Average NASCAR Day, Is It Possible?

Even though blogs don't matter and are a waste of time (that's been our running joke of the day down here), I'm gonna share a few images anyway from what turned out to be a pretty uneventful day three down here at Talladega. We started off Saturday shooting qualifying for the big race on Sunday. For you non race fans, qualifying is where each car drives around the track three times (one warm up lap and two timed laps), and their fastest lap time determines their starting position in the race. Qualifying is a good time to get stock photos of each car (what I worked on), and headshots of drivers (what Mark worked on).

Sprint Cup Series driver Terry Labonte (45) during qualifying for the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. I was surprised that, from my last NASCAR race, the photos I had published in print were ones just like the one above. I realized that these otherwise boring photos have a demand, and this time, I was glad to shoot more.

Sprint Cup Series driver Mike Wallace (33) during qualifying for the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. The tunnels in this photo are how fans and workers access the infield of the racetrack. I sat here for around twenty minutes waiting to time a race car going by above with someone coming out of the tunnel below. This isn't quite what I had in mind, but it'll suffice for now. It would be much stronger with a track full of race cars.

Craftsman Truck Series drivers race three wide through turn two during the Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.

After qualifying, we headed to our positions to shoot today's race, the Mountain Dew 250 of the Craftsman Truck Series. Geesh, can I have any more corporate plugs in this paragraph I'm typing on my Apple Macbook Pro? The truck race was quite uneventful, save a few spin outs and fender-benders. It was pretty exciting, however, to see these guys inches apart from each other three lanes wide rushing by at nearly 180 mph! Despite this, I can't say that I wasn't a little disappointed, as I keep getting teased with Youtube videos of "the big ones," crashes from past races at this very track featuring cars sailing over each other and into fences. Granted I don't wish harm upon these guys, but you've gotta admit crashes are kinda cool.

Craftsman Truck Series driver Jack Sprague (2) opens his window net after crashing during the Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway. This is the closest I got to getting any crash action, as this damage occurred on the opposite side of the track.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Todd Bodine (30) leads the field to win the Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Todd Bodine (30) holds the checkered flag after winning the Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Crew members of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Todd Bodine celebrate in victory lane after winning the Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.

I shot the majority of the race from the backstretch in a photo tower with a bunch of other photographers who I've never met, all of which were very welcoming and fun to be around. With about 20 laps to go, I hustled on foot for nearly a mile from the backstretch to pit road (where the cars come in for pit stops) to shoot the remainder of the race, the finish, as well as the cookie-cutter shots to be had at victory lane. Sorry this blog is lamer than Zane's, but most of today was all the sames!!! That rhymed! But really, today was an average NASCAR day if there is such a thing. Hopefully tomorrow will provide me with "the big one," and I don't mean the culminating disappointment of eating at another Chili's-esque restaurant (Friday's, Applebee's, etc.) again!

Craftsman Truck Series driver Todd Bodine celebrates in victory lane after winning the Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.