Indy 500: Rain, Rain, Go Away

Rain gave way to cool, windy gray skies Wednesday at IMS

Wednesday May 14th was a perfect example of why I love the Indy 500 and living in Indianapolis during the month of May. Spring weather in central Indiana is notoriously unpredictable and the last few days have been all of that and more. Last weekend for the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis and the first day of practice for the 500, it was in the 80's with lots of sunshine. Yesterday the forecast was for rain the entire day with falling temperatures, which was mostly correct, and when I got up yesterday morning, I thought sure the whole day would be a washout. By 3:00 o'clock I could see that the parking lots were drying at the school where I teach so I kept checking the weather radar, Twitter and the Speedway's "garage cam" hoping that it might clear up enough for some track activity once I was done with classes at 4:00. Sure enough, the weather "window" opened and by the time I got to IMS, track drying was almost complete and I knew I had gotten lucky. Living in Indy is May can provide bonuses like that when it's usually less than 30 minutes to get to the track no matter where you are. But now it was much colder and blustery so I needed the jacket and gloves I keep in my car just for days like yesterday.

Josef Newgarden's crew makes pit lane adjustments

Once the track went green, the activity got frantic as there appeared to be another bad weather cell moving in that could cut the already short day even shorter. I knew I had to get busy as well since there would be lots of people that would write the day off and I had an opportunity to get photos for motorsport.com that could be unique with so few people around. I decided to concentrate on the garage area, pit lane and the front stretch since it wasn't clear how long the weather window would stay open. I noticed right away that teams were really pushing hard to get laps run and were making lots of pit lane adjustments rather than wheeling the cars all the way back to the garage area. The order of the day seemed to be spring and shock changes and it was very interesting to see that work being done while packs of cars raced down the main straight in the background.

Ryan Briscoe (8) passes EJ Viso on the front stretch

There was also a lot of drafting and running in packs with passes being made going into Turn 1, which I thought was highly unusual with only two practice days left before qualifying. However, the forecast for today and tomorrow calls for more rain and the weekend temperatures are predicted to only be in the 50's, so any laps the teams could run could prove beneficial as the conditions Wednesday likely were similar to what they will face this weekend. There were lots of concerned faces on pit lane as the next weather system approached and then Jack Hawksworth crashed in Turn 3 around 6:00 which would have been the normal closing time for the track. But in another example of how the Speedway has become more open to adapting to circumstances, they had announced that practice would be extended to 7:00 pm which was quite unusual for a weekday practice day. Then it rained again and the day was over after only an hour or so of practice, yet teams still ran over 1,000 laps.

Roger Penske looked concerned Wednesday

With GP of Indy winner Simon Pagenaud setting fast time in Wednesday's abbreviated practice session and more wet weather in the forecast, teams are going to start feeling the pressure of Indianapolis ratchet up. Everyone starts the week feeling free and easy with lots of time to prepare on the calendar but Mother Nature often has her own ideas about the actual track time. Indy is a place that everyone wants to win and there is little risk of bumping this year, yet teams still want to start up front and the competition between Penske, Ganassi and Andretti has now been supplemented by Sam Schmidt's relatively small team and their talented wheelman Pagenaud. Even if the weather isn't warm, a team and driver can get hot at Indy where everything just seems to fall into place. It's too soon to say whether Pagenaud and Schmidt will have that kind of month but I would be willing to bet the other teams have taken notice.

I have to teach late today and won't be able to get back to IMS until tomorrow afternoon, so much could change between now and then. I'm glad I'm only 30 minutes away from the track no matter what and I'll be doing my best to make some pictures for motorsport.com. Why? Because it's Indy and that's what I do. See you at the Speedway! ANd keep checking motorsport.com for more Indy 500 news and photos.

Tools of the trade at Indianapolis. Who will have the magic combination?

Simon Pagenaud Wins Inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis

Simon Pagenaud: now an Indy winner

By just about any measure, the first ever Indycar road course race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) was a success. The weather for race day was perfect and a decent crowd reportedly in excess of 40,000 fans showed up. The infield spectator mounds were packed and the Indycar drivers put on a show for those in attendance. I have suggested to many people that this was a perfect opportunity for the casual Indycar fan to experience the Verizon Indycars in a road racing setting. And what better place to do it than at the Speedway? Not only that, if the only Indycar race you have ever attended is the Indianapolis 500, then watching the Indycar drivers joust on the IMS road course should have been an eye opener. The course was fast and racy, and there was much to see, beginning with a start line accident and ending with the fast and likable Frenchman Simon Pagenaud taking his third career Indycar win. Indiana's harsh winter and late spring did no favors for the Speedway's crews who were tasked with preparing the reconfigured road course for the event, as some areas where earthmoving had occurred were a little ragged and not up to the Speedway's usual level of landscape grooming. But I don't think anyone noticed who was there and the show went on with relatively few glitches.

Sebastian Bourdais on the IMS frontstretch following one of Friday's rain showers 

I was shooting for motorsport.com  and had a very busy weekend with two full days of shooting the Grand Prix of Indianapolis on Friday and Saturday followed by a quick turnaround for the opening day of Indy 500 practice on Sunday. The weather on Friday was typical spring in Indiana - if you don't like the weather then wait five minutes and it will change. And change it did, with several different periods of rain quickly giving way to sunshine and dry conditions.

Ryan Hunter-Reay found the wall in GP of Indy qualifying

This really created challenges for the teams but made for some very interesting photo opportunities, with rooster tails of spray galore and a potential Indycar pole winner, Ryan Hunter-Reay, smacking the concrete during Indycar qualifications after hydroplaning in Turn 14. I was waiting near the yard of bricks in the pits to take pictures of the pole award when the sound of squealing tires resonated between the grandstands on the front stretch, followed shortly by the crunch of Hunter-Reay's car into the wall.  It has been quite awhile since I have heard an Indycar crack the concrete at IMS but it was quite loud and very different than the sound heard for the last few years when they hit the metal SAFER barriers. It's a good thing it was not a high speed accident and I think this area of the front stretch is something they will need to address in the future by extending the SAFER barrier further north so the cars can't hit concrete when coming back onto the oval from Turn 14.

Simon Pagenaud navigates a turn in Indy's infield

I felt like I had a good weekend shooting and it's nice seeing my pictures used with various articles on motorsport.com. The site uses a ton of pictures from a variety of sources and I am glad to be considered as a contributor. Even as long as I've been shooting racing, I am still amazed when a situation comes up which forces me to learn something new. I had a couple of those situations this weekend and I am glad that they arise as they keep me on my toes and force me to evaluate what I am doing and how I am doing it. I won't tell you all the things I've learned this weekend, but I sure wish I had a 500 mm lens!

The new/old paint scheme Helio Castroneves has for the 500

Now the attention shifts from the IMS road course to the oval for the Indy 500. Qualifications are this weekend and the whole format has been changed so the pole winner won't be known until Sunday. Helio Castroneves is looking for his fourth Indy 500 win and leads the Penske stable in bright yellow Pennzoil colors this year, a paint scheme virtually identical to the one sported by another Penske driver and four-time Indy winner Rick Mears. Helio even changed his helmet design to mimic the one used by Mears back in the day. It's no surprise that after only two days of practice that Penske drivers are near the top of the speed charts, and the competition this week between Roger Penske's crew of Helio, Will Power and Juan Pablo Montoya will be fierce. Power finally won an oval race last season and Montoya won the 500 in his only previous try so they will certainly be drivers to watch. Michael Andretti's five car stable will also be in the mix, despite Hunter-Reay's accident and the concussion suffered by Jame Hinchcliffe in Indy's GP race. Of course the picture wouldn't be complete without Chip Ganassi who has last year's Indy 500 winner (Tony Kanaan), last year's Indycar season champion (Scott Dixon) and the return of Ryan Briscoe who has won the pole for the 500 before.

Every driver wants their likeness on the Borg-Warner trophy

I am looking forward to getting back to the track to work this week as my teaching schedule gives me limited opportunities until later in the week. Qualifying this weekend should be interesting but Pole Day will be different this year. Pole Day has historically been the first Saturday of qualifications for decades, but now the "Fast Nine" has been moved to Sunday.  Changes to qualifying this year have been done to spice up qualifying weekend due to the slim entry list and concerns about whether the traditional field of 33 cars will be achievable this year. No one is certain how this new format will work out, but one thing is certain about the Speedway now:  nothing is certain. The new leadership of the track has shown the willingness to try lots of new things in order to maximize revenues from the property. Seeking public funding assistance as they did in 2013 for future improvements was a whole new arena for IMS management. When I read recently that former Governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels, has joined the Board, I knew that the groundwork was being laid for future forays into the politics of public money. Having the Sports Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) conduct a three day race event in June is another new addition to the IMS calendar for 2014. Now if the Town of Speedway can follow through on its plans to change the alignment of 16th Street and other nearby roads, maybe IMS will have enough land on the south end of the track to build a condo/race suite tower ala Texas, Atlanta and other racetracks.

I doubt anyone will be thinking about road or condo construction at IMS this weekend, with the possible exception of Doug Boles and Mark Miles. I just hope they can put on a good show for the fans, since I'm not sure the speed and risk of qualifying really translates all that well on television. Now with a few more inches of turbo boost, that could all change too! I'll be back with more later from the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Stay tuned.

Dega Done: Grand Prix of Indy Up Next

This Is Talladega! The Nationwide Series put on a wild show on Saturday

My Talladega road trip last weekend to shoot ARCA and NASCAR for Associated Press went off without a hitch and now I am gearing up for Indycars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) the rest of this month. Track action for the first ever road course race at IMS kicks off tomorrow and then the Verizon Indycar competitors begin Indy 500 practice on the big oval this Sunday, one day after the Grand Prix of Indianapolis is run. It's a quick turnaround for everyone and the big question will continue to be:  will they get 33 cars for the traditional 11 rows of three for the 500? We shall see, and I will be shooting for motorsport.com and blogging throughout the month to share my impressions. You know I will have an opinion or ten to share!

AP used this shot of Denny Hamlin taking the Aaron's 499 Sprint Cup win on Sunday

I had an excellent weekend at Dega, not quite as good as last October's NASCAR weekend, but I did get five pictures out on the AP wire from Saturday and Sunday's races. I didn't photograph any flipping race cars like last fall, but I did get to shoot some celebrities, some crashes and cars on fire, which is a pretty good setup for a freelance stringer like me. I really enjoyed the variety of shooting locations from which I worked this weekend, and the confidence my AP bosses have shown in me when I go to Dega. Even if I don't sell any pictures, I am still highly motivated to do a great job for them every time I go down there. Saturday morning for the ARCA race, I was on top of the highest grandstand in the tri-oval. Then I got moved to the Turn 4 photo tower in the afternoon for the Nationwide race. I didn't have a hot pass so I didn't worry about shooting in the garage or pits, and then Sunday I got positioned at pit exit on the inside with a perfect view of the start-finish line and the flag stand. My job was to get the checkered flag shot Sunday and stay ready for anything else which might happen. I was hoping for a photo finish but the shot (above) that I got of Denny Hamlin taking the checkered and yellow flags was on the money so I was a happy camper.

Kasey Kahne's car caught fire during Saturday's Nationwide race; he was not hurt

One of the biggest thrills shooting for AP is to google my name afterwards to see where my photos have been used. Their worldwide distribution is among the best in mass media and the first link I saw of my Denny Hamlin shot was from the Denver Post! Another great aspect about shooting for AP in other parts of the country is the chance to meet and work with people I wouldn't ordinarily encounter. My experience has been that southern hospitality is a real thing, and when I got to the track Saturday morning, one of the first familiar voices I heard was a woman hollering "Hey babycakes!" and I knew it was an AP connection. Last fall at Dega, I had told the wife of an AP shooter about the nicknames my lady friend has given me (including The Energizer Bunny, Mr. Photographer and Babycakes) so it was cool that she remembered and greeted me that way. She was there to shoot and help out as our photo runner and her husband and I kept her busy on Saturday with repeated trips to our location in Turn 4 during the Nationwide race. The above shot of Kasey Kahne was from Saturday's race and for a photo stringer, the more spectacular the incident the better.

Actress Pamela Anderson at Dega

A two day race weekend can be exhausting but it's always worth it. Sometimes there's luck involved with photos that get put on the wire and sometimes it's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time and being ready. That happened Saturday morning as I went into the ARCA garage area to say hello to my ARCA series friends and was told that actress Pamela Anderson was there with ARCA driver Leilani Munter. Naturally I had to go make some pictures. I forgot all about the shots until later that day when the AP folks were looking at my CF cards. As a result, they found two of Anderson that got transmitted. I assure you celebrity photos were the last thing I expected to get used this past weekend. Does it get any better that that? I keep asking myself the same question and the universe keeps on answering with a resounding "The best is yet to come" the more I shoot and network.

So tomorrow the Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens for the first Grand Prix of Indianapolis, I have the hot pass I need to shoot in the pits during the race and will be extremely busy covering the event from all angles for motorsport.com. Working for them is a whole different ballgame compared to AP as I have freedom to roam the track, shoot people, cars in action and "event" setting shots for uploading. My next three weekends are set for Indycar racing, my first motorsports love, and I get to do it at the most famous racetrack in the world. For now I will leave you with slideshows from all three races at Talladega this past weekend. Your best bet is to find me on Twitter @alleygroup if you want to track me down. See you at Indy!

Aaron's 499 Sprint Cup Race Action

Aaron's 312 Nationwide Series Race Action

ARCA Hall of Fame 200 Race Action

Talladega Baby!

As they like to say in Bama, "This is Talladega"

So far, so good. The trip south has gone off without a hitch with a near record drive time on Friday, perfect weather for the weekend, and I got four pictures moved by AP yesterday. Today is the Aaron's 499 and I will be in Turn 1 at ground level for the first time and am told I should have a view of the start-finish line. Shooting in the Turn 4 tower yesterday for the Nationwide race was fruitful and I am looking forward to another good day here at Dega. To paraphrase an old Saturday Night Live line:  "Talladega has been very, very good to me." 

Elliott Sadler (11)  took the Nationwide win

Today I will just concentrate on doing my job, which is to make pictures that help AP tell the story of the event. Our friend Dave Martin is no longer with us after suffering a heart attack shooting a college bowl game this past New Year's Eve, but he is here in spirit and we are all thinking about him. There's already been conversation about "Mullet-isms" and not having him around this year to engage in the story telling he was known for has been strange. But as I have said before, I learned a lot from Dave and will try my best to live up to his legacy today. His pet phrase and pep talk was to go "make some f-ing pictures" and that sentiment underlies everything we do here. At our photo meeting this morning, we were encouraged to go make the best pictures of our lives and not to "get beat" by the competition. High standards indeed, but the ingredients and experience are here to make that a reality.

The Nationwide race had it's "Big One" Saturday in Turn 4

Anyone who follows NASCAR knows that Talladega is known for three- and four-wide pack racing which almost always seems to lead to "The Big One" where a wad of race cars ends up in the wall. Yesterday's Nationwide race was no different and I was on it from the beginning as they entered Turn 3. As they came out from behind the wall of motor homes in front of me, I loosened up my framing, and in hindsight I was probably too loose. Consider it a lesson learned for today...

Once I head back to Indy tonight, my crazy month of May will shift gears and focus on Indycar racing for the rest of the month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Being at Talladega is a fantastic way to start off the month and I know that whatever has gone on before today, there is one certainty:  the best is yet to come.

The Nationwide race got tight and they commenced to wreckin'

It's Finally May! Let The Madness Begin

Ken Schrader (#52) leads the field at Salem on April 27, 2014

After shooting last Sunday's race at the rough and rugged half mile of Salem Speedway for ARCA, May has finally arrived and it is off to the big tracks for the next few weeks. So if you ask the question "Where in the world is Jay?" ala Where's Waldo, the answer now will be Talladega and Indianapolis, as I head south this weekend to shoot ARCA and NASCAR for Associated Press and then back home to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway next weekend for the very non-traditional opening of the track with the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis for motorsport.com. Last weekend started a string of weekends where I will be shooting racing and my birthday wraps up this month so it's no wonder that people who know me refer to this as "The Month of Jay". I like that!

Schrader's damaged car after the race

This was my 16th straight ARCA race at Salem and the series always puts on a good show. The race is a big deal for local fans and I always enjoy shooting there. It looked like Ken Schrader had it in the bag until about 10 laps to go when he ran into the back of a lapped car which was fighting to stay on the lead lap. Schrader damaged his right front fender and on the final restart blew the right front tire which sent him into the wall in Turn 1 after taking the green. Some people were upset that ARCA did not throw the yellow but Kenny kept running slowly and finished the race out of the racing line, so I think it was a good call to let the eventual winner Grant Enfinger fight it out with Spencer Gallagher. Since ARCA will run as many green-white-checkers as are necessary to finish under green, I don't see how Enfinger's popular win can be disappointing to anyone, but then racers are an opinionated lot, so I am not surprised that there was some grumbling.

Schrader congratulated winner Grant Enfinger with style

I think I've been to more races at Salem now than at any track besides Indy so it has become a home away from home. It's especially nice since I have friends who head up Salem's track safety crew and we have a bit of a reunion each time I make the trek down I-65. I am also looking forward to shooting ARCA this weekend at Talladega for AP. The big bonus for me comes this June and July when I will do five (5) races as the main photographer for the ARCA series:  Pocono (for the first time), Michigan, Winchester, Chicagoland and Lucas Oil Raceway. As a result, I will get to see ARCA race on all kinds of circuits this year while providing photos for the series' websites and social media presence. So I'll probably have some other road trip stories to tell this summer on the way to Indiana-ville.

Tomorrow I head south on I-65 again, but this time just a bit further south:  Talladega! It will be my first event with the Birmingham/Montgomery AP gang since local AP chief photographer Dave Martin died this past New Year's Eve while shooting a college football bowl game. I expect another reunion of sorts is likely with many people I met through working with Dave. I learned a lot from him and he always took care of me at Dega, so I am anxious to see everyone again and make some f-ing pictures, as "Mullet" would say. I'm sure there will be some sort of tribute to him this weekend, and I am glad to have the chance to be a part of whatever happens. My biggest regret in working for Dave is that I don't have a single picture of he and I together, so I hope we make sure and take a group picture with everyone shooting for AP this weekend. Life is short and we never know when our last time together will be.

I've had some amazing weekends at Dega, going back to my first spring race in 2011 when tornadoes and severe weather wracked the area on the Friday night preceding the weekend. I was camping in an area outside the track that year and was getting calls from friends and family back home in Indy to see if I was OK as they heard reports of the Alabama weather. Similar weather strafed the Birmingham area this past week and I know several of my AP friends were out in harm's way getting pictures of the storms and their aftermath. Last year's race weekend was also effected by bad weather with lengthy rain delays both Saturday and Sunday, when I spent successive 10+ hour days hiking up and down the main grandstands either shooting or taking cover from the elements. The forecast is much better for this weekend so I am excited to see how the ARCA, Nationwide and Sprint Cup races will play out. I'm thinking the over-under on how many minutes it will take before I hear a fan holler "Junior!" once I'm at the track is two. That may be conservative.

After Dega comes Indy the next weekend and the "Month of Jay" will be in full swing. Come on out to the track if you're around. I'll be out there somewhere. Your best bet to find me is on Twitter @alleygroup. Until then, here's a few race action pix from Salem. If you want to see more pix, then go to ARCA's website. Why not buy a few while you're there? It will help out a future star in stock car racing.

Indycar Photographer: 30 Years in the Making

1957 Indy 500 Winner Sam Hanks

I was born the day after Sam Hanks won the Indy 500 so I suppose becoming an Indycar  and motorsports photographer was to be expected. I originally started this post before the Verizon Indycar Series hit the track for the season opening race in St. Petersburg but life intervened. I was lamenting the fact that I was going to be stuck in Indy enduring our interminable winter rather than being at the racetrack with my left eye pressed against a viewfinder of my Canon cameras. But after spending my way to Daytona twice already in 2014 with little to show for it other than a slew of great images and credit card receipts, I could not justify another trip to the Sunshine State. By this time most years, I have already written a preview of the upcoming Indycar title chase but now that the opening of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a little more than three weeks away with the running of the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis, I am moved to reflect moreso than looking ahead.

An Indy 500 infield spectacle from days thankfully long gone

This May will be 30 years since I shot my first Indianapolis 500 as a media member and I am thankful that Alex Persons gave me a chance at UPI when I had more passion than skill and just wanted to be a part of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Of course racing has changed tremendously since 1984 but shooting at Indy has been a constant in my life and anyone who knows me understands where they can find me each May. I've written often about how much I love shooting motorsports, especially Indycars, and I could certainly be accused of having more passion than sense at times when it comes to shooting racing. I know of only a handful of people who are actually able to make a living as racing photographers and the media world is entirely different now than when I first got involved.  This blog, my website, my social media presence on Twitter and Facebook, and the numerous race event photo galleries I post to promote races, tracks and series - they are all a result of pursuing that passion. I often joke that I am still waiting to be discovered - that hasn't happened yet either, but certainly not for lack of trying. Blame it on inhaling too much racing fuel exhaust or too much time in the sun, but when May rolls around each year, I am all in.

Sports car legend, the late Al Holbert, tried Indy in 1984

Being a born and raised Hoosier, it should come as no surprise that basketball was my first love. Racing comes in a very close second, however. My grandfather and namesake introduced me to racing at the county fairgrounds in Warsaw, Indiana where he had helped get a small dirt track built. Walking through the paddock with him or hanging on the board fence watching the sprint and stock cars run are memories that have left indelible impressions on me. Moving to Indianapolis in 1968 only cemented the deal. I have been to every Indy 500 since 1976, plus all of the Brickyard 400's, and Lord knows how many other races around America over the years. Yet Indianapolis still has my heart and I am looking forward to another month of May. Last May will be hard to top, however, as it it was my first 500 shooting for motorsport.com and I got to shoot from the roof of the penthouse for the start and in victory lane after the finish. Now this May for the first time there's another race at IMS on the revamped road course, Indycar has instituted new qualifying procedures for the 500, and I will be busier than a one armed paper hanger the entire month since I still have my teaching obligations to fulfill as life will inevitably intervene again. But I can be at the track in 30 minutes on any given day and when it's Indianapolis, all is right in my world.

I will see you at the corner of 16th & Georgetown, or in Gasoline Alley, or by the fence on the road course, very soon. Is it May yet?

Jim Crawford exits the pits during the 1988 Indy 500

Now an Indycar team owner, Bobby Rahal pits in 1991

2014 Daytona 500: A Long Day At The Race

Fans autograph the start-finish line; I did too

My second Daytona 500 was another interesting day in my journey as a motorsports photographer, replete with monsoons, tornado warnings, wildlife sighting, signing the start-finish line before the race, and a popular winner in Dale Earnhardt, Jr. It was almost unbelievable that they ran the entire 200 lap distance after the initial red flag for "moisture" after 38 laps had been run. The day had started off beautiful but the forecasters had the timing of the rain nailed quite well as it turned out, and I am glad that there were some other people in Turn 2 who helped me out when the worst of it hit the area. Seven hours later the race resumed and it got crazier as the night wore on since it looked like another batch of rain might cut the 500 miles short after all. I'll get back to that in a minute...

The Brickyard Lounge menu

Thursday and Friday nights I had slept in my rental car in the infield parking area but Saturday night I crashed on a pullout sofa bed in the suite a couple of Indy friends had invited me to share. We had gone to dinner at "The Brickyard Lounge" on International Speedway Boulevard after the Nationwide race on Saturday which was pretty cool. The restaurant was in a shotgun of a building, probably less than 20 feet wide, and it's theme was all racing: "Where Indy and NASCAR Fans Meet" according to the menu and the sign on the front window. My friends John & Mike had been to Daytona many more times than I had so after we hung out at their hotel room for awhile following dinner, we hit Main Street in Daytona Beach to see the sights. The Boot Hill Saloon was the primary destination but we stopped in a few other places they knew of and of course I had to check out the gaudy souvenir shop at the corner of Main and A1A. It was a fun evening with loud music, quite a few gorgeous Harley Davidson's and lots of race fans. I went back to the hotel before midnight with the intention of getting up early and heading back to the track early Sunday, not knowing what traffic would be like on race day. I was up by 6 a.m. on Sunday, back inside the track by 7 and in the media center by 8 getting my laptop set up and checking all my camera batteries.

Luke Bryan

After breakfast in the media center, I made a trip around pit lane and the frontstretch to experiment some more with the 8-15 mm fisheye lens I had on loan from Canon. On my way out, I saw country music star Luke Bryan and some other celebrities and after signing the start-finish line as my brother had requested, I was back in the media center by 10:30 to rest my legs for what promised to be a long afternoon on my feet. I had no idea at the time how long it would actually turn out to be and I did not want to believe the Intellicast reports of rain coming in sometime after 1 p.m., which naturally was about the time the race was to start. By 12:30 I was packed up with my rain gear and everything else I needed to shoot from the inside of Turn 2 at the pumphouse where I had been for all the races during the weekend. It was starting to cloud over as pre-race festivities were winding down and I started to feel a few raindrops around lap 30 but it didn't look too bad so I just bagged my gear and stowed it on the fender of a flat bed truck nearby used by the track fencing crew.

Fifteen minutes later, I was crouched beneath that flat bed seeking shelter from the downpour which had erupted. Then a car backed into a space next to the truck, the rear door opened a crack and I heard someone ask "You want in?" Without hesitation I jumped in the back seat as my car was still a mile away in infield the parking area and there was nowhere else for me to go. I have been through plenty of rain delays over the years where any kind of shelter will do but this time seemed different. It turned out the guys in the car were all with FOX and one of them was the camera operator who had been on the tower near the pumphouse all weekend. His name was PK and the driver introduced himself as "Turtle" who manned the camera at the entrance of Turn 3. Ironically Turtle said he was from Carmel and Terre Haute originally so we had a Hoosier connection. Over the next 30 minutes as they figured out when the best time was to cover their video gear with what they called "elephant bags" the rain worsened and announcements were made on the track PA system that a tornado warning for the area had been issued and everyone should seek shelter. We were all checking weather radar on our phones and trying to sort out what to do and they thankfully took me back over to the media center before they took off for the TV compound which I learned was outside the track near Turn 3. So I got dried out in the media center and joined everyone else checking weather reports and radar, Facebook, Twitter and whatever else we could find to kill time waiting for news on when (or if) the race would be restarted.

Rumors had gone around that the race was going to be moved to Monday at 5:00 p.m. so FOX could do a live broadcast and that bummed me out since I had to catch a flight back to Indy at 8:00 Monday morning. After driving home and missing the race in 2012 due to rain, I was hoping against hope that the same thing wouldn't happen again. Around 6:00 Sunday evening it was looking more realistic to get the race in that night so I was relieved and starting to feel more optimistic. The fried chicken dinner they served in the media center was just what the doctor ordered. By 7:30 I had driven back out to my position in Turn 2 and was ready to work, so if it did rain again I had somewhere to retreat. I was hoping the whole 200 lap distance could be run, not just a rain shortened version, as no one could say how big of a dry weather window we had to work with. I really didn't care: I had quit looking at the weather radar hours earlier praying that the racing gods would smile down on us and keep that window open to "get this thing in".

Trevor Bayne (21) almost caused another "Big One" where I was positioned

After the restart a lengthy green flag run ensued and then it started to get a little crazy with big wrecks on the frontstretch and also in Turn 3 and 4 where my Indy friends John and Mike were positioned. I knew they would get some pictures so I was happy for them but not much had happened where I was. After watching and shooting packs of cars roar by all weekend without anyone getting even the least bit squirrely, I finally got some action with Trevor Bayne hitting the wall and spinning so I was happy to have a chance to turn in my memory card for AP. I also felt that I probably didn't have much chance of moving a picture from Bayne's incident since it was not spectacular like the other wrecks had been. That didn't matter to me. It was just as important for me to know that I had nailed the sequence and for AP to know that I hadn't missed it. With about 40 laps to go, my new friend the FOX cameraman "PK" whistled down from his video position in the tower and shouted that "Rain and lightening are 30 miles away" and then the racing really started to get intense. After my experience at Talladega last October with huge crashes on the last lap in both the truck and Sprint Cup races, I knew I had to stay ready for anything to happen right to the end. But nothing did and it was back to the media center to get my gear packed up to leave.

My view from the Turn 2 pumphouse

By half past midnight, I had said my goodbyes and thanked everyone for the opportunity and started to head out of the track and back to Orlando. I turned in my rental car at the airport around 2:00 a.m. and waited for the hotel shuttle to pick me up and finally got to sleep around 3:30 after getting my boarding pass ready to print. I was up at 5:00 a.m. to catch the 6:00 a.m. hotel shuttle back to the airport and slept almost the whole flight back to Indy. Strangely enough, I think I got more sleep during the night at the Rolex 24 Hours race in January than I did after the Daytona 500, but I ran on adrenaline all day yesterday through my teaching job, shipping the loaner lens back to Canon, and a nice dinner out with my lady friend. It was good to be home again after more than four days on the road and I hope my blog posts have helped give a sense of what it's been like. I tell people all the time that I am still waiting to be discovered, and until I find that sponsor, benefactor or hit the lottery, there may be other weekends like this one where roughing it a little to get "the shot" is more than worth it in hindsight.

Did I mention that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the race? I will be back with more pictures in a complete Daytona 500 gallery soon. Until next time, be safe and happy shooting!

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (88) raced to the front of the pack to win his second Daytona 500

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Daytona 500 Race Day!

Sunrise at Daytona over the backstretch

Day 3 of this trip to Daytona was the shortest so far and it gave me the opportunity to have dinner and check out some of the night life on Main Street in Daytona Beach with a couple of fellow photogs from Indy. In my previous visits here I had never had the chance to check out much of the local scenery (other than the beach) so hitting a couple of nightspots after dinner to listen to music and check out the people was a lot of fun. And I saw a motorcycle unlike anything I had ever seen before:  a Boss Hoss with a Chevy V8 engine in it! It was insane looking, had a nitrous injection system and boasted 740 horsepower. I was really glad to get the chance to take more of a look around and I almost didn't go out since I was feeling the effects of little sleep and miles of walking after we had finished dinner. But then I decided I needed to get out and not be so consumed with just the track activity and see more of the local sights. I'm glad I did!

Boss Hoss motorcycle seen at Boot Hill Saloon

Now today is race day and it has dawned bright and sunny. We really haven't seen much sunshine since my first day here last Thursday so I am hopeful that the day continues that way. The cars and pomp and circumstance on any race day are always so much more colorful and vivid when it's a 1000 f11 day. We love that! It's Day 4 of the trip and I'm back in the media center early, but not near as early as the first three days. The guys I hung out with last night were kind enough to let me crash in their hotel room and after sleeping in my car at the track for the two previous nights, it was very welcome. The sofa bed wasn't like my king bed at home in Indy, but it was still far better than the Dodge Avenger's driver's seat! It was fun talking about racing photography with them. Often my road trips are solo journeys and it's easy to spend too much time in my own head so the outside input was most welcome! On top of that, when you walked out the door of the hotel room, the ocean was right there and you could hear the waves crashing on the shore.

Ocean view shortly after dawn on race day

With the 500 today, this will be my fifth race to shoot in four days at Daytona and will conclude over 1350 miles of racing that I've covered since I got here. I haven't had any wire service worthy action where I've been stationed but I think I've done some good work, even though the shooting spot makes the pictures all kind of look the same. It has really challenged my creativity but that's another one of the reasons I do this:  to exercise the right half of my brain and learn something new. So maybe today I'll have the "hot corner" and get the chance to do what I am suppose to do, which is to capture the spectacular action that can happen at any time. Today's only track activity is the 200 laps of the 56th Daytona 500 (assuming it doesn't go to a green-white-checker finish) and then I am headed to Orlando to fly back to Indy tomorrow morning. Then it's back into the classroom tomorrow afternoon to teach and like everything else I do, I am "all in". Today that just happens to mean racing. Monday it will be algebra and geometry. Whatever happens today, I have no regrets as I know I will have given my all.

For now, here's a gallery from yesterday's Nationwide Series race won by Regan Smith.

Daytona Day 2: A Stringer's Life

Daytona sunset

I need a sponsor. Or a benefactor. Or something. Working as a wire service photo stringer as I am this weekend at Daytona has its challenges but it also has its rewards. The biggest challenge is working on spec where you don't get paid unless a photo is used, so it's a risky deal to foot the bill for traveling with no guarantee of success. It's also risky since the area you are assigned to shoot may not be the "spot" where the action happens and pictures can be made that the wire service will want to use. The more spectacular the better but you can't chase the action around, and even when you find yourself in the right spot, you still have to be ready and not following some other cars in the area.

But the rewards are not just financial as if it were just about the money, then most of us wouldn't be out here doing this. The hours are long, you have to deal with traffic, fans or people with hot passes and iPhones who always seem to get in the way at just the wrong moment, adverse weather, and a host of other issues that the average race fan never encounters. I have been to a ton of races the last eight years and everywhere I go I see many of the same faces in the media centers. I don't know everyone's name but I would be willing to bet that there are only a handful of shooters who make a living in racing photographer. I have dreamed of being one of those people for years and worked by tail off at every race I've worked yet these plum jobs in this industry are extremely limited and highly competitive. But the biggest reward is getting the shot. Or when the action slows down and the engine noise drones to a low hum and you feel the photos before you even press the shutter button. That zone is hard to achieve and if I push for it, I miss it; it has to just happen organically. When it does it is magical.

Yesterday was Day 2 on this trip and it was marked by repeated weather interruptions. I managed to miss most of them but the waiting, as they say, is the hardest part and I was in position for last night's truck race over an hour before they track was truly ready for racing. I am not fortunate enough to have a golf cart to get around so I am putting on the miles again this weekend by foot, which is OK since I love the exercise even though at times I feel like a pack mule with a couple cameras on my shoulders, lenses, rain gear and my belt bags packed to the brim to be ready for every possible situation. I needed all of that yesterday and today's forecast looked like it might bring more of the same but the Nationwide race started on time. I was hoping I could wear my prescription sunglasses today (I am in Florida, the Sunshine State, after all) and I am glad to report that I was able to do that, even though today was mostly overcast all day. By no means am I complaining about these opportunities as there are plenty of people who would love to have the same chance I do to go racing. I am blessed in that regard and the hard work pays off in images if not in dollars and cents.

Daytona International Speedway hawk over Lake Lloyd

So we've had two photo finishes in back to back races now. Kyle Busch made a high side pass to win the trucks race last night and Regan Smith nipped Brad Keselowski in an even closer finish in today's Nationwide race. The most exciting thing I saw today was a very large hawk that flew over Lake Lloyd during a late caution period, and as everyone who knows me well will attest, I have a special affinity for those birds so I know good luck is coming. At times today I felt like a gunslinger ready to aim and fire away, but the pumphouse was not the place to be for action today. Maybe tomorrow will be the day, as so far I have not sold any pictures for the wire, although I have made a lot of pictures, not nearly the volume I would have shot in a more freelance capacity as I often do at other races, but shooting for AP has taught me that economy (and a high shutter speed) are quite valuable in their own right. And it sure makes editing a whole lot easier! Until next time, here's a gallery from last night's truck race. The Daytona 500 is next!

Daytona Duels: Screaming In The Night

Yesterday here at Daytona, the evening skies were filled with the sounds of screaming race cars as the Budweiser Duels qualifying races were run at night for the first time. I am personally glad they were switched to night races as I was never able to get here in time to shoot them in the past when they were run in the afternoon.

Denny Hamlin won Duel #2

Unfortunately, until the last lap of the second Duel, both races were pretty much single file parades which was a disappointing. Then all hell broke loose coming onto the tri-oval as Jimmie Johnson got loose and tore up another race car (his second for the week) and Clint Bowyer flipped in a huge melee as Denny Hamlin was taking the checkered flag. I was positioned on the exit of Turn 2 for both races so I tried to get racing action with multiple cars int he frame whenever possible, which was difficult at times. I did get a nice shot of Hamlin on his cool down lap as he thankfully had dropped his window net and you can see his face with his visor flipped open. Matt Kenseth won the first Duel so it looks like Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota has the upper hand at the moment.

Jimmie Johnson's crew has to go get another car in North Carolina after another wreck

Today I got to the media center early and was the first one here other than the staff person who signs people in and manages the photo vest process. She is a nice older woman and I have wondered why someone would do that job since she probably never gets out to see any of the on track action. On the other hand, I can understand why someone who is not necessarily a race fan would want to do that job since the photographer's room is a place of constant activity with lots of conversation about what's going on at the track and an occasional funny story or silliness. Plus all the track action and timing and scoring is always shown on TV monitors in the room so it must be like watching from home with the ambience of the hectic media room in surround sound. But today's action will likely be interrupted by moisture so it will be interesting to see how that disrupts the schedule where NASCAR had planned its first attempt at knockout qualifying for both the Camping World trucks and the Nationwide series.

I don't know where I will be positioned tonight for the truck race yet and I have already told everyone that if we get adverse weather then you can blame it on me. I'm used to it.

Matt Kenseth won the first Duel and will start third in the 500 Sunday

Back to the Future: Daytona Speedweeks

Austin Dillon took a wild ride subbing for Tony Stewart at Talladega last October

The last time I shot pictures of Austin Dillon in a race, he was airborne in Tony Stewart's #14 car at Talladega this past October. Now he's back at Daytona in the legendary #3 car for Grandpa Richard Childress and will start on the pole for next Sunday's Daytona 500. Skeptics have wondered if there was any favorable treatment from tech inspectors since this is the first time the #3 has been on the track in Cup racing since the late Dale Earnhardt crashed and perished on the last lap of the 2011 Daytona 500. I am not one of those skeptics, but it's a fun argument to have in social media and I will be listening in to see how it all plays out. I am really looking forward to getting back to Daytona this weekend. I leave Indy in 3 days...

Tony Stewart at Indy 2013

Tony Stewart will also be back, although his car and the team car of Danica Patrick will have to start at the back Thursday in their qualifying races and Sunday in the 500 after blowing engines last weekend before qualifying. Tony has been awesome historically in everything at Speedweeks except for the 500 itself so it will be very interesting to see how he manages a run from the back this Sunday in his first major test since breaking a leg last August in a sprint car accident. And no repeat of last year's pole winning form for Danica this year. She will also have to contend with lots of traffic to get to the front. Maybe she can make Richard Petty eat some crow after his recent comments that she couldn't win in NASCAR unless everyone else was off the track. Tony has the better chance to win so I think the King is safe this weekend.

Jimmie Johnson

The true list of favorites begins and ends with 6-time NASCAR Jimmie Johnson, although he crashed out of the Sprint Unlimited early in last Saturday's all star event. Stewart and another favorite Carl Edwards got collected in "the big one" Saturday night which was started by an ill-timed blocking maneuver by still another 500 favorite Matt Kenseth. Of course fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has to be on the favorite's list as well since he always seems to run well in the restrictor plate races. I would also consider Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne among the contenders but they will all be chasing Dillon and Martin Truex who have the only two "locked in" positions for the 500. Dillon and Truex will each lead the field in a qualifying race Thursday so it will be interesting to see if their qualifying form can hold up in those 150 mile races.

Little E

Speaking of qualifying races, this will be my first chance to shoot them as I finally have been able to get my travel schedule worked out to get to Daytona in time. The change to night races certainly helps. This should be my fourth Daytona 500 but it will actually only be the second one since 2011 that I have the chance to work. I drove down in 2011 and everything went off like clockwork. I drove solo again in 2012 and the race was postponed by rain for the first time ever and I had to drive back to Indy without actually shooting the race. Then last year I decided I had had enough of the 16 hour drives so I decided to fly down, but I never made it as my flight was cancelled the day before I was to leave for an ice storm in Indy. I am flying down this year so hopefully the weather gods will shine on me for the whole weekend this time. Five races to shoot from the Thursday night duals through the 500 on Sunday means five chances to "make some f-ing pictures" for Associated Press, so wish me luck. I have to admit that it is a bit surreal to be going back to Daytona barely four weeks since I was there for the Rolex 24 Hours, but it's a great opportunity and I don't know if it will happen again so I have to go.

Back on the road again to "Indiana-ville" in just 3 days folks! Photos to follow soon (but not soon enough)!

Daytona 500 favorite Jimmie Johnson pits at the Brickyard in 2013

Could 2014 be Matt Kenseth & Toyota's year?

Kasey Kahne & Kevin Harvick share a lighter moment in 2013 before hitting the racetrack at Indy

Jimmie Johnson knows how to win and is the man to beat (again) in 2014