Hinchtown Annexes Speedway - Andretti Autosport Still Indy 500 Pacesetter

The Mayor of Hinchtown Ruled in Speedway today

It was James Hinchcliffe's turn today at Andretti Autosport to set quick time at Indianapolis on a warm and blustery day where wind gusts out of the southwest of up to 23 mph made any earnest attempts at speed seemed ill advised. In his rookie year The Mayor of Hinchtown hit the wall in Turn 3 but has rarely put a wheel wrong at Indianapolis since then, starting on the front row last year. We could see an all-Andretti front row this year, something only Roger Penske's team has been able to do in the past. Due to the windy conditions, most teams settled on lapping in groups to find a race pace with the influence of turbulence caused by traffic. It was not unusual to see eight or nine cars running together today so everyone should have a pretty good idea how their cars will behave if race day is hot and windy.

Oriol Servia gets relief from the sun in the pits

As so often happens at Indy, practice week starts off cool and the temperatures rise throughout the month.  Today was the first day where teams were using umbrellas to shade the drivers waiting in pit lane for adjustments to be made, so the heat is on. But there's an old saying in Indiana that "if you don't like the weather, then wait five minutes and it will change." This is usually true in the spring but not so far this month of May. Four consecutive dry days have enabled the teams to run a tremendous number of laps at the Speedway. The groove was really black in Turn 3 this afternoon after 2226 laps were run today. Teams ran 1733 laps yesterday so barring a significant rain event, more of the same can be expected the rest of this week leading up to Pole Day on Saturday. At some point soon, teams with a desire to win the pole, or at least get into the Fast Nine session at the end of Pole Day, will have to start making single car runs and peeling downforce off the cars.

While Andretti's drivers take turns putting on a show and setting fast times, they are not doing the most work so far other than rookie Carlos Munoz who ran 172 laps on Monday. Marco Andretti ran 117 laps with his fast lap of 225.001 on Monday, followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay with 108 laps, Hinchcliffe 92, and EJ Viso a dawdling 85. In the process, Andretti drivers took five of the top 11 places on the speed chart Monday. The story is much the same today but with a twist:  Hinch ran only 26 laps today to set his fast time and Andretti's team cars occupied five of the top eight spots on speed today. Not only could Andretti drivers sweep the front row, they could essentially blockade the Fast Nine which would come as quite a shock to the Penske and Ganassi teams. I've never been a big Andretti fan but I really enjoy Hinchcliffe's antics and he has had some big shoes to fill, taking the seat which was intended for the late Dan Wheldon and doing great things on the track with race wins and off the track for sponsor GoDaddy with memorable promotions. 

The need for speed is satisfied at Indy

I will be a short timer at IMS again tomorrow afternoon but it's amazing how much one can shoot in only a couple of hours at the Speedway. The facility is so large that it's almost impossible to try to cover the whole racetrack in one day, so I have been going out with specific objectives in mind the last two afternoons once my teaching duties were fulfilled. I always try to chase the favorable lighting and today I went for some speed shots to try something a little different. Some photogs would call this artsy-fartsy but there's only so many ways to shoot these cars without them looking like they are parked on the track. At any rate, I had fun again today and I have resisted the urge to wear earplugs so I can absorb the sweet scream of the Honda and Chevy turbos. I even recorded some digital sound on my handheld voice recorder too so I can have a listen next winter when the racing doldrums kick in. Call me crazy if you want but I don't care as long as you call me when it's time to go racing.

I'm lucky because I get to do it all over again tomorrow.

Marco Andretti Leads Indy 500 Practice Day 3

Marco Andretti leads teammates James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay in Turn 3 

Andretti Autosport drivers continue to show the fast way around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and today it was Marco Andretti's turn. With 32 cars hitting the track today on a beautiful spring day which was decidedly warmer than Sunday, the groove is really starting to blacken in the corners now as more laps are run and Firestone rubber gets laid down. With no rain of any significance since the track opened on Saturday, the upward climb in speed is likely to continue. But rain is forecast later in the week so the track could get washed clean and don't let any of the current top speeds fool you as they are all being run in the draft as single car runs were not the order of the day to go fast.

Conor Daly

Possibly the happiest driver at the Speedway today was Conor Daly who was clearly a kid in the world's biggest candy store today, getting to turn his first laps for AJ Foyt's team at a track he surely dreamed of racing at as a kid. Proud Papa Derek Daly, a former Indycar and Formula One driver himself, was on hand to watch Conor pass his rookie test today so the door is open for CD to make his mark as an Indy 500 driver this month. I got to the track this afternoon just as he was coming out to finish the last phase of his rookie orientation, having completed the first two phases at a special 10:00 a.m. slot this morning when no one else was allowed on the track. I've watched Conor come up through the ranks and when he won a Star Mazda race in dominant fashion at Lucas Oil Raceway a couple of years ago in the Night Before the 500 event, it seemed like half the town of Noblesville, Indiana was in Victory Lane to help him celebrate. Expect more of the same this month regardless of his results.

Tristan Vautier sports a new paint job

Other changes today included a new paint scheme for Tristan Vautier, his #55 machine bedecked in Lucas Oil white now. Townsend Bell hit the track for the first time and got quickly over 221 in only 12 laps, showing his mettle as an Indy specialist. Pippa Mann was also out and essentially every driver entered has now seen some track time on a perfect day for practice.

Sebastian Saavedra of Dragon Racing

If you have not seen the cars of Sebastian Bourdais and Sebastian Saavedra, they bear perhaps the most striking paint schemes. Bourdais' #7 is a bright chrome color and Saavedra's #6 is a bluish chrome which  reminded me of the paint scheme of fellow Columbian Roberto Guerrero when he was racing Indycars in the True Value colors back in the 1980's.

Most of what I shot today was on the north end of the Speedway in the Turns 3 & 4 area where the lighting is absolutely perfect, with over-the-shoulder, low angle sunlight bathing the cars in brilliance while casting long shadows toward the inside of the track. Reflections off the driver's visors add highlights and it is by far my favorite place and time to shoot at Indy, from about 4:30 in the afternoon until the 6:00 gun ends practice. I don't often get to do it, but with teaching taking up the bulk of my days this week, it's the best I can hope for. A couple of laps up and down the pit lane to see who's out, then a swing through the garage area, and a hike to the north end are all that time allows on days like today, but the superb lighting makes it all worthwhile. I hope to catch more of the same during Happy Hours the rest of this week.

Indy 500 Practice Day 2 - Andretti Drivers Showcase

Andretti Autosport Teammates EJ Viso (5) and Carlos Munoz head into Turn 1

While rookie Carlos Munoz was fastest on the day today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he also learned some rookie lessons. I would also bet that there were some interesting team discussions this evening following practice which built on those I overheard on pit lane among Andretti Autosport drivers and team owner Michael Andretti. It was an Andretti show today as not much happened on track for most of the day which was quite cool and windy, even though track temperatures were never an issue. Quite a few teams did shakedown runs today but shortly after 4:00, all five of the Andretti team cars took the track together for practice drafting and running in traffic.

James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay and EJ Viso discuss practice

Therein lies the rub as apparently young Munoz made a dive bomb move into Turn 1 which almost put him in the grass and could have ended up with disastrous consequences for the team. The IMS public address system announcers noted the move and the conversations got started pretty quickly in the Andretti pit on the next yellow flag when everyone came in. Munoz set his fast time in the tow from his four teammates and as I suggested in my last blog post, rookies at Indy must be careful when things come too easy too fast. I'm sure the team will make this a learning situation for Carlos and you know he needs experience running in traffic so thankfully no harm was done on the racetrack. The Andretti team clearly was flexing its muscles today and put on quite a show for the fans late in the day and should be able to build on this heading into the next five days of practice.

Larry Foyt

Now the grind begins. Monday through Friday from noon to 6:00 p.m. every day, teams will be trying to find speed to assure themselves of being Pole Day qualifiers. The first person on the track Monday however will probably be another rookie, Conor Daly, for AJ Foyt's team, as Conor is on his way back from European racing commitments and the team has been told they should be ready to run his rookie program starting around 9:00 a.m Monday morning. Larry Foyt has done a masterful job of pulling the Foyt Enterprises team together and has put Takuma Sato in the IZOD Indycar Series points lead as a result. Daly will certainly benefit from the team's success so far this season and as the last of four rookies entered in this year's 500, getting his rookie test out of the way early clears the decks for all the teams to attack this week's practice sessions on equal footing.

Kids and race cars at Indy

There's something about Indy which continues to draw families to the track despite the relative lack of interest in Indycar from the racing world as a whole. Indycar competition has arguably never been closer and the sight of little kids playing with their toy Indycars behind the pits gives me hope for the future of Indycar. These are the future fans of the sport and it reminds me of how young I was when my grandpa started taking me to the racetrack. Credit or blame him as you will, but I was bitten then and hope that more people bring their youngsters to IMS so they can catch the racing bug too. Indy is hallowed ground as far as I'm concerned and it's a huge reason I write about and photograph motorsports. And the best part is that tomorrow I get to do it all over again once my day as a middle school math teacher is done. I can't wait.

Ed Carpenter Leads Opening Day Practice at Indianapolis

Helio Castroneves was first on the track on Opening Day at Indy in AJ Allmendinger's car

Other than a 15 minute delay for "moisture" on the track - Indy's euphemism for rain - Opening Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway went off without a hitch. Chalk one up for the little guys as Ed Carpenter was fastest on the day. The traditional race to be the first car on the track was won by Helio Castroneves in A. J. Allmendinger's car but when Helio brought the car back to the pits after one lap lap with the engine bay smoking, you could see the looks of concern on the faces of Dinger and the Captain. Things like that are not supposed to happen to Indy's juggernaut Team Penske; turned out it was just a loose oil line fitting so no harm was done to the Chevy engine. After Helio shook the car down, A.J. went out later and passed all phases of his rookie test in about an hour and 20 minutes and seemed quite happy with his first day at Indy in the post-practice press conference.

The first day of practice at IMS is a rite of passage for spring in Indianapolis and yesterday was no different, as I saw lots of friends at the track in what has become a sort of annual reunion of people from all over. I even had a stranger come up to me and say "Hey, aren't you Indiana-ville? I read your blog!" That was a first and of course my photog friends had to give me grief over that when one of them said "So HE's the one!" as if only one person ever reads my blog posts. I had it coming to me though as I got to the track and realized I had taken my car reader out of my computer bag after my Talladega trip last weekend and had to borrow one from that same photog in order to download my pictures from the day. I'd be worried though if they weren't blowing me a bunch of crap so it just gets added to the goofy racetrack stories that I accumulate.

Helio supported Allmendinger during AJ's rookie orientation

One of the great things about Indycar racing is the teamwork and it was in evidence Saturday. All bets are off come race day but with the entry list now at 35 cars, there is the prospect of bumping and the rewards for winning the pole are significant in terms of publicity and prizes. Starting up front is also at a premium as I believe the lowest starting position for an Indy 500 winner is 28th so if you are outside the first nine rows, you have little chance of winning. So teamwork at the start of the month is key and Helio was on the radio with Allmendiger as AJ worked through the phases of his rookie test.

Hinchtown & Munoz worked closely Saturday

Teamwork was also evident at Andretti Autosport as James Hinchcliffe was in the ear of Carlos Munoz every time he came off the track, offering advice and support for the most impressive rookie on the day. Allmendinger's speed is no surprise with his wealth of open wheel experience in Champ Car, but Munoz could be the surprise of the race this year if his opening day results are any indication of things to come. It was nice to hear Munoz pay homage to his countryman Juan Pablo Montoya who won as a rookie in his only Indy 500 so clearly Carlos has motivation to repeat that feat and with the back of the 2013 season's strongest team so far, it is not outside the realm of possibility for him to start up front and challenge for an Indy win on May 26th. So much can happen between now and now so his biggest challenge may be complacency as it has come awfully easy so far and Indy is known to be a strict taskmaster for those who get lulled into a false sense of security.

Ed Carpenter

The happiest guy on the day must be Ed Carpenter although you wouldn't know it from his comments during the post-practice press conference. Ed has grown up at Indy and has now won two oval races in his Indycar career so he has to be considered a contender to win but he still feels the sting of poor performances here in years past, especially last year. People may not remember that Ed won the first Freedom 100 Indy Lights race here at the Speedway so he definitely knows the fast way around here. It would be a momentous occasion for his team and for the Hulman George family if Ed were to roll into Victory Lane and splash the milk on everyone to show that he has truly arrived as an Indycar driver. He has not always had a lot of support from fans and been derided in some circles for his family heritage but his racing prowess on ovals cannot be questioned so I look for him to continue to show speed and start near the front on race day.

Today is the second day of practice, and it is Mother's Day. Skies are clear of any rain chance today so I won't get hit with the "regenmeister" tag as so far this season, rain seems to go where I go racing:  two weeks ago at Salem, then last weekend at Talladega. I had a similar year in 2007 when it seemed like every race I worked had a rain delay. Today that will not be an issue but it is chilly so track temperature and generating heat in these Firestone tires might be a problem. As always at Indy people are looking at the forecasts for the week and it is going to warm up by Pole Day this coming Saturday but the chances of rain also increase as the week goes on. Today most teams should hit the track, complete their shakedown runs, and then start peeling off the downforce to find speed. To be fast at Indy you have to run on the knife's edge and these cars rarely get loose anymore but if you go over that edge, a snap loose condition is the last thing a driver wants going into Turn 1 or Turn 3. It usually doesn't end well.

I will call Mom from the track today so she can hear the roar of the cars as I have done for many years. She's used to me being here at IMS on Mother's Day and although she hasn't been feeling well lately, I'm still hoping she can make it back to Indy for the race from her home in Akron, Ohio. Not many little old white haired ladies dare brave this place at 78 years of age, but she's had the bug longer than I have and I love the fact that she still wants to go racing. Once a racer, always a racer!

Indy 500 Opening Day - It's Finally May!

Forty-three years ago I attended my first Indianapolis 500 and the thrill of going out to 16th & Georgetown to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has not diminished since then. Lots of changes have occurred at IMS over the years, but Indy is still Indy on race day and today the buildup begins for the 97th running of the 500.  People still refer to "The Month of May" around here even though it's now down to two weeks of track time and there's only one weekend of qualifying instead of two. Going to the track in May is a time honored Indianapolis tradition for thousands of race fans and it's still one of the best sports deals around.

Admission on practice days is only $10 and six hours of track time, the 500 Museum which is open year round, bands, and other fan oriented activities on site are enough to keep even a novice fan busy for the day. Qualification days cost only $15 while the final practice held the Friday before the 500, known as Carburetion Day, costs only $20 when the Indycars run for an hour, the Indy Lights race in the Freedom 100, teams compete in the annual pit stop competition and this year the band Poison will put on a concert on the infield stage. But the best deal going is to buy a bronze badge from the Speedway for $100. The badge gets you into the track and allows garage area access every day except for race day and if you plan to be at IMS every day they run, it's a no brainer.

And if you've only seen the Indycars on television, then please don't get lulled into thinking they look slow or unwieldy. Television simply does not do justice to the speed and spectacle of Indy, as the long TV lenses compress the images and don't truly reflect the fact that they travel over a football field per second every lap. I've often wondered why TV doesn't put cameras at ground level on the inside of the turns where most of the photographers work. Pan shots from that angle would truly show the speed at which Indycar drivers race   and help convey the image of the fastest racers in the world. After all, they started here in 1911, the series is named after Indianapolis and they've raced on this same track every year since then except for during the two world wars.

So today it all begins and I will be at the track every day. Already this week Indycar action has been on the news with NASCAR's Kurt Busch running a simulated rookie orientation program on Thursday in Ryan Hunter-Reay's car for Andretti Autosport. It was funny watching the TV reports and seeing his Furniture Row crew members with their fingers in their ears to mute the sound of the car as it ran down the frontstretch. That's another thing which television simply can't convey:  the total sensory experience which is Indy. Especially on the main straightaway where the grandstands create a canyon of echoes as the sound reverberates, Indycars scream and the place vibrates with noise when cars are on the track. Depending on which way the wind blows, the sound comes at you and envelopes you regardless of where you are and you feel it in your bones. Having normal conversations then is a challenge as it can be difficult to hear someone even when they are standing right next to you. Then when you get a whiff of the sweet smell of ethanol exhaust, there's no mistaking that this is Indy. On hot days you can smell the Firestone tire rubber, the sensory experience is complete and gearheads know they are at the mecca of auto racing where anything can happen and something special usually does.

These are a few of the reasons I shoot auto racing and got involved at Indianapolis as a photographer beginning in 1984. Everyone who knows me knows where I will be in May so if you're trying to find me, you'll have to go the westside of Indy. Come on out and join me in satisfying that need for speed with the Indycars and the Indy 500. There's no place like it and you won't be disappointed.

Indy 500 Preview

Dario Franchitti hopes to add a 4th ring

Opening Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is just three days away and it could be an Andretti-Foyt shootout just like the old days. Only the players have changed and it's not Mario battling AJ but Michael and the rejuvenated Andretti Autosport five-car team going against Larry Foyt's surprising single entry. With today's announcement of an entry for 1996 Indy winner Buddy Lazier, the official entry list shows 34 cars with 33 drivers listed, so there may be some bumping at Indy this year after all, but the stories for this May are just beginning to unfold. Chevy powers 17 cars; Honda has 16. Penske has a three-time 500 winner in Helio Castroneves and so does Chip Ganassi's team - defending 500 winner Dario Franchitti. Both will attempt to add their names to the short list of four-time winners which now only includes four drivers. In the 97th running of the 500, Indycar racing has a chance to continue to build momentum on an already interesting season so far. A week of practice with two days to qualify will be more than enough time for the field to take shape and new stories to emerge. And I will be at the track every day for motorsport.com posting blog updates and photos in my 26th year working as a credentialed media member at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Takuma Sato

Having run four races in the IZOD Indycar season so far and won three, clearly Andretti Autosport must be considered the favorite to win Indy. James Hinchcliffe snagged last weekend's race win in Brazil in daring fashion and has won two races for Andretti while Ryan Hunter-Reay took the pole and a road course win at Barber Motorsports Park. Either could win Indy with the right breaks. For Foyt, Takuma Sato got his first Indycar win this season and you just know Taku believes that he can win the 500 after a brave but failed attempt to make a last lap Turn 1 pass on Dario last year. Crashing while going for the win at Indy is nothing new but Taku has shown much improved race craft already this season which belies his history of being hard on equipment, so perhaps Larry Foyt has the right mix of people and equipment to make it happen this year.

Helio Castroneves

Lest anyone think it's a cakewalk for anyone I've mentioned so far, please forget that thought. Roger Penske has the most successful team in Indy 500 history and he pulls out all the stops to win the pole and the race. Helio has shown his mettle as both a qualifier and racer at Indy, so no one should dare count him out even though Penske drivers have been shut out of victory lane so far this season. Helio will want to add a fourth ring of his own. Helio and teammate Will Power will be joined by AJ Allmendinger this May in Dinger's first attempt at Indy and Tim Cindric knows how to pull the strings for the team to be successful with no expense spared to get another Indy win. Of course Penske's longtime archrival Chip Ganassi won't just roll over and cede Indy to anyone, even though the Target boys have had a miserable season so far by Ganassi's standards. With plenty of time to tweak and tune at Indy, I expect Dario to regain his form and he always brings his "A" game to IMS each May. Teammate Scott Dixon has one Indy win and they are joined this year by Ryan Briscoe, last year's pole winner for Penske. Surely Ryan has a something to prove this year as he settled for a top notch Indy-only ride after being left out in the off season shuffle for full season competitors.

Four former Indy 500 race winners (Castroneves, Franchitti, Dixon and Lazier) are entered along with four rookies, including Noblesville, Indiana's own Conor Daly, son of former Indycar and F1 driver Derek Daly, who will benefit immensely from being partnered with Sato in the second Foyt ride. Early season Indycar sensation Tristan Vautier has a steep oval track learning curve to overcome but time is everyone's friend at Indy when running hundreds of laps is possible in practice. Allmendinger may be new at Indy but he is not new to winning in open wheel competition so he will adapt quickly and could be a darkhorse contender to win in his first attempt at the 500 ala Juan Pablo Montoya. Carlos Munoz is the final rookie; he has has shown great speed in tearing up the admittedly thin Indy Lights ranks this season, so the Rookie of the Year battle will be an interesting competition. Add in veterans Tony Kanaan, Indy specialist Townsend Bell, Alex Tagliani, Marco Andretti and JR Hildebrand, plus three women (Ana Beatrix, Simona De Silvestro and Pippa Mann), this year's field may be light on numbers but it is diverse and heavy on talent as they prepare to race May 26th for the chance to add their faces to the Borg Warner Trophy and make Indy history.

Ryan Hunter-Reay

My personal favorite to win this year is James Hinchcliffe but right now I have to give the nod to his teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay who is the defending IZOD Indycar Series champion. He showed last season that he has the desire to do whatever it takes to get to the front and win and RHR has a great comeback story of his own. It could boost the Indycar series and the 500 if an American driver were to win this year. Of course everyone thought having an American season champion would create a buzz last year, but his series title was overshadowed somewhat by the handling of Randy Bernard's departure last fall so I'm sure Ryan would love to have the chance to drink the milk and remind everyone how far he has come in his racing career the last few years. 

Don't take my prediction to the bank just yet as everything could change after I see how they actually run once practice gets underway this weekend. Needless to say it doesn't get any better for me than being at Indy in May. Regardless of the outcome on race day, I will be where I belong, doing what I love, hoping to bring some of that passion through to you in words and pictures. After all is said and done, I'm just a Hoosier who was bitten by the racing bug at an early age and there's no place better to scratch that itch than at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Come on out and join me!

Talladega Review - A Photo Trek

Back home in Indianapolis after an 1183 mile round trip to Talladega, so many moments to savor from a challenging and productive weekend shooting the NASCAR event for AP. On Twitter last night I joked that the "24 Hours of Talladega" was finally over when I was leaving the track at 9:30 in the evening, and even though the racing didn't consume 24 hours, at times it sure seemed like it. I don't recall ever being at a race weekend with so many rain delays and the fact that both the races went overtime is remarkable given the conditions.

The weekend had a little bit of everything, but mostly it had lots of rain. Driving down Friday: heavy rain. The ARCA race (which I missed while en route) was rain shortened. Saturday more rain: Sprint Cup qualifying rained out and the Nationwide race had a long rain delay before getting started and then finished in near darkness. Then Sunday started off beautiful but ended up cold, wet and racing into darkness again with a three hour rain delay after 125 laps of the Sprint Cup race. Having been through tornadoes in the area at my first Talladega weekend two years ago, I know how volatile spring weather can be down there and this weekend I was especially glad I wasn't camping!

From a photography standpoint, the biggest challenges were keeping my gear dry and tweaking the ISO to try and keep up with the fading light on Saturday & Sunday. Staying warm was also an issue as every time a rain shower would blow through, the air temperature would drop. I was on top of the tallest grandstand with no cover or anyplace to hide from the chilly wind coming in from the west. It was interesting waiting out the rain delays and talking with the locals who were commenting on my camera gear with their pronounced southern drawls:  "I'll bet you can see Mars with that thang!" I did a lot of people watching during the delays and there's an odd sort of solitude that comes with being in a large crowd and not knowing a soul. I spent almost nine hours in position, in the stands or taking cover under the stands Sunday, but the end result was well worth it.

Talladega winner David Ragan

There was a surprise winner in Sprint Cup Sunday (David Ragan) and a photo finish in the Nationwide race Saturday so I know the fans felt like they got their money's worth. Matt Kenseth dominated the race and looked like a sure winner most of the day. Then Carl Edwards took the lead just before the red flag for rain and despite his best rain dance, the race was restarted three hours later so he became an also-ran. Jimmy Johnson made a quick two-tire stop late in the race and had his chance to win evaporate when the Ford duo of Ragan and David Gilliland charged to the front, seemingly out of nowhere, to take the top two spots in a green-white-checker finish. And of course there was the usual "Big One" wreck, two of them in fact, so the hooting and hollering fans got the drama they came to the track for. 

One of my favorite pictures of the day came early Sunday morning in the garage area where a four-year old boy was hanging on the fence and calling out driver names as they headed to the Sprint Cup driver's meeting. It brought back memories of myself at a similar age, so it would be interesting to see him in twenty years to see if he's been bitten by the racing bug as I was so many years ago. My pictures from the race after the red flag are still in Alabama and I have to wait for a disk to be mailed to me before I can post a complete gallery from the Sprint Cup race. Until then I give you a couple of others just to whet your appetite. Now it's back to Indycar racing this weekend with the opening of practice for the Indianapolis 500. It sounds like we may get 33 cars for the race after all so it will be interesting to see how things play out between Saturday and May 26th. Come on out to 16th & Georgetown. I should be there most every day pounding around the garage area, in the pits, the media center - you get the point. I will be everywhere! See you then.

The first "Big One"

Matt Kenseth dominated the Aaron's 499 but lost the magic at the end

Talladega Day Two - Sprint Cup Is Next

Yesterday was certainly my longest day at Talladega - but then I've only shot here a few times. Shooting a stock car race in near darkness without lights was a real challenge as was getting from my shooting position back to the media center after the Nationwide Series race finally ended around 8 pm local time. So I'm back in the  media center already this morning and ready to get going again. My shooting position will be the same for the Sprint Cup race today and I have to thank my friends at AP for the opportunity. It looks like I got three pictures out yesterday on the wire so it has already been a successful weekend. One of the great things about shooting for a media organization like AP is you never know where the pictures are going to be used. In a quick search this morning I found one on the Denver Post website and I am hoping for more today. Here's a link to one of the sites I found:

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/sports/national/collection_082961e4-b576-11e2-90ad-001a4bcf6878.html

This may sound a little crazy but one of the best things about getting up to come to the track this morning was  having a dry pair of shoes to put on! I kept my rain gear on all day yesterday and I really needed some gloves by the end of the Nationwide race but I didn't grab them before I left Indy so I had to do without. Thankfully I had a hoodie and otherwise stayed pretty warm and dry despite the unseasonably cold, wet weather that plagued the speedway yesterday. When I get back to Indy late tonight or tomorrow, depending on the weather, I will post some photo galleries with another blog update so until then, I will try to be safe and do a good job today from high atop the grandstands on the tri-oval. This place is mammoth and it's hard to get around on foot but it should be another good shooting day at the racetrack. But then every day at a race is a good day. See you at the track!

Talladega Road Trip Wet - Now the Waiting Begins

I love to drive. But racing road trips often include complications which make the long drives less enjoyable. Last night was a case in point where it rained off and on, sometimes quite hard, from Nashville, Tennessee all the way to my hotel on the east side of Birmingham, Alabama. Then I couldn't get on I-20 East due to road construction which pushed me past midnight Indy time, I had already been on the road for more than eight hours, and I couldn't figure out how to get around the detour for about half an hour. My phone battery was almost dead so I didn't dare use its GPS feature to map out an alternate route, so I had to rely on old fashioned paper maps to finally figure out a route. To top it off, I got to the hotel, lightning flashes and the power goes out as I am approaching the entrance drive. After finally checking in about 1:30 a.m. Indy time, nine hours after leaving home,  I got to the room and it was NOT what my reservation said it would be. Knowing I would be lucky to get six hours of sleep before   I needed to head to the track, I didn't argue and decided to just crash out after the desk clerk said they would make it right for Saturday night.

Now I am in the media center at Talladega and it is still raining. Chances are good that Sprint Cup qualifying will be rained out this morning but they should get the Nationwide race in as it is clearing to the west where the weather is coming from. Tomorrow may be another story altogether as more rain and storms with chilly temperatures are predicted. So now we wait and watch the skies and weather radar.

One thought I had on the road last night ties back to my original purpose for titling my blog "Welcome to Indiana-ville". This has been the trip of the "ville's" so far as I picked the title for all the little places on the road which end in -ville. Louisville. Brownsville. Munfordville. Scottsville. Millersville. Goodlettsville. All in Kentucky. Then Nashville and Peytonsville in Tennessee. Falkville and Hanceville in Alabama. So I guess Indiana is not unique in naming towns this way, and I-65 road signs show that our southern neighbors weren't a whole lot more creative apparently. I wonder who those people were after which those places were named...

One other thought I have is I love driving I-65 through Nashville, Tennessee. Lots of twisty highway sections and banked exits - people slow down way to much for them so it's easy to blow by lots of traffic and run the pace I like. Most of the time. Until the rains hit I was making good time, but my average dropped significantly after I got through Nashville. Now 549 miles later, I am ready to shoot some racing. I just hope I get the chance I came for this weekend. I'll be here until they tell me it's called off so come on down. But bring your frog toggs. I have mine on so I will be dry!

Tom Hessert Snags Second Salem Speedway ARCA Win

Tom Hessert Takes 2nd Straight  ARCA Checkered Flag at Salem Speedway

What began as a day that looked like it would be a total washout, ended with the victorious Tom Hessert being booed in Victory Lane at Salem Speedway after late race skirmishes took leader and local favorite Frank Kimmel out of the lead. Hessert made a last lap pass of Spencer Gallagher to win his second straight ARCA race at Salem. His win was not well received by the Salem faithful however, who though Hessert had roughed up Kimmel in Turn 1 with less than 10 laps to go. A green-white checker finish wrapped up a day of racing that went surprisingly according to the advance schedule despite threatening skies all day over the Salem high banks. Frank Kimmel's son will took third ahead of 15 year old phenom Kyle Weatherman and Travis Swaim.

We left Indy this morning about 9 and drove through solid rain showers until we got south of Columbus. The closer we got to Salem the drier I-65 became so we were optimistic the 200 lap race would be run. We have had numerous days like this at Salem's spring ARCA race, and today brought another sizable crowd out even in the iffy conditions. But as a couple of locals told me during a late race red flag, one of whom said he had been coming to Salem since 1976, "This place is a jewel to us. We come out here to camp out for two days and escape." So this must have been a perfect weekend for those fans as the race itself included the usual assortment of bruised and battered equipment, short tempers in the pits during the race and again afterwards on the front stretch between crew members, and at least one team owner hot under the collar for a driver who continued to race on a flat tire and wouldn't park the car when told to in the final laps.

Frank Kimmel pitted from the lead at Salem; he wound up sixth

Meanwhile we walked the whole track, working our way from Turn 1 at the start following the race down the backstretch and through the bumpy Turns 3 & 4 approaching Lap 100. It was obvious the recent pavement patches had done nothing to take away Salem's "character" so I was glad to see that the bumps still came into play. By lap 125 I was headed to the pits as I knew the leaders were still due to make one more stop, and with only 10 total tires available for the race, most teams would just add fuel and bolt on their final two Hoosiers and run to the end. That's what Kimmel did and it sure looked like he had the race in the bag until his late run in with Hessert knocked him down the order. One of the things I love the most about Salem is the feeling of being shoe-horned into the pit area with everyone else. You hear things and total strangers spill their guts, or crewman's shouts to one another cut through the din of race engine noise to leave an impression of hearing privileged communications. This is feeling on the inside of something exciting and when you think about what the people in this series are trying to do  - many of them dreaming about getting into the top ranks of stock car racing - it's a privilege to have the chance to be there in their midst with a camera.

You can go to http://www.arcaracing.com/news.php?contentid=15268 for more details on the race itslef, but I'm just here to give my two cents on the experience and share some photos with you. Here's a few in a quick album to enjoy. Next I am off to Talladega Friday to shoot the NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint CUp races for AP. I wish I could get there Friday to include the ARCA race in the weekend, but there's not way I can get away any sooner. Another racing road trip done; another one on the horizon. Then it's back to Indianapolis for the opening of Indy 500 practice the following week when I will be shooting and blogging for motorsport.com on a regular basis from the greatest racetrack in the world. As the late Sid Collins used to say, "Stay tuned race fans for the greatest spectacle in racing!"

Racing Roots & Road Trippin'

When I was a kid, all I wanted to do was play basketball. Eventually I began to take  a wider view of the world and decided I wanted to be a writer. So what did I do when my hoop dreams didn't pan out? I started writing, and one of the results was this blog when, as an adult, I was thoroughly consumed by the racing bug. I always tell people I came by my interest in racing naturally, and particularly Indycar racing, as I was born the day after Sam Hanks won the Indy 500 and retired in Indy's Victory Lane. Fast forward a few years and I got my first chance to shoot at Indy in 1984 after the infield crowd I had hung with started to dwindle in numbers. I knew I had to find a better way to be involved in racing after I had gone through the royal treatment in 1982 in the company of an Indy 500 princess at a race which had arguably the best finish ever at Indy when Gordon Johncock held off Rick Mears in a late race duel that remains the stuff of legends. The little camera I borrowed that year was woefully inadequate so then I had another itch to scratch - racing photography.

My roots in racing run deep as my grandfather and namesake helped build a dirt oval at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds in my mom's hometown of Warsaw, Indiana. He would take me in the pit area outside the fence by Turns 3 & 4 where I could get up close to the cars and drivers. I'd hang on the board fence, still not of school age, and get pelted with dirt from the sprint cars and local stockers which ran every night during the County Fair every summer. If we weren't at the track, we could hear the races and watch through binoculars from the backyard of Grandpa's house across the canal from the fairgrounds, eating watermelon and Penguin Point fried chicken as the night darkened. I found out later that Grandpa also had flown planes and barnstormed with Eddie Rickenbacker in the roaring 20's, and that he used to come to Indianapolis in the 30's when Rickenbacker owned Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Grandpa always seemed to know everyone so I was never too surprised to hear these kinds of stories. Mom even has stories about coming to the 500 as a kid in a converted school bus with Grandpa, watching the men help themselves to the contents of large metal wash basins full of iced down beer. Even at 78, Mom still comes to Indy for the 500. Not bad for a little gray haired "old lady".

So now we're coming to the time of year where my racing obsession really starts to take hold. I've shot one race already, at Barber Motorsports Park, and the next two months are going to be hectic. This weekend, we go to Salem Speedway in southern Indiana for the ARCA series race at a track I have come to love. Covering ARCA at Salem consistently since the Fall 2006 race, this will be my 14th straight ARCA event at this rough and rugged high banked half mile. Some track grinding and repaving has been done to smooth out some of the bumps, so I expect the track to be faster than ever. The Hoosier Lottery has come on board in the last two weeks as a naming rights sponsor so the track will be known as "The Salem Speedway Fueled by the Hoosier Lottery". ARCA has run more races at Salem than almost anywhere else and 200 laps always brings out their best, both the young guns like defending series champ Chris Buescher, and wily veterans like 9-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel. A fan at the track once told me "I growed up out here" and I could relate, since I feel the same way about Indy, having attended my first 500 in 1970 and  then every single 500 since 1976. Salem has become a second home track for me, and the ARCA series has some of the best young stock car racers anywhere. One of the great things about Salem & ARCA is you get to meet and know these guys before they hit the big time, and they are happy to pause for a photo and they already know to look straight into my lens for the eye contact shot. Check back here next weekend for updates.

The following weekend, I am headed back to Alabama to shoot NASCAR at Talladega. This will be my third spring race in a row at "Dega" and it is an awesome facility. Indy seems big but Talladega is mammoth as the high banks create the sort of high speed stock car racing I enjoy the most. You can have your paper clip tracks but give me a good high bank show any day. I should get there in time for Saturday and Sunday action and will be posting from the road and the track once I have met my photo obligations with AP. The folks down there have been great to work with and have given me some wonderful shooting spots the last couple of years so I am looking forward to "making some pictures" for the wire as they say.

Then the next weekend, practice starts for the Indianapolis 500 here in my hometown. The Month of May isn't what it once was at Indy but it's still the biggest race in the world and the one every open wheel driver wants to win. Steeped in tradition, the billiard table smooth racetrack invites risk taking at every corner of the rounded rectangle and there's nothing like the sounds and smells associated with Indycars at 230 mph flashing down the front straight. I have digital audio recordings from a handheld recorder in my iTunes so it's always refreshing when a snippet of Indycar sound comes up during shuffle play when I might be at the gym or riding my bicycle. As my lady friend likes to say, the "Month of Jay" is almost upon us and that means three straight weekends and numerous weekdays spent honing in on the speed stories from the Brickyard. More photos, more blog posts, and more stories for the memory banks when friends & family come around every year to see who will be the next one to get their image emblazoned on Indy's Borg Warner trophy. 

Funny thing is, there once was an Alley who raced at Indy - Tom Alley - but there has never been anyone with the surname "Smith" in the 500. And when people ask me how I spell my name, I tell them it's like Gasoline Alley. If you've been to Indianapolis you know where that is. I will see you there very soon and the cries of "Is it May yet?" are just about to be answered.

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!

Indycar & Grand Am Racing at Barber Motorsports ParkHelio

Helio through the trees

I made it to Barber this year, so my ill fated Daytona trip is almost forgotten. Once I heard the sounds of Indycars on track Friday and smelled the ethanol exhaust, I felt like I was at home again. It's always an adventure going to a racetrack for the first time and Friday was no exception. When I got here mid afternoon Friday, an Indycar practice session was just starting and I inadvertently took a tram ride all the way around the track when in reality I had parked just a few hundred yards from the paddock area entrance. Then I went to the race control tower when I should have been in the media tent! But I got it all sorted out by the end of that first short day so I was really getting excited about working Saturday when a full slate of racing would be on tap from dawn to dusk.

Barber hill climb!

Saturday was one of the longest days I have ever had at a racetrack with virtually non-stop action on the track and photos to edit and upload to www.motorsport.com with very little time between track activity sessions. And then there was the walking. Mercy! This track is set amidst a pine forest of rolling hills and while the track layout is very condensed, it is tough sledding getting from one place to another. On top of that, there were heavy rains Thursday night and Friday morning which made some areas along the track guardrail slick as snot. There was more than one time when I almost went down just from the slippery conditions. Then in shooting positions, the hills came into play frequently offering great vantage points and some really unique angles. Chasing light was never a problem Saturday as it was bright and sunny; Sunday for the Indy Lights and Indycar races promises more of the same.

Ferris wheel in fan zone

Saturday morning was open wheel time while Saturday afternoon the ferris wheel, but the best way to get there is by tram and there's been no opportunity for me to get there so far. Rolex Grand Am and Continental Tire series races were run. Both were quite entertaining as usual but it was hard to keep tabs on who was doing what, especially in the Continental race as the public address system at the track was inaudible from most of the shooting locations I found. Barber does a great job with video screens placed around the circuit at various locations to improve visibility for the fans and the main scoring pylon in the center of the circuit is visible from almost everywhere. The hospitality areas here look fantastic with a Paddock Club right behind the pits which includes a Victory Lane overlook, and paddock passes are a very popular item. While I have not had time to get there, there's a huge fan zone near the Barber Vintage Museum with a ferris wheel and all kinds of displays for fans to enjoy along with the museum.

The Museum overlooks Turns 1-4

This track is notorious for being to difficult to pass on for Indycars, as it was originally built with motorcycles in mind. Drivers in the sports car races Saturday had no such difficulty as the multiple class format allows enough of a speed differential for drivers to be patient and pass on one of the central straightaways in the middle of the track. Diving into the bowls where many of the turns are located must be quite exhilarating as a driver and I would be curious to know what kind of g-force loading the drivers must be facing. Today is race day for the Firestone Indy Lights and the IZOD Indycar Series, with both series having morning warmups to get ready. The paddock area has been cleared by the sports car teams so the main even is just a few hours away. After driving 514 miles to get here on Friday, I have felt like a kid in a candy store all weekend and today should be the best yet. Until I get the chance to write again, here's a few pix from my weekend so far. I hope to see you at a racetrack soon, and I am really enjoying my first opportunity to shoot for motorsport.com and I hope that this is just the beginning!

Hinchtown Takes Indycar Win at St. Pete

James Hinchcliffe got his first Indycar win at St. Petersburg

Although it has been about a month since my ill-fated trip to the Daytona 500 was derailed by winter weather, I got just the salve I needed to soothe my soul this weekend, even though I couldn't get to St. Petersburg. Canadian James Hinchcliffe won his first Indycar race in the adopted hometown of Dan Wheldon Sunday and did so with class and style. Hinch was chosen in 2011 by Michael Andretti to take over the GoDaddy ride following Danica's defection to NASCAR and Danny's untimely death. Now barely a year and a half later, Hinchtown ruled the streets of St. Petersburg to win an Indycar race (and the first for GoDaddy in Indycar) where Dan Wheldon Way is part of the circuit. Andretti Autosport has historically done well at St. Pete and Hinch was spot on for the last third of the race. He held off last year's winner Helio Castroneves for the last 26 laps after Helio outbraked himself on a late restart going into Turn 1 and Hinch swept past him to take a lead he would not surrender despite constant pressure from Indycar's resident spiderman.

When the checkered flags finally waved, everyone at the front was pretty much out of tires, and Simona DiSilvestro was the unfortunate victim of several late passes as a result, dropping her from a solid third place finish to sixth at the end. The Swiss Miss was the real star of the race from what I could see on the NBC Sports Network broadcast as Simona started third and drove the wheels off of her KV Racing machine, seemingly destined to post her best ever Indycar finish. Marco Andretti made a late charge to steal third from Simona, then she also got swamped by Tony Kanaan and Scott Dixon at the finish line.

It was a thoroughly entertaining race to watch as the normal frontrunners seemed to begin the season with bad luck or encountered a calamity of one sort or another. Will Power started on pole (again) but ended up as an inadvertent launch pad for JR Hildebrand during a caution period. Anyone with a Honda engine seemed to be slow, and Target Ganassi teammates Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon were well off the pace Friday and Saturday, forcing them both to start deep in the field. Dario tried to make up for it during the race Sunday on cold tires and crashed out of the race following a pit stop. Graham Rahal got involved in contact in his first race for his father Bobby's team, and Sebastian Saavedra had a strong run going for Dragon Racing (Team Sebastian) until contact took him out.

Bright spots for the weekend included rookie Tristan Vautier's strong qualifying and race performance. He was quite impressive all weekend but was bitten by a mechanical bug that knocked him out of a sure top-six finish. Scott Dixon's run from 20th to 5th was impressive as was EJ Viso charging from 22nd to 7th in his first race for Andretti Autosport. More impressive was Viso's apparent maturity in keep his car off the wall and away from other competitors as he moved up in the field. I don't think he would have been able to do that prior to this season, so perhaps the Andretti backing will be the steadying influence he needs. Takuma Sato took 8th in his first race for AJ Foyt Racing, ahead of Justin Wilson and Alex Tagliani.

I had lots of friends at St. Pete but unfortunately I could not make the trip this year. I am still hopeful of shooting the Indycar/GrandAm event at Barber Motorsports Park in less than two weeks but I still do not have credential confirmation as yet. Not going to Daytona for AP was a huge disappointment for me but if things work out for Barber, that will all be forgotten. There is some uncertainty around my racing photography this season since the publication I have been shooting for since 2006 is gone following demise of American Motor Journal after the unexpected passing of AMJ's editor  Don Hamilton last fall. I do have a few irons in the fire for ARCA and NASCAR but Indycar is my first love, and I know I do good work when I am at the tracks. With a little more than two months left to teach this school year, summer will be here soon and I know I will be shooting races somewhere. I hope to see you at the track along the way, and if you hear about anyone needing a motorsports photographer, then please send them my way! Let's race.