Vroom, Vroom!
Volume 1, Number 6
If you’ve known me for even a little while, you know that in a past life I was a motorsports aficionado—which is really just a polite way of saying I was a crazy, obsessed fanatic. I grew up in Indiana in the ‘60s and ‘70s, so like most young boys around these parts at that time, I was introduced to auto racing at a young age.
As a teen, I found a way to combine my love of auto racing with my passion for photography, and discovered partnerships that allowed me to get media credentials on a regular basis to shoot races ranging from USAC open wheel events to ASA stock cars to the Queen Mother of all auto races, the Indianapolis 500.
That fanaticism lasted from the early 1970s until around 2000. By then I’d photographed every Indy 500 since 1984 (plus a couple before that), every Brickyard 400 since its inception, and hundreds of other races with IndyCar, NASCAR, USAC, NAMARS, World of Outlaws, ASA, ARCA, and more. I even photographed racing legend Tony Stewart when he was racing go-karts at 10 years old.
But, for reasons I don’t have the space for here, I quit shooting motorsports cold turkey in 2000, and have only shot a handful of races since.
A couple of years ago, however, I pitched a photo story to Bloom Magazine, for which I’m managing editor and photo editor, about our hometown raceway, the legendary Bloomington Speedway—where drivers like Jeff Gordon, Chase Briscoe, Rich Vogler, Kyle Larson, and every Kinser EVER have competed. We decided to publish the story, but for one reason or another it kept being moved to the back burner. But late last year I learned that 2023 is the track’s 100th anniversary—a milestone by any standard—and helped propel the story to the front of the line.
Because Bloom publishes bimonthly, I had planned to shoot at the high-banked, quarter-mile speedway on consecutive Friday nights in April for our June/July issue. But Mother Nature had other plans and, due to rain-outs, the track only saw action one time within my deadline window.
But what a night of racing it was. The USAC Sprint Cars were in town for the Larry Rice Classic, joined by the IMCA RaceSaver Sprints and the local Super Stocks class.
I was a little nervous about not having shot any auto racing for so many years, but once I brushed the dust off it all came back to me.
I’m happy with the shots I got. While I’d hoped to get back for a second night of racing so I could get a wider variety of shots from in the pits and from the grandstands, I’ll accept the hand that Mother Nature dealt me and consider it a win.
The Downside
I wasn’t very happy with the way the photo story was presented in Bloom, despite my high hopes going in. We had originally anticipated giving it six pages in the feature well, but at the last minute it was cut to four pages so another story could be given more space. And it was put at the very end of the book after two other features, almost like an afterthought. I am still pretty bitter over this—as if you couldn’t tell—but there’s nothing I can do to change it now.
Ultimately, I feel bad for the speedway because I’d hoped this would be something very positive for them and their centennial story. Still, I had a fun time, met some great people, and have some new material to add to my portfolio.
I hope you enjoy.
Peace.
The sword is still sharp, sir. Which is arguably the least surprising thing that I will discover this week.