Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“Everything was fine until I left and then I ran out of talent!”— “Big Daddy“Don Garlits after a red light in the final
These images were made at Bandimere Speed in Denver Colorado.
From Colorado Public Radio: “Bandimere Speedway, a longtime stop on the NHRA circuit tucked into the foothills of Colorado’s Front Range west of Denver, plans to close after the 2023 season.
The drag racing track and the NHRA said Friday the last NHRA race at so-called “Thunder Mountain” will be the Mile-High Nationals on July 14-16.
Second-generation owner and operator John Bandimere Jr. said the hope is to find another place for a drag track in the Denver area.”
It’s The Pits
The pit area at a drag race is the biggest car show that you’ll ever attend and many of the cars you’ll see are truly works of art. When I saw this yellow and blue hot rod beneath a yellow canopy, I knew I had to make this photograph.
How I made this shot: It was captured with a Canon EOS 50D and Tamron’s AF18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 lens at 18mm. That lens gave a nice wide angle perspective that’s usually not possible with zoom lenses that have a long maximum focal length. Exposure was in Program mode at 1/400 sec at f/13 with ISO 400. A minus 1/3rd stop exposure compensation was used to punch up the colors.
While a paid admission gets you into the pits at drag races, it won’t always get you close to the track. Make a friend and maybe you can get invited to the races as a member of the pit crew, which I was on this day, giving me better and closer access to the track.
How I made the below shot: This hot orange pickup truck was especially fast and drop dead gorgeous to look at but don’t poke your lens under a racer’s canopy without saying “Hi” and asking permission to make photographs. You can even offer to e-mail the driver one or more of the images as a thank you. Image was made with a Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN with EF 75-300mm IS zoom set at 240mm.
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