BEST of On The Road
"Speedway Thunder from PA"

August, 2007

Hi and welcome to this edition of On The Road. During my carrier I have had the opportunity to photograph many athletic events and games, but motor sports have crossed my path way too infrequently so when the chance to make images of car racing on the dirt and under the lights came my way I was excited to go On The Road to Pennsylvania. My host for the weekend of RPM imagery was my friend, Bill Anderson. Bill is a terrific photographer and resident expert when it comes to auto racing of almost any kind. I had shot some Indy and NASCAR over the years but had never experienced the dirt track. Bill's images of the Sprints and Super Modified cars are fantastic and just the motivation I needed to dig out my ear protection and spend a few days in the Harrisburg area with Bill and his family. Joining Bill and I at the races would be another great friend, photographer and motor sports enthusiast, Justin Stailey formally of Bogen and now working with Leica Cameras USA. Let's see what happens on the dirt ovals of Pennsylvania ................

Image #1 Behind the Wheel ... The Sprint Cars at William's Grove Speedway defiantly kicked my adrenaline into high gear. I had never mounted a remote camera to a race car before but seized the opportunity to do so with Sprint driver Frankie Herr and his #99 car. This was something new for me and I learned a lot from the experience. Nikon D2Xs, ISO100, Aperture Priority (1/80 at f5.6), Nikon 10.5mm Fisheye Lens, WB 6700K, Pocket Wizard Multi Max Transceivers to fire the remote D2Xs, Nikon N90 M3 pre release trigger cord, Bogen Super Clamp, Gitzo Ball Head, Kirk "L" Bracket, Two Bogen Magic Arms, Lexar 8G Flash Card. I used the Bogen Super Clamp to clamp the D2Xs to the roll cage and used 2 Bogen Magic Arms clamped to the Kirk "L" Bracket and wing struts for extra camera stability and safety. We were allowed to mount the camera to the car only for a few warm up laps but that was enough for a solid image from behind the wheel. I especially like the way the setting sun reflected off of Frankie's face shield and illuminated the dashboard gages.
Image #2 Night Roar ... It's Friday night at William's Grove and the Sprint Cars are roaring. I protected my ears with head phones that I had used while shooting a book on NASCAR some years ago but had forgotten how blocking out sound can tend to make me forget my dangerous surroundings. Justin Stailey was a great help to me with this picture. He not only managed to grab my shirt collar and yank me out of the way of this Sprint Car making a fast departure from Gasoline Alley but continued to aim my two SB800s at the car so I could still get the shot. Thanks Justin for Multi-Tasking. Nikon D2Xs, ISO200, 1/5 at f5.6, Nikon 12-24mm Lens, WB 3600K, Rear Curtain Sync, Two remote Nikon SB800 Speedlights (tandem) with Warming Gels and a power output of +2.3 held off camera by Justin Stailey, Nikon SU800 Commander, Lexar 8G Flash Card.
Image #3 Gasoline Alley Smoke ... While roaming through the infield maze of hauler's, RV's and Sprint Cars I found this mechanic taking a cigarette break on the gas tank of his race car before the feature race. I asked if I could take a picture to which he replied, "Have at it man." Nikon D2Xs, ISO200, 1/20 at f6.3, Nikon 12-24mm Lens, WB 3000K Two remote Nikon SB800 Speedlights (tandem) with Warming Gels and power output of +1.7 held off camera by Justin Stailey, Nikon SU800 Commander, Lexar 8G Flash Card.
Image #4 Leaning in the Turn ... The Sprint Cars literally fly around the dirt track and are purposely driven into a power drift in the turns. The available light is low and so I used my Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS battery power pack with one sport strobe to illuminate a section of turn 3. Nikon D2Xs, ISO400, 1/20 at f5.6, Nikon 200-400mm G VR Zoom Lens, Rear Curtain Sync, Pocket Wizard Multi Max Transceivers, Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS battery power pack and one sport strobe with sport reflector, Bogen Magic Arm, Lexar 8G Flash Card. I secured the single Elinchrom sport strobe with sport reflector using a Bogen Magic Arm to a race track light pole about 50 feet from the inside guard rail of turn 3 and illuminated a section of track about 25 feet wide that extended across the track at the apex of the turn. The slow shutter speed gave a sweeping motion to the car while the flash from the Ranger RX Speed AS strobe froze the car. One of my favorite images of the weekend.
Image #5 Power Turn ... On Saturday we went Susquehanna Speedway. The Super Modified cars used a similar approach to the turns at Susquehanna that the Sprint Cars used at William's Grove Speedway the night before. That being a power drift that faced the cars towards the inside rail. With the sun getting low in the sky Bill encouraged me to get closer to the qualification race and so I used a Nikon 17-55mm Lens and held it out over the rail and let the auto focus do it's thing. Nikon D2Xs, ISO400, 1/1000 at f4, Nikon 17-55mm Lens, WB 6300K, Lexar 8G Flash Card. I'm not sure how fast these cars power drift through the turns (maybe 75 mph ?) but when you are only 15 feet away and they are pointed straight at you ... Well, it feels like they are going 200 mph.
Image #6 Sundown at Susquehanna ... Photographing at a venue a fraction of the size of Daytona allows the photographer to see the horizon instead of massive grandstands. So I kept a close eye on the setting sun and positioned myself to photograph this car leaving the race track with a blown engine as the sun met the horizon. Nikon D200, ISO100, 1/500 at f10, Nikon 12-24mm Lens, WB 10,000K, Lexar 8G Flash Card.
Image #7 Night Thunder ... The ability to get very close to the race track provided great opportunities for pictures. The available light at Susquehanna was even less than at William's Grove ........ just what I needed to do another slow shutter, rear curtain pan/flash image. I again secured an Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS power pack and sport strobe to a race track light pole and lit up a section of track similar to the way I lit turn 3 at William's Grove the night before. This time the sport strobe was about 40 feet from the inside rail. Nikon D2Xs, ISO100, 1/13 at f5.6, Nikon 17-55mm Lens, WB 4400K, Pocket Wizard Multi Max Transceivers, Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS power pack and sport strobe with sport reflector, Bogen Magic Arm, Lexar 8G Flash Card. Several photographers at both race tracks used large on camera flash units with an 8-12 inch reflector. Those on camera flash units definitely light up the cars and get the job done but I think it is the use of off camera lighting that gives the image more drama and more viewer appeal.
Image #8 Flat Out ... These Super Modified race cars make great action shots especially when illuminating them with the Ranger. The power drift position in the turn makes it look as if the car is coming straight at me. The action is easy to follow with the Nikon 200-400mm G VR Zoom Lens. Nikon D2Xs, ISO400, 1/100 at f4, Nikon G VR Zoom Lens, WB 6300K, Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS battery powered pack and sport strobe with sport reflector, Bogan Magic Arm, Pocket Wizard Multi Max Transceivers, Lexar 8G Flash Card. This is the same sport strobe set up as the previous image but this time I used ISO 400, a shutter speed of 1/125 at f4 and waited for the car be directly perpendicular to the strobe flash. The strobe easily freezes the action and reveals the driver behind the wheel.

This was a great experience for me and a wonderful way to spend a weekend with Bill Anderson and Justin Stailey. We had a blast, learned a lot and made some terrific pictures. No photographer should ever equate the size of a sporting event with the potential of making great pictures. This was not NASCAR but I found it engaging and exciting. Often times it is a smaller hometown venue that offers more access and better pictures than a mega stadium. Many thanks to Michelle and Justin of William's Grove Speedway, and Rhonda and Todd of Susquehanna Speedway for being so supportive and running these first class events. And a special thanks to Bill Anderson for paving the way for Justin and I to attend these races and experience the Speedway Thunder of Pennsylvania ........ Thanks Bill!

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this edition of On The Road............... See you next time On The Road, Adios. Dave