Daytona, Florida – A Sea of 3’s!

I was at the 53rd annual running of the Daytona 500 yesterday in Daytona, FL.  It was a perfect day…weather was great and the track had brand new pavement.  It was going to be a great race!  In a touching moment to honor the death of one of NASCAR’s best racers ever…Dale Earnhardt Sr.  …who died in a crash on this track 10 years ago…  His racing number was #3.  On the 3rd lap of the race…the track went silent (except for the racing cars) and the entire crowd held up 3 fingers in honor Dale Sr.’s #3. 

It was a wonderful view to witness….so I will call this shot… “A Sea of 3’s”.  The race was unreal..the most lead changes and cautions ever at a Daytona 500.  I was in the first row and enjoyed every bit of dirt and grit hittting my face or even getting into my mouth.   Ah the fun! 

I have been to quite of few Daytona 500’s…and love it every time!  Trevor Bayne a 20 year old kid in his first Daytona won it!   Great job!  It should be a fantastic NASCAR season!

Daytona, Florida – Daytona 500

I just returned from a trip to Florida.  You know its a tough winter everywhere when even in February..Florida is cold!  This past Sunday the 14th was the Daytona 500….NASCAR’s first race os the season and the biggest race of the year.  I have posted before I am a casual fan, but there is no sporting event that I have ever attended that can top this race!!!  200,000 people…tough to beat!  I have been to this race I think 4 of the last 6 years?  No matter how many times I attend…I truly love it!

Its a full day indeed.  I went this year with my father-in-law George (his first time!) and we arrived at Daytona around 6:15 AM.  Had breakfast and walked to the track at around 8 AM for some shopping!  We shopped for an hour and had passes for the Fan Zone.   For the Fan Zone you get to walk around the stages near pit row and listen to drivers speak, music playing, eat food, watch car inspections, walk through pit row and onto the field.  The big draw is to walk on the track and sign the starting line and walls before the race.   As the cars are brought out….you cant get right next to pit row, behind a rope.  Only a few feet from the starting lineup!   After the cars are inspected they are rolled out one by one.  So I stood and took pics of each car coming out for about 2 hours.  My father-in-law was a trooper and stood next to me the whole time.  I had my big lens – Nikon 70-200 VR on a monopod and snapped away!

The pic above is from the lineup which includes Tony Stewart’s car….race ready.   If the crowds are not too heavy around the cars, close up shots are possible.  I saw Dale Jr’s car rolled out and could barley get close!  So we hit the stands for the race at about 12:30 and grabbed some lunch and our seats.

As our seats were first row right by the fence you see in the pic above…I wanted to grab a shot from above as the race started.  I walked up the aisle and took the shot above (turn 4) as lap 1 was just about to start!   Mark Martin is in the lead and Dale Jr. is is in second!  The shot above is at 200mm focal length.    I took a few more shots throughout the race and they were just ok.   This was the biggest lens I have ever taken to a race and made some conclusions about shooting races.  1) Use a bigger lens  2) Get pit passes  3) Practice beforehand if possible

Any fan that wants great shots like you see in Sports Illustrated…from the stands..its impossible.  I can assume a 400mm or 600mm lens is necessary to get those cool shots.  Added to that your photo location has to be from the pits.  How to get there…hmmm…maybe you have to be a professional.  So lesson learned as I tried to push my photography limits this day.  If anyone is a race fan and knows how to get such a photo pass…please let me know!   I’ll get into the race details in a future post next week.  A fun day and I can’t wait to get back again.  As I have a long post..I’ll skip the photo settings for the day.  Have fun and let the race begin!

Daytona, Florida – Dale Jr.’s Car (NASCAR)

NIKON D300, Nikon 18-200 VR, Photoshop

It’s a holiday weekend here in the US.  We celebrate our independence and this occurs every July 4th!   Its a great time for family barbeques, going out to see the fireworks at night, see a baseball game and if you are a fan of NASCAR – you can attend or watch the Coke Zero 400 in Daytona, Florida at 7:30 PM EST.    I consider myself a casual fan of NASCAR.  I do enjoy watching the races and follow the standings.   For the past years my sister has had Daytona 500 tickets.  I have attended 4 races so far.  I have been to manydifferent sporting events and must admit…the Daytona Raceway is one of my favorite sporting events ever to attend!

Its a full day of enjoyment.  If you have never attended a race…I’d say its a must!  The sounds and crowds are fantastic to be a part of.  If you are lucky enough to be at the race today…summer in Florida can be tough!  Please keep cool!  I’ll will be at Daytona again this upcoming February.  And will post more info as the race nears.  Here is a photo I took of my favorite driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. from the Daytona in 2008 (50th year of Daytona 500!)  We had “Pit Passes” so we were allowed to get close.   I added a little photoshop touch to the pic to add to the shot.    Enjoy the race and the 4th of July!!!