevy podium by taking third with his Honda powered machine. The Verizon Indycar Series put on a good show for the fans who turned out over the three day event as there was plenty of track action to follow from Thursday morning through Saturday evening. The Mazda Road to Indy support series were on the card and the Indy Lights series ran two full races, so fans got a lot of racing for their dollar if they came out to IMS for even part of one day.

The weekend started off beautifully

I was there all three days shooting for motorsport.com while covering the Indycar and Indy Lights series. In typical Indiana Spring fashion, our weather was ultra changeable with everything from rain showers to bright sunny skies and temperatures in the low 80's to Saturday's overcast, windy and cold conditions. It made no difference whatsoever for what I had to do, however, as I still had to make some pictures and get them transferred for the website to use. To do that, I covered a lot of ground and loved every second of it, as I was on a mission to add variety to the photos I was delivering. On Thursday's practice day, I walked over 27,000 steps around IMS. I followed that up on Friday's qualifying day with more than 18,000 steps and another 18,000 plus on Saturday's race day. My Thursday numbers were a personal all time best according to my pedometer app and equated to more that 16 miles hoofing it around the Speedway to find those photos! I was glad that Sunday was an off day as the Speedway got converted to oval track configuration!

Pagenaud winning pole was no surprise

Once the race was over Saturday evening, I was not the last to leave the photo "cave" in the media center but it was close. What I call the cave is the second floor area where photographers work with the main room lights turned off so it is dark and we can all see our computer monitors better. May has become somewhat of a singular pursuit for me since I am not working with any photographer colleagues at Indy yet nor is there a photo editor on site for me to report to. I love being in that cave when everyone has finished shooting as you hear other photogs discuss what they got (or missed) and what they may have encountered during the day while trying to get photos they needed.

John Menard's reaction in Victory Lane was priceless

I got rebuffed once during the Grand Prix when I tried to get above the F1 garages which had suddenly become off limits to photographers. Something like that seems to happen every year at IMS as the rules seem to change willy nilly about who can go where on the property, so we just have to adjust. That happened to me late in Saturday's race so I had to find another place to shoot the finish. I finally decided to give up on that and just get ready for the checkered flag to get a shot and then be close enough for the winning driver's reaction as they exited their car. That turned out to be a great decision as I was right in the middle of all the celebrations in pit lane as team owner Roger Penske, primary sponsor John Menard, and even competitor Scott Dixon came around to offer congratulations. It was an awesome feeling to be in the midst of that and hear all the conversations that were going on at the time, so I would make the same decision again if I get the chance.

Now we move on to the big show - the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500. I have been to every Indy 500 since 1976 as a spectator or photographer so this is my 41st consecutive race and 43rd 500 overall. Since I started shooting at Indy for UPI in 1984, I have seen and photographed a lot at Indy but I still get goosebumps every year.  I expect this year's race to be even more intense as the drivers vie for the title of Indy champion for the 100th time. It used to be called an "International Sweepstakes" and I know media interest in this race worldwide is higher than it has been in years, so I am grateful for the chance to be a contributor. I will even have a couple of colleagues on race day this year as I'm told there are two photographers from France coming over, so that will be something fun and different as well. It still looks like a Chevy will win this year if you ask me, but I hope it's a fast, safe month for all concerned. Let's go racing, ladies and gentlemen. See you at the track!

Off to Phoenix for Indycar: Normal Is New

Mom loved racing too

This post is already surreal and I've hardly written anything. I had been sitting in the Indianapolis airport waiting to board a flight to Chicago when I started this and now I am at O'Hare waiting for my next flight. This afternoon, I had been following the Indycar qualifying from Phoenix on Twitter and through text updates from my brother, who is in Tucson and who I will meet in Phoenix tomorrow to go to the race together. Now it's evening and my layover here in Chicago is only a couple of hours so I am excited to get on another plane and head to Phoenix where I will arrive late tonight.  Then we get to spend all day tomorrow at the racetrack, Phoenix International Raceway, to watch the Indy Lights and Indycar races. My brother and I have been talking about doing this race weekend ever since the event was announced late last year. I never had any idea that it would end up being my first race of 2016, or that I would end up making a banzai trip out of it, as I will be back late Sunday night and into work Monday morning to help with orientation for our new students.

Mom didn't mind the infield either and loved Turn 3 at Indy

But the surreal part is not that I am in Indy one day and Phoenix the next: it's that I can't stop thinking about my Mom. This trip is also quite bittersweet, as I am posting on April 1st, a day that most people associate with April Fool's Day, but in our family, that has been my Mom's birthday. She would have been 81 today had she made it this far but God had other plans for her last July 5th so we are doing our best to try to celebrate her memory today with her spirit present. My brother, sister and I participated in a conference call earlier this afternoon and I know Mom was listening in as she would be glad that Steve and I were going to get together at a race this weekend. It's a shame my schedule is so tight or I'm sure our sister would have gone west too, but we will do our best to uphold the family honor at Phoenix International Raceway for the Indycar festivities. We tried to do this race together back in 2002, but Mom got sick and couldn't go, but I have her event shirt from that race with me and will wear it tomorrow at the track in her memory.

Mom loved her life in Akron

While my blog has historically been about racing, it has morphed into something else this past year with the travel and Mom's health issues becoming ever present on my mind. We are supposed to close on the sale of her home in Ohio next week and that will mark another transition in our grieving process, as that was a place Mom made her own for 25 years and we won't be going back there for anymore birthdays or Christmases, or to help get the house ready for the winter as I used to do every year. Or a million other reasons I used to come up with just to talk and see how she was doing.

Mom's in Victory Lane now

Even with all of that, it occurred to me that this race weekend in Phoenix is a nod to normalcy (whatever that is) in our lives. Next week I will take another step in that direction after a final trip to Ohio to handle the closing on her house and my week will end with a road trip by car to Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway to begin my 2016 photo work for the ARCA Racing Series.

And so we begin. Mom was a big race fan and one of our biggest supporters so it is still extremely difficult to know she isn't around to talk to while I am on the road, or having trouble with a student, or to plan for the Indy 500 weekend when she used to come home almost every year. Not many women her age were still going to the Speedway each May, and she loved to say "Not bad for a little white haired old lady." Not bad indeed Mom. Here's to you. Godspeed and safe travels to us all.