Mason Mitchell: The Making of an ARCA Champion

Mason Mitchell leads Grant Enfinger by 200 points with only Kansas race left

The 2014 season in the ARCA racing series has only one race remaining and Mason Mitchell is in position to outlast Grant Enfinger for the season championship. Having worked for ARCA this season and shot seven of the 19 race events run so far in the series, I have had an inside view into the ascension of Mitchell into the champion's role and it has been a thing of beauty to behold. What I've witnessed is the maturation of a race driver into a championship favorite who has learned his lessons well and applied them from race to race in a calculating manner. Barring a catastrophe at Kansas, the pilot of the #98 machine will go to ARCA's season ending banquet in Indianapolis in December as a deserving champion and someone to watch in the future as his stock will surely be on the rise.

Mason racing door to door at Talladega

My first ARCA race of the 2014 season was at Talladega where I was shooting for AP. Tom Hessert won that day but Mason ran in the lead pack. The team's equipment was nicely turned out, but I didn't really know who he was at that time. That isn't surprising since ARCA is renowned as a training ground series and race grids from event to event often feature a revolving door of different young drivers. Mason is one of only six (6) drivers this season who made every ARCA race and no less than 140 different drivers have scored some points this year! A couple of months later at Salem Speedway, Mason was beginning to attract attention for his speed and aggressive style, yet unlike many young drivers, he kept his equipment off the fences and didn't wreck anyone else either. I would not see ARCA compete again until June at Michigan, but it was a big weekend for Mason as he won a hotly contested pole position and could easily have won the race. He seemed shy and reserved at the time when he was outside the car, but his confidence inside the car was clearly growing. I was ARCA's main photographer at Michigan and it was great to be there and  personally see his growth over those two days at the track.

Mason earned a hard fought pole position at Michigan in June

Three weeks after Michigan, Mason got probably his biggest lesson of the season at Winchester Speedway. He was clearly not happy after the race when another young lion, Brandon Jones, barged into Turn 4 on the last lap and body slammed Mason's #98 into the wall and stole a sure win away. It was the first ever ARCA race for Jones and I'm sure Mason had no idea what to expect that last lap when the #4 car loomed large in his mirrors near the end. But he learned and it would pay off later in the season.

Brandon Jones (#4) stole a Winchester win from Mason

Two weeks after Winchester, Mason had his big breakthrough for the season:  that coveted first win. That came at Chicagoland Speedway where I was again shooting for ARCA and I was really glad to be able to capture his honest jubilation in Victory Lane, along with the epic burnout he did on the frontstretch. Those will two enduring memories of my summer of ARCA racing and I'm sure Mason will not soon forget that Chicagoland weekend where he was in control of the race most of the evening and won without being seriously challenged.

An epic burnout followed Mason's first ARCA win - at Chicagoland Speedway in July

The very next weekend, ARCA was at Lucas Oil Raceway outside Indianapolis and as the racing gods so often seem to do, it was a forgettable weekend for Mason following on the heels of a most memorable one at Chicagoland. Rear gear troubles cut short a promising run at Lucas Oil and Mason had to face the highs and lows of racing head-on which he did with class. You could see the disappointment in his family and crew after they thrashed for many laps with the car up on jackstands in the pits trying to fix the problem and get him back on track to earn some more points. That weekend also brought a measure of disappointment for me as well, since my summer of shooting for ARCA was at an end and I was going to be back in the classroom resuming my teaching duties a little over a weeks' time.

Mason got a Gatorade bath after winning at Chicagoland

The next time I would get to see ARCA in person was at Salem Speedway last weekend, and the lessons learned from the first 17 races all came together for Mason that night. He had a very strong car all night and seemed to be able to lead the race at ease most of the night. Veteran Tom Hessert made a late charge to snatch the lead from Mason with just more than 10 laps to go, but Mason regrouped and mounted his own charge on the final lap, where he and Hessert went side by side the entire lap, making contact coming off of Turn 4 which caused Mason (on the inside) to spin and finish the race in second place while crossing the finish line backwards. Hessert held onto his banged up car for the win and Mason was gracious afterwards, acknowledging that he wanted to race Hessert cleanly and didn't want to get a dirty win. Everyone within earshot knew Mason was referring to the one that got away at Winchester in June and yet this time when the roles were reversed, he did everything he could to fight for the win without crashing another competitor. I know Hessert appreciated it and understood what a challenge he had just overcome.

Last night the ARCA series raced at Kentucky Speedway where Mason started second and finished third with his main championship contender Grant Enfinger winding up 30th, which benefited Mason tremendously in the series points race with only Kansas remaining. Now his points lead is up to 200 and Enfinger has his work cut out for him to mount any kind of challenge in the season finale. Grant has had an interesting and rewarding season in its own right. Despite changing teams in mid-season, he still managed to rack up six (6) wins, eleven top-five and 15 top-10 finishes. Mason's work is not done yet but a there's no denying he's had a breakout season and the ARCA championship is within his reach now. Adding another win to his Chicagoland triumph would be icing on the cake, and his record of ten (10) top-five and 16 top-ten finishes is no small feat in this highly competitive series. It has been a pleasure working with ARCA this year and watching Mason Mitchell mature as a racer. If he is ultimately successful and wins the series title at Kansas, I can't wait to congratulate him personally at the banquet in December. Either way, he has represented the series well and made some lasting memories for everyone involved, myself included. Best wishes at Kansas to both Mason and Grant. I will be there in spirit.

Mason's last ditch attempt to pass Tom Hessert at Salem Speedway came up short

Taking the green flag at Michigan in June

Avoiding an opening lap crash at Winchester

Racing hard with Grant Enfinger (#90) at Lucas Oil Raceway in July

Mason almost got his second win of the season at Salem in September

ARCA fields are always strong at the top end  with young talents taking on seasoned veterans

ARCA Racing at Salem as Season Title Race Heats Up

Season points leader Mason Mitchell must hold off Grant Enfinger

I haven't been to a race since the end of July when I worked for ARCA at Lucas Oil Raceway, but that drought is about to be over tomorrow when I head down to Salem Speedway for the fall night race. It will be my 17th straight ARCA race at Salem, a streak which began in the fall of 2006 when I was shooting for the now-defunct American Motor Journal publication which was run by my friend, the late Don Hamilton. I hope to see Don's brother Larry this weekend, but even if he's not there, I know there will be plenty of other friends to see at this great little short track which has recently received a facelift of new asphalt. So I expect the action to be even faster than usual, and the boys in the pits better be ready for some right front tire failures if they don't have their setups correct. Lots of teams have been testing there this week so hopefully that work will translate to the race. ARCA better give them eight tires in the pits for the race, but they might need 12!

Four wide racing at Salem was possible in September 2006.

This weekend I am not working but I will still be taking some pictures, and shooting night racing is a special challenge since lighting conditions are variable depending on where you are at the track, and I will need to balance higher than usual ISO settings with fill flash to get natural looking photos. I prefer to shoot without flash as much as possible nowadays and just use available light as I think the photos look more natural, a lesson learned from other shooters over the years. Since this will likely be my last race for 2014, I plan to touch base with all my ARCA friends and have some fun shooting without the pressure of meeting deadlines or public relations requirements. Other than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, there's no track I've been to more than Salem and this is the 96th time ARCA has raced here so it should be a great night. It looks like the weather will cooperate too, although it will be rather cool for this time of year. They don't call it the "Fall Classic" at Salem for no reason so let's hope it lives up to its history and the ARCA gang puts on its usual good show.

Grant Enfinger is chasing his first ARCA title with only three races left

The entry list for this race shows 34 cars which is outstanding. Even with a few that will start and park, the top of the ARCA field is always highly competitive and this race will be no different. Mason Mitchell leads Grant Enfinger by only 20 points in the season standings but has only one win compared to six (6) for Enfinger. I expect both to qualify and race well but a DNF for either one will hurt their title hopes with only Kentucky and Kansas races left after Salem. The local favorite will be 10-time ARCA champ Frank Kimmel; his nephew Will Kimmel will be attempting a double duty race day by running the Nationwide race at Chicagoland in the afternoon and then flying to Salem to race ARCA at night. Justin Boston turns 25 today and hopes to add a third win to his season total which would be a nice birthday gift. Last year's Fall Classic winner Kyle Benjamin is back to lead another crew of young drivers hoping to steal the spotlight from the older veterans like Kimmel, Ken Schrader and Tom Hessert, all of whom have won at Salem in the past.

ARCA's youngest winner is Kyle Benjamin

The campers started arriving at Salem earlier this week to stake out their territory and if you haven't been to Salem before then you might not appreciate how big this little race track is for local fans. This has turned into their speedweek with all the testing that has occurred to adapt to the new asphalt. I had one fan a few years ago tell me "he growed up out here" and I knew exactly how he felt, despite the Hoosier-ism of his words. Shooting at Salem and working for ARCA and others the last eight (8) years has helped me grow up as a photographer and I have been truly blessed by the opportunities I've had to pursue my passion for motorsports photography. One of these days, I will have to write a blog post that gives thanks to all the people who have helped me over the years. I am not done shooting racing by any means and you can bet you'll see me at a racetrack near you somewhere down the road. This weekend, that means heading south on I-65 into the hills of southern Indiana to the fast and rugged high banks of Salem Speedway. It's only two hours from Indy so get on down there Saturday and enjoy the show. I know I will. See you at the track!

ARCA Kids Rule Chicagoland and Lucas Oil Raceway

Mason Mitchell's monumental burnout after his Chicagoland win was epic

The 2014 season continues to be a year of firsts for ARCA and I've had the pleasure of shooting races this summer which added to the series' lengthy history of important moments. After losing Winchester on the last lap, Mason Mitchell came back at Chicagoland two weeks later with a chip on his shoulder and finally got his first win in the series. Mitchell wrapped up his win with a burnout for the ages and there was no doubting the joy this young man was feeling as he celebrated the win after finishing second four previous times this season. Then this past weekend, Winchester Speedway winner Brandon Jones showed up at Lucas Oil Raceway near Indianapolis and swept the event in style with a pole and race win. Jones did it without any last lap heroics this time and managed his second win in only two career ARCA starts!

Brandon Jones: 2 for 2 in ARCA

This is exactly why I enjoy ARCA racing so much: young talented drivers finding their way to victory lane and learning racecraft in the process. Whereas Jones needed a last lap, 4th turn bump and run move to get by Mitchell at Winchester, he was up front all night at Lucas Oil Raceway and took advantage of the misfortunes of others to snag another win. And he did it cleanly as the #4 Exide car had barely a mark on it after 200 frantic laps on the virtually flat 5/8 mile Lucas Oil short track. Similarly, Mitchell stalked the leaders at Chicagoland and won comfortably barely two weeks after his Winchester disappointment. It's a wondrous thing to see these young drivers mature before your eyes. For awhile at Lucas Oil, it looked like Mitchell was going to take back-to-back wins as he had led numerous laps until a rear gear problem knocked him down the order. Having worked all three ARCA races this July in succession, I got to see this maturation process first hand and am going to miss working with these guys now that my teaching responsibilities are gearing up again this week. I guess I will just have to wait until they return to Salem in September to see how they've progressed.

Justin Boston won at Toledo but gave a win at Lucas Oil away

Mitchell and Jones are not the only ARCA "kids". Fifteen year old J. J. Haley has already won a pole this year. Haley and Kyle Weber are so young that they are not allowed to race on any of the big tracks yet! Add in Ken Schrder protege Matt Tifft, Kyle Weatherman, Justin Boston, Austin Wayne Self and others, then you get an idea of how strong this series is in terms of young talent. While Grant Enfinger is a relative veteran and the current ARCA points leader, he and other vets like Tom Hessert, 10-time ARCA champ Frank Kimmel and the busiest man in motorsports Ken Schrader have their hands full every time out as these young guys are fast, fearless and hungry to move up the ladder in stock car racing. I hope I can be there many more times as they fight it out!

While the ARCA gang heads to Pocono this week, I will be getting ready to start another school year teaching algebra and geometry, so my racing work will have to take a backseat to my real livelihood for the time being. But rest assured you will hear from me again as the ARCA season winds down and we find out whether old age and treachery will indeed rule out over youth and exuberance. Until then enjoy these slideshows. If you want to see more photos from these (and other) ARCA races, then follow this link (ARCA Racing Photo Site) for all the action. See you down the road at a racetrack somewhere.

Chicagoland 150 Race Action

Lucas Oil Raceway Scott's 200 Race Action

History Made at Winchester by ARCA Again: Rookie Brandon Jones Wins First Time Out

Brandon Jones took his first ARCA win at Winchester

Indiana boasts more than its share of short tracks, and Winchester Speedway is the granddaddy of them all, celebrating 100 years of racing this year. So ARCA came to town this past weekend for the 25th time and put on another exciting show on the track which bills itself as "The World's Fastest 1/2 Mile". It's the second ARCA race I have worked this season as its primary photographer and I am beginning to think I am a good luck charm for the young racers who make up so much of ARCA's talent base. As at Michigan last month when Austin Theriault won in his first ever ARCA start, Brandon Jones duplicated that feat Sunday at Winchester with a last lap, last corner bump and run pass to take the win. It was also Jones' first ever ARCA start and the first time he had ever been to Indiana! Second place finisher Mason Mitchell was none too happy about getting roughed up on the last lap, but I'm sure he will learn something from this experience.

Rick Benjamin led the CBS Sports Spectacular broadcast crew

The race at Winchester was televised live by CBS Sports Network in a new deal for ARCA and the broadcast was very well done, following on the last one televised from Elko in Minnesota. I am really glad someone has picked up ARCA telecasts for the short tracks as people really need to see these guys race. With more exposure like that, I would hope the fans will come out and support the series more. I admit I might be biased in supporting ARCA, but I have been shooting its races regularly since 2006 and have seen many of the current NASCAR stars make their initial impact in ARCA. If you want to get in on the ground floor of stock car racing's future elite, then ARCA is the place to be. With its 37 degree banking and worn, uneven track surface, Winchester is a fast and daunting little race track with 16 second laps creating a dizzying spectacle for race fans who came out this weekend for the Herr's Taste the Chase 200. If you missed it, be sure to find the CBS telecast as the in-car camera shots give a perfect example of how fast and difficult this track is to navigate.

Lucy Angel sounded great during pre-race festivities

It was really quite a weekend at Winchester. I was there Saturday and Sunday when ARCA and the Top Speed Modifieds raced, but there was a winged sprint car show on Friday with a series organized by former racer and current Indycar team owner Davey Hamilton. Ageless workhorse Kenny Schrader took the pole for the ARCA race and set a new track record in the process. Winchester had former driver Merle Bettenhausen on hand all weekend as the event's grand marshal, and he seemed really thrilled to be involved. Venturini Motorsports was involved in getting country music performers Lucy Angel to entertain fans prior to the ARCA race. I have to give the track folks at Winchester credit for doing everything possible to put together an entertaining and exciting weekend at the race track. While I am sure they were disappointed with the turnout for Friday and Saturday, Sunday's crowd was pretty decent and fans sure got their money's worth from the time they entered the main gate until they headed home after another slam-bang ARCA finish.

Brandon Jones

One of my duties as ARCA's photographer is to take head shots of new drivers before they can practice or race. It's a green screen shot which gets used by television and isn't very difficult technically, but it's a fun opportunity to have some conversation one on one with these "kids" that just keep coming to ARCA to race. I love that part, and now for the last two ARCA races I've worked, a first-time participant has won, so that's why I joked earlier about being a good luck charm for these young racers. Next weekend I have the same job at Chicagoland Speedway, so we'll see who the newbies are again and if that good luck streak continues for someone. Get on out to an ARCA race soon. You'll enjoy it and get some autographs of drivers who have, or who will, make names for themselves in stock car racing! Until next time, here's a short slideshow from the race. If you want to see more of my work from Winchester then go to ARCA's website and order any photos you'd like to have. See you at the track!

Another Racing Road Trip Adventure: ARCA Michigan

Rookie race winner Austin Theriault was impressive

When I left Indianapolis Tuesday morning June 10th to go help my Mom in Akron, Ohio for a couple of days before going to shoot for ARCA at Michigan International Speedway, little did I know what the universe had in store for me. The two days shooting at MIS were actually a great diversion and I was able to hone in on the job I had to do and block out everything else as I immersed myself in covering the Corrigan 200 as ARCA's primary photographer. It turned out to be a very entertaining race, as Austin Theriault won in his very first ARCA start. Not only that, it was the first time he had ever raced on a track longer than one mile. On Thursday when ARCA had use of the track exclusively for its teams, I had no idea that this young man, whose headshot I had to get before he could even go out and practice, would turn out to be the winner. Austin was so nice about it too. I had just grabbed a plate of food for lunch and he came over and asked if I wanted to do the headshot later but I told him I was all set up and ready. The last thing I wanted was to put it off, which would have kept him from practicing when that time came less than an hour later. So congratulations to Venturini Motorsports for once again plucking a young talent seemingly out of thin air and putting him in a race winning car. Last year it was Brennan Poole; this time it was Austin Theriault. Remember that name folks.

Pole winner Mason Mitchell takes the green flag

Gettting to MIS and working was the easy part. The hard part was what happened surrounding my Thursday and Friday responsibilities. When I got to Akron Tuesday afternoon, Mom wasn't feeling well and she ended up with a trip to the emergency room that night and then spending several days in the hospital with pneumonia. Anyone with senior parents knows how serious that can be but I knew she was getting the best care possible and I would only be three hours away. So I left for Michigan Wednesday night, worked at MIS for ARCA the next two days and then drove back to Akron Friday night after the Corrigan 200. I spent most of the following three days at the hospital with her and thankfully was able to take her home Monday evening June 16th. Once Mom's sister arrived that evening, I was able to head home to Indy where I rolled in after 1:00 a.m. June 17th. All told, I put in nearly 1250 miles on the road with several late night drives, plus I endured a ton of stress and anxiety over the last week. In contrast to what my Mom had gone through, shooting the race was a piece of cake, and I kept telling myself to have faith - everything was going to work out. And it did, thank God.

One of my favorites from Victory Lane - Gatorade splashes and the race sponsor hat

I enjoy shooting for ARCA probably as much as any other racing assignment, partly because there are usually surprise entrants and there's always a certain amount of pressure to deliver photos. I like that. If I screw up, then it's on me, and I have no one to blame. The series typically only has one shooter at each race so getting the photos they need is imperative. I have always had the ability to concentrate and go into hyper-focus mode - whether it was shooting free throws in a basketball game during my playing days or shooting photos for an important client. So that kind of pressure I actually enjoy. At the end of the 100 lap race, I asked a young man who had been shadowing me Friday if he noticed how quickly the race went by. To me, that's what happens when I get busy at a racetrack and I am able to get what I need on the go and move on. That is one of my favorite aspects of shooting motorsports and although I would not suggest that I was in "the zone" at this race, everything seemed to work out perfectly and the timing was right every time I moved to another location. I started off the race in the flagstand, which I had never done before, and ended up in Victory Lane, so it was a busy 100 laps, even before the hat dance began.

The old saying "no rest for the wicked" seems to apply here, as I have summer school to teach this week and next, but I don't have another race assignment until the July 4th holiday weekend when ARCA races a little closer to home - at Winchester Speedway, only about 70 miles from my home in Indy. I love the high banked short tracks line Winchester and Salem so I am really excited about getting back to work there for ARCA again. Life on the road continues to teach me lessons, so I will try and apply those at the next race. I'm grateful for the chance to work and learn while doing something I'm passionate about. If you're not doing anything in a couple of weeks, then get to Winchester! You never know what will happen. You just might see another future racing star make history and you can say you "saw him when..." 

Ryan Hunter-Reay Swipes 2nd Closest Indy 500

Ryan Hunter-Reay celebrates winning his first Indy 500 in bold style

Ryan Hunter-Reay has clearly learned his lessons well at the Indy 500 as he boldly passed Helio Castroneves with less than two laps remaining to win the 98th edition of the race on Indy's hallowed ground. Thirty-two years after the closest Indy 500 finish ever, RHR put his name in the record books with the second closest winning margin of 0.06 seconds, a distance of barely more than a few feet from what I saw.

RHR's win was dramatic and the 2nd closest ever at Indy

I was on the mezzanine roof of the Pagoda Tower overlooking the yard of bricks for the finish and after Friday's photo finish in the Indy Lights Freedom 100 race, I was ready for another photo finish in the 500. While Helio couldn't quite pull it off to finally get his fourth Indy win and assume legend status, he and RHR put on a thrilling late race duel which was accentuated by an unprecedented red flag stoppage with eight laps remaining to repair the SAFER barrier in Turn 2 after Townsend Bell's accident. I thought the 2013 race would be hard to top with its dozens of lead changes but 2014 may have topped it for drama and excitement in the end.

Friday's Carb Day Indy Lights win by Gabby Chaves (#5) in the Freedom 100 was a photo finish

I was at the 1982 500 standing above the old Victory Lane for the finishing duel between Gordon Johncock and Rick Mears, and I think this year's finish was better in some ways. In '82, Mears was catching Johncock but never passed him, while this year Helio and RHR exchanged the lead several times over the final laps so the winner was truly in doubt right until the checkers flew. Shooting for motorsport.com again this year as I did last year, I had the chance to cover Indy from all over the place, and my race day plan involved moving every 20 laps or so and ending up in the pits for the last third of the race, and on the roof for the finish. While it would have been nice to have Victory Lane access like 2013, I knew early in the day I hadn't gotten that coveted pass so that just meant I had to change my strategy for the end of the race. I knew I would get a checkered flag shot no matter what, and that my photos would be far superior to anything I shot back in 1982 with a borrowed Pentax.

Indy's Pagoda before dawn on race day

It was a hectic finish to an exhausting and very special day for me for a number of reasons. My first Indy 500 as a credentialed photographer was in 1984 so it was daunting to think about how fast those 30 years have gone by. The day began at 4:00 a.m. as we got up to head to the Speedway and my mom, who has been battling cancer, was able to go with us for the whole experience. We were inside the track and parked by 5:00 a.m. and I've always loved that time inside the Speedway in the pre-dawn darkness when the Pagoda is all lit up, flags flying and the date displayed across its message boards near the top. At 79 years of age, we didn't really expect Mom to go out that early with us and she made it through the whole day with flying colors, able to sit in our Stand B seats in the shade and enjoy the race with my brother, his son and my beautiful and talented photographer assistant. That was quite an accomplishment on her part but then she's a true Indy 500 fan and didn't want to miss a thing. We got her a golf cart ride to the seats around 10:30 race morning and the seats my brother and I share were excellent from all accounts. That's when we parted ways and I began to put my race day shooting strategy into effect.

Pre-race pageantry for the 500 from on high

I started off the race on the roof of the Penthouse in Stand E with a view down the front stretch as I did last year. The panorama from up there is spectacular and the lighting conditions were perfect for low ISO, high saturation shooting, so my pictures were dense and colorful. My original plan was to move to ground level if there was an early caution period but I quickly scrapped that when I saw how hard and clean everyone was racing. So I put my 20 lap plan in motion and went to the slot at ground level where the cars enter Turn 1, then to the outside of Turn 1 and then to the inside of Turn 1 as the race got close to the halfway mark. From there I went on the roof of the F1 garages to shoot down on the cars as they entered Turn 1 and could get shots of passing attempts going into 1. I couldn't believe how fast the first half of the race went by and I managed to get into the pits to shoot a couple of late pit stops before heading to the mezzanine roof for the finish. That's when Indy started cranking up the pressure on the drivers and some ill-advised moves led to accidents and cautions which ultimately set up the frantic finish. After the ceremonies in Victory Lane and the kissing of the bricks, I then had a couple of hours of editing and uploading to do before finally leaving the track sometime after 6:00 p.m. By 8:00 p.m., I was all used up and the "Energizer Bunny" was out of juice; I crashed hard for 12 hours without even trying to watch the race replay on local television.

Turn 1 stands in the Southwest Vista were packed

I had been fighting an upper respiratory bug since the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, so now it was two weeks later, the 500 was over, and the end of Indy's "Month of Jay" had taken its toll. I felt like I had been kicked in the chest by a mule and my head was about to explode. Over the previous five weekends, I had shot at Salem for ARCA, traveled to Talladega and back to shoot ARCA and NASCAR for Associated Press, then worked the Grand Prix and the 500 for motorsport.com. It was a schedule that looked daunting last winter and reality proved that to be true. Did I mention working in different time zones, dealing with crazy extremes in weather, long distance driving, and still managing my regular teaching job? Anyway, I made it to a medcheck the night after the 500 once we got home from driving my Mom to her sister's in Warsaw on Memorial Day. All of a sudden, it seemed, another Indy 500 was in the books. As I write this now I am feeling much better with the antibiotics on board, our school year has ended, and my 57th birthday is this weekend. All is right with the world.

I only have one question:  Is it May yet?

Ryan Hunter-Reay (#28) got the best of Helio Castroneves (#3) in a colorful duel of yellow cars

The 98th Indy 500: By The Numbers

Indy winners add their names and faces to history on the Borg Warner trophy

The 98th Indianapolis 500 is just five days away and the final practice session on Carburetion Day is up next in three days. So my annual foray into looking at the numbers for Indy is due. Since I'm a numbers guy, this is one of the more enjoyable blog posts I do every year as the history of Indy is chock full of statistics. This month alone, drivers have logged 10,959 total laps on Indy's 2.5 mile rectangular oval which equates to 27,397.5 miles. I'm sure that total would have been much higher if rain had not cut short several practice days last week. That's the equivalent of over 54 full race distances so every driver entered this year could have run 1.66 Indy 500's already. But the only 500 miles that counts is coming up this Sunday.

Ed Carpenter, 2013 and 2014 pole position winner

To paraphrase Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, "There's no place like Indianapolis." 500 miles. 200 laps. 800 left turns. Seven or 8 pit stops. 33 drivers. One winner. Over the first 97 races, 67% of the winners have started in the first seven positions, so even though the qualifying format was changed this year due to having only 33 entrants, everyone knows that starting up front matters. That is why the Fast 9 shootout was so important this past Sunday. Thirty years ago in 1984, there were 117 cars entered, so while the times have certainly changed, the importance of winning the pole has not, since 20 previous winners have started in P1. With Ed Carpenter getting his second consecutive Indy 500 pole, he could be the rabbit for the rest of the field to chase on race day. Oddsmakers have him listed as a 7-1 choice to win. 

JPM could do it again this year

Car numbers also have an important history at Indy. Ed Carpenter's #20 has only won three times but the last one to do it with that number was Emerson Fittipaldi in 1989 in the famous duel with Al Unser, Jr. So now 25 years later, Ed has a chance to add his name to the list of winners with that car number. The car number with the second most all-time wins is #2, and this year that belongs to Juan Pablo Montoya who returns to Indy this year 14 years after his one and only 500 appearance when he won as a rookie in 2000. Montoya is also listed at 7-1 odds to win and he is with the powerful Penske team which has racked up more wins than any other team in Indy history. He will have his work cut out for him but he was the quickest driver outside the Fast 9 and nearly had the fastest qualifying attempt of the entire field. JPM will be highly motivated to win again and he has the backing to do it.

Is Will Power ready to win Indy?

Second and third place starting positions have each produced 11 Indy winners so James Hinchliffe and Will Power will be forces to reckon with. The Mayor of Hinchtown has had a tough month of May at Indy, suffering a concussion in the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis which kept him off the track for a couple of days during 500 practice last week. But he stormed back in style during the Fast 9 shootout and was on the pole until Carpenter's run as the last qualifier knocked him off. Hinch goes off at 8-1 odds to win. "Willy P" finally won his first oval race last year at Fontana and is at 7-1 odds to win. Historically the third starting position has had an advantage getting into Turn 1 on the start, being on the preferred line, so watch for Will to lead the first lap. I don't think either Hinch or Power will lead the last lap however, as so much can go wrong over 500 miles at Indy.

Can Marco Andretti finally get some good luck at Indy?

According to the oddsmakers, yellow cars will be the ones to watch this Sunday as Marco Andretti is listed as the overall favorite at 5-1. Marco nearly won Indy as a rookie in 2006 and is always strong in the 500 but the Andretti luck (or lack thereof) always seems to bite him in the race. I don't see that changing this year even though he has a strong team at Andretti Autosports behind him.

My favorite to win is the yellow car in the throwback paint scheme: Helio Castroneves. The Pennzoil livery mimics that worn by the car driven by Rick Mears in 1984. Mears just happens to be a four-time Indy winner for Penske and Helio could match that with a win this weekend. He is listed at 6-1 odds behind Marco and is starting fourth where six previous winners have started. He has the #3 on the nose of his Dallara which has been on Indy winners a total of 11 times, the most of any car number. Helio was also the last driver to win wearing the #3 so while his hopes of winning another Indy pole position didn't pan out last Sunday, he would surely trade a pole for Indy win #4 on May 25th. Whatever happens, I will be there shooting for motorsport.com again so be sure to visit the site often to see my photos and get all the news from the Speedway. It's called "The Speedway" for a reason so come on out to IMS this weekend and see history in the making.

My fearless Indy 500 prediction:  Helio Castroneves will get Indy win #4 this Sunday

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