Me & Tom.

Throughout this post, we’ll be rooting for the “go tommy dot com team,” ok?!

Some things I learned and/or was reminded of…

That right here in our backyard (of Indianapolis), we have one of the most magnificent sporting venues in the world.  It doesn’t matter if it’s your first or fiftieth time to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS)…it’s awe-striking every time.

…That it’s really fun to walk the tunnels while the cars thunder ’round the track.  Then, when they’ve passed, you let out a big “whoooop!” or a “get ‘er done!” and enjoy the thundering echo of your own voice.

…That the IMS has sweet garages.  And it’s fun to be on the inside of that fence surrounding them.

…That precision and preparation both at the shop and at the track are non-negotiable.  Every detail counts.  Scales are positioned, leveled and zeroed-in below.

…That it’s a dirty, hot job and requires lots of note-taking.

…That Jack Johnson and NASCAR do mix!  Here’s the Johnson boys, Jimmie and Jack…I assume they’re Cali buddies.

…That track food is really something to look forward to!  I did not have Clabber Girl’s biscuits & berries on this day.  Rather, I enjoyed biscuits & gravy on raceday morning

…That there’s a lotta rubber.  At 3Gs a set!  For four tires!

…That raceday is buzzing with energy, and heading out to the start line is pretty spectacular.

…And that walking down pit lane just before the start is surreal.  I made several 360 spins to make sure I could catch everything.

…That our “scoreboard” beats all others.

…That the #5 car’s pit box was in the best possible spot for viewing purposes!  Pagoda.  Start-Finish Line.  Bingo!

…That while superstars were found all around us, the only one I cared about was this one!

…That the pit crew dudes are big time.

…That I love the posting of colors and fly-overs.  Gives me chills every time.

…That the pit boxes are transformers.  And they’re stocked with everything imaginable.

…That you don’t get to see much of the action from the pits.  So, you watch on the big screen opposite, or poke your head behind one of those transformers just shown.

…That rubber buildup on the tires must be removed in order to get accurate tire-wear measurements.

…That pit stops are intense.

…And at the end of the race, the victorious team gets the biggest thrill ever.

…That Jamie McMurray became only the third driver in NASCAR history to win both the Daytona 500 AND the Brickyard 400, the two top events in the sport, in the same year.

…That it’s a good idea to be far enough away from victory circle to avoid being showered in sticky beverages.

…And most impressive?  That car owner Chip Ganassi (far right) won the big three – The Daytona 500, The Indy 500 and The Brickyard 400 – all in the same year!  That’s huge.  HUGE!

So proud of our Speedway.  And so proud of my big brother.

Yes, this is better than the movie!

We spent a weekend at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, AL with my family.  We’ve got racing in our blood (I have just one winning trophy to show for my short-lived go-kart career), and we continue to enjoy races home or away.  Plus, my big bro makes race cars go fast for a living, so we have a vested interest.  Talladega is a great place to spectate as you can see the whole way around the entire 2.5 mile tri-oval.  It’s high banked, really fast and is THE site for close racing, 4 and 5 cars wide.  For non-race fans, I hope you’re not yawning yet.  Others, you know what I mean — this is good stuff to watch!  Along with watching cars, there is also people watching.  The crowd is quite interesting…it’s a variety of people, and I enjoy observing both the predictable fan and more so, the non-predictable.  There’s always something to see at a race! We “camped” just outside the track, which was convenient and allowed us to get some relaxing in too.  The campgrounds are also a special place for a race fan.  If you want tailgating ideas, just visit a campground at a NASCAR event.  You’ll see it all.  Since we knew we’d be spending a lot of time outside around the fire pit, we decided to practice some photography at night.  Hence the name “Talladega Nights”!  See, it’s not just ripped from a movie title.  So, here it is, Talladega at night…

our campground — just a sliver of the campground pie.

our setup.  not quite sure it qualifies as camping…but we did have a fire every night and roasted marshmallows, so i guess we’re good!

Yes, this is a homemade NASCAR firepit.  And we (my parents) brought it.  True fans, indeed!  Kurtis was crowned “fire-making king”.  Those are Mom’s hands stoking the fire at right.

This is Kurtis’ take, a long exposure atop the motorhome.  The streak you see was actually a fire truck coming through (without it’s emergency lights).

This one’s hot out of the box!  No retouching.  zippo.  tech talk: Nikon D700, ISO500, 24mm, f/8, 20 sec.  I dodged the light coming from the moon working my hand parallel to the lens and moving up and down in a steady rhythm for the entire exposure.

Now for some daytime photos!  Kurtis read.

Spot sat.

We prepped!  I love that you can see the sweat coming off the can AND that Fat Tire is a “pack it in pack it out” proponent!

Someone’s ready to go racin’!

This was quite funny (and smart marketing)…Dodge was giving rides in it’s Challenger and Viper models.  They had this test track setup where professional drivers drifted around tight turns at high speeds to show off their vehicles’ performance.  So, for hours at our campsite we listened to the squealing of tires.  It was really funny when we realized what was going on and then witnessed the riders.  People acted as though they were riding a bull, one hand (sometimes two) out the window as they were whipped around the corners, tires screaming, smoke rolling.  I wanted a ride, but the line was long, and the risk manager in me said bad idea…think tire blowout.

Note the amount of rubber on the fringe of the driving line.

We struggled with internet connection the whole weekend.  I kept blaming Sprint (series sponsor) for plugging up the network so the other providers’ stuff wouldn’t work.  Ironically, it was at the Sprint tent that we finally had capabilities!  Here’s Kurtis getting his fix.

race time!

Mark Martin, powered by PopTarts!  Our favorite driver.

Fans below.  There were many empty seats…”sign of the times” may be a good caption here.

It’s best to have a race radio with you which means wearing big ear muffs and listening to in-car radios along with the track and network broadcast.  A must!

Where there’s close racing, there’s typically a wreck, it’s typically a bad one, and it’s typically end of race at Talladega.  That in mind, Kurtis captured “the big one” as they call it.

Yikes!  Mark is sideways.  He eventually rolled and landed back on his wheels.  His first words to the crew after landing were “boys, i’m just trying to get to the finish line!”  That’s Mark.

We leave you with this Talladega Superspeedway artwork:

p.s. my hair still smells like campfire