All I Got Was A Rock........

They moved the second Talladega race weekend to the last weekend of October.
Yep, Halloween weekend.
Or, as they say around here.
Hallo-Dega.
They are tempting the gods.
That's what happens when you build on top of an old Indian burial ground, as legend says.
Then they have this race on Halloween weekend.
Enough strange stuff happens here, you shouldn't laugh in the face of it.
We should give praise to the Almighty so he will protect us through the weekend.


Strange things do happen here.
Nobody can explain it.
Then the weekend started off crappy. Rain. And more rain.
Rained out Cup qualifying. And final practice.
And the Truck Race started late.


After the rains stopped and the Camping World Truck race got under way, I caught the trucks of Dennis Setzer(8), Matt Crafton(88), and Jason White(23) coming out of turn two, three wide.


It was a good race with a lot of action, but not the wrinkled up fender kind of action I was looking for. Here the lead pack of Todd Bodine(30), David Starr(24), Kyle Busch(51), and Aric Almirola(15) comes out of turn two.
So much for my kind of action.


I was kinda bored and started looking for person celebrating Halloween before the sun set. Then I saw Jason....I mean Freddie.....uhhhh, Michael Meyers...no, no, no....what made me scream was the 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide Sugar Bowl sweatshirt he had on. I remember the University of Utah whooping somebody's behind.


Then I spotted a spotted cow. I hope those are his teats.


I noticed as it was getting darker, more crazies were coming out, not that Fred and Wilma are crazy.


After an uneventful Truck race, the sun sets on Talladega SuperSpeedway.
I've got this feeling the night will not be uneventful.


I had a special assignment for this race. I had to find people tailgating and dressed up for Halloween. Because of the late start of the race, most of the tailgating was over before I could make my way to the infield. I did find lots of people dressed for the Trick or Treating that was about to take place.


My new friends from Canada, but I can't tell you what their costumes were.
It's not what you're thinking.


Look....cows cook chickin.


And there's always a fat chick in a bikini that thinks she looks good, plus there ain't enough beer in Talladega.


Some of us survived Hallo-Dega better than others.
Maybe we have more practice.


After just a few laps had passed, I begin to feel lucky.
Paul Menard(98) and Joe Nemechek(87) tangled as the were exiting turn two.


But it became appearant early into the race that it would be a loooonnnnggggg and booorrrrriiiinnnngggg day. NASCAR had told the driver earlier in the drivers meeting, not to bump draft through the turns. Boy, they really know how to sell tickets, don't they?
Anyway, something told me Halloween was not over just yet.
I didn't know I was about to turn into Charlie Brown.


Nothing seemed to go right for me all weekend. From Thursday until the end of the race on Sunday, nothing went right. I was having a Charlie Brown weekend. Everybody was Lucy. They always seemed to pull the football back as soon as I was kicking it.
Even my standard blur shot didn't come out like I wanted it too. I was beginning to think I was gettin rocks in my Trick or Treat bag.


Most of the people on the tower where I shoot have been there for years. Here Brian Hallman of NASCAR SCENE and Cody Crisp of the local Talladega paper are hoping they don't get any rocks.


Then the pack started to tighten up and run three wide.Maybe our luck would change.


As the race was winding down, we saw a little bumping as the pack got even tighter.


Jeff Robinson from NASCAR ILLUSTRATED was waiting for some treats, but like the rest of us, all he got was rocks.


We were watching as Jamie McMurray(26) and Dale Earnhardt jr(88) would lead the pack off of turn two. Then they went down the backstretch.


I watched as the cars made there way into turn three. Some cars changed lanes at the end of the backstretch and Ryan Newman(38)had no place to go. As I saw him making a hard left, I started shooting again. Now remember, I'm more than a half mile away from them, but I do have a 400/2.8, but it's still not enough lens for the distance. I did the best I could, but sometimes it's still not good enough.


After a short red flag to stop the race, as the safety crews cut Mr. Newman out of his car and then cleaned up the mess, some drivers just couldn't get started again.


Then the excitement happened. In the tri-oval. The people shooting in that area got another treat. Just like Charlie Brown......"All I got is a rock".
Jamie McMurray won. Then ran outta gas. And got a push from Greg Biffle.


Who got the treats?
My buddy and Associated Press photographer Glenn Smith.


And Associated Press photographer Skip Williams.
This just didn't seem to be my year shooting wrecks.
I don't have another one scheduled this year.
Maybe next year.

These Tigers Have The Blues

For the last few days, I've been trying to think of something witty or clever to describe the game between Kentucky and Auburn.
I can't!
It was bad.
Auburn had their chances, they just didn't take advantage of them.
Kentucky took advantage of theirs.
Auburn's passing game didn't look sharp and the running game had to carry the load.
And for the first time this year, special teams earned their keep when they blocked a first quarter fieldgoal attempt and returned it for a touchdown.
Just like most of the other photographers, I was positioned downfield and didn't get a shot of the block.
All I got was the back of Neiko Thorpe as he was seeing headlines and goal lines.
Oh well......


The game started out like it might go Auburn's way. Then the wheels slowly started to fall off.
Here, Kentucky cornerback Randall Burdon knocks the ball away from Auburn receiver Quindarius Carr.


Ben Tate was the bright spot for Auburn. He rushed for 132 yards.
Tate and Kentucky linebacker Micah Johnson fought some hard battles all night.


Auburn ran a reverse to wide receiver Terrell Zachery, which gained a bunch of yards. Then Kentucky cornerback Paul Worford got in the way.


That Paul Worford guy seemed to be everywhere. Darvin Adams got seperated from the ball by him.


Yep....Ben Tate is THE workhorse. He moved up on Auburn's rushing chart to 6th all time. And with another good game against LSU this Saturday, he could climb a couple of more spots.
He scored Auburn's only offensive touchdown. Things were looking good at this point.


And the fans went wild after Ben scored.


Ben celebrated with Mike Berry.


The cheerleaders celebrated.


And Kentucky just would not quit. They kept plugging away.
Wildcat receiver Gene McCaskill got his hands on the ball as Auburn's Neiko Thorpe was a step behind.


Kentucky started their comeback, mixing pass plays with running plays.
Wildcat tailback Derrick Locke is tripped up by Auburn's Zac Etheridge.


Kentucky's number one quarterback, Mike Hartline, was injured last week. Saturday night was quarterback by committee. Kentucky runs the Wildcat offense with Randall Cobb as quarterback. Here, he dives for the endzone as Auburn linebackers Josh Bynes and Craig Stevens close in. He didn't score, but it was only a matter of time.


Kentucky brought in Junior quarterback Will Fidler on the next play. He stretches the ball out over the goal line to tie the score with 4:57 to play in the fourth quarter.


Auburn couldn't move the ball and Kentucky didn't waste any time movin the ball downfield. Randall Cobb ran the Wildcat offense again, and scored on a four yard run with 1:51 left in the game.


The Kentucky ball players got to celebrate with the Big Blue fans that made the trip down to Auburn.
Maybe Auburn can stop the wheels from coming off this week before heading to Baton Rouge or it could be a long night.

Some Days You're The Windshield, Some Days You're The Bug

That's kinda how I felt this weekend.
Like a bug splattered on the windshield of a big ol' truck.
I was just flyin' along minding my own business, when SPLATT!!!!!
Right out of nowhere, my camera started having major problems.
Just as Saturdays game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Tennessee Volunteers was about to begin.
I got the dreaded ERR99 message.
The note on the digital back of the camera told me to turn the camera off and replace the batteries.
WOW....maybe it'll go away when I do that.
So, I turn it off, change the batteries, and hold my breath as I turn the camera back on.
It powers up, I look through the viewfinder and it focuses, I squeeze the shutter button, and it fires!
One time.
And one time only.
And ERR99 shows back up on the digital back.
This is how my day was going, and it ain't even got started yet!
Every time I shot a frame, I had to shut it down, change the batteries, fire it back up, hope I time the shot just at the peak of the action, and do it again.
Instead of firing off more than a thousand shots during the course of the game, Saturday, I only fired off 68 shots. I had to very carefully pick and choose which images I wanted as I was watching through the viewfinder.
I also discovered that I am more impatient than I thought I was.
It was a frustrating day for me.
Very frustrating.


Tennessee's Montario Hardesty played a big part in Saturday's game. He is one of the SEC's top backs this year. He always runs hard.


Quarterback Jonathan Crompton came alive and could do no wrong for this game. He was a windshield Saturday.


Volunteer fullback Kevin Cooper gets stripped of the ball by Georgia linebacker Darius Dewberry as Bryan Evans hurries in to get him some action.


Look....I'm doin' the best I can. It's difficult trying to get a good usable image when you can only shoot one image per play. How did the old timers shoot such great images with the equipmet they had.
Here, Georgia quarterback Joe Cox sets up to pass.


Bulldog receiver Michael Moore is wrapped up by Tennessee safety Prentiss Waggner, with All-American strong safety Eric Berry and cornerback Art Evans helping out.


Quarterback Jonathan Crompton looks to pass to receiver Gerald Jones.


OK....it's not the same play, but the same drive, Gerald Jones dive into the endzone for a Tennessee touchdown.
See....I could have lied about the TD and told you it was the same play, but what good would that do me?


On the next drive, Tennessee receiver Demarius Moore tries to do a Gerald Jones impersonation, but his dive for a touchdown wasn't as impressive.


I'm beginning to like Lane Kiffen. He can get animated, which is good!


See.....I'm looking for any type of easy image as I'm getting more and more frustrated.


I've been sitting back behind the offense hoping for a good easy image of a quarterback sack when Eric Berry blitzed from the far side. Mr. Cox didn't see it coming, but I did.
Even a blind hog can find an acorn.


Volunteer receiver Gerald Jones runs for extra yardage after making a catch.


I almost caught this image like Mr. Jones almost caught the ball.
Close, but no cigar.
Or, close only counts in horseshoes, handgranades and napalm.


See how bad my day was going. Now i'm stretching it trying to find good images one at a time.


It's not a good image, but sometimes if it's newsworthy, you have to include it anyway. Here Tennessee All-American safety Eric Berry takes the ball away from Georgia split end Michael Moore. This play set the all-time NCAA record for interceptions. It's not the best image i've ever shot, but I did manage to capture it while history was being made.


And last but not least, Georgia's AJ Green may be the best receiver in the Southeastern Conference.


OK....just for funsies, before my camera died, I was walking around Neyland Stadium just looking for something to get into, when I spotted the drum major changing shoes. One shoe was shiny patton leather, the other shoe was dull and black. So....I checked it out.


He was putting on his cleats. I never thought about the drum major wearing cleats, but considering the condition of the field, slick sole shoes would have been ugly about half way thru his goose march across the field. Or it may have been hilarious.

Too Much Tigers, Not Enough Volunteers

I made the long drive to Knoxville Tennessee for Saturday nights game between the Tigers and the Tennessee Volunteers.
Auburn came into the game undefeated, and Tennessee had lost a couple of close games to UCLA and Florida.
After the opening drives by both teams, I felt like I knew who the better team was.
You got the sense that it was not gonna be a runaway, but you knew the outcome before the final gun sounded.
I felt like my Tigers should have scored a couple of touchdowns, instead they settled for fieldgoals.


Ben Tate did some hard runnin'. Tennessee has a really good defense, but Tate did manage to run for 128 yards.


The Volunteers held Darvin Adams to only two catches. That's OK, because Auburn spread the passes around to eight other receivers.


Tennessee lost this first quarter fumble. I think it was the only turnover in the game.


Onterio McCalebb has proved to be another kind of workhorse for Auburn.
He finished the night with 51 yards.


If two quality backs aren't enough, the Tigers may have found a third back in Eric Smith. At 237 pounds, it don't take much pounding from him before the defenses start to get tired.


Ben Tate runs up the gut of the Volunteer defense.


And scores after an 11 yard run in the secound quarter.


It was a hard hittin' game all night long and tempers were starting to get short.
Auburn defensive end Michael Goggans (49) and Tennessee left tackle Chris Scott (79) were doin' some ya-ya-ing.


You have to have a coach picture. Lane Kiffen calls in a play (or encouragement) to the Vols.


And the quarterback everbody loves to hate, Jonathan Crompton. I think I know why.


Mario Fannin had another big night with six receptions, and ran a reverse for 32 yards.


Early in the fourth quarter, Terrell Zachery caught a wide receiver screen for an 11 yard touchdown.


I gotta do the same for my Tigers and give coach C some pixel time.


Tight end Tommy Trott made his presence known. He's got good hands, I just wished they would use him and the other tightends more.


It was late, and time was running out, and the game was already decided, before Tennessee coach Lane Kiffen and quarterback Jonathan Crumpton would make a mini comeback. Too little, too late.


Ben Tate and Auburns running game ate up too much clock for any comeback hopes the Volunteers had.


Denarius Moore scored on a 32 yard pass when the clock struck midnight (well......the clock did read 00:00 in the fourth quarter).
Too little, too late.


Auburn quarterback Chris Todd thanks the fans for supporting them.


Darvin Adams made his way down the receiveing line. There's just something about this bunch of Tigers. They've got their swagger back. You might better watch out for them.

Rain, Rain Go Away

I went down to Auburn this past Saturday night to shoot the Ball State vs Auburn game for my wire service.
It's the first football game that I've been able to shoot this year.
I hope I get to shoot a lot more.
Like next week.
I've got to go to Knoxville to shoot the Auburn vs Tennessee game in Neyland Stadium.
A hundred thousand Big Orange fans in one place.
Jeepers.
I hope my Tigers can makes lots of orange juice.


I always plan on shooting 'Tiger Walk' when I get the opportunity to shoot an Auburn game. No matter where they are playin'.
It's always good. It's the original. Now everyone want's to do it.
Tiger Walk takes place two hours before gametime.
Guess what happened as soon as Tiger Walk got near the stadium?
Rain. And lots of it. Lots.
Game time was held back about 45 minutes for the second time in two weeks.
Lots of rain.
This stadium grounds worker decided to give up and come back in, but it was too late.


I don't know how much water came falling down out of the sky, but many buckets full fell in a very short period of time. Not like last week, when over four inches fell in about thirty minutes, but enough that it was beginning to back up in just a few minutes.


This storm drain was backed up with about four or five inches of water in just a couple of minutes. One of the local police told me during last weeks rain event, that the water backed up about a foot deep in this same storm drain.
So much for the water.
On to the main event.


It is my first game to shoot this year, and I was a little rusty, but sometimes I was in the right place at the right time.
Here, Auburn defensive end Michael Goggans chases down Ball State quarterback Kelly Page.


After Auburn spotted Ball State a touchdown early, Tigers receiver Terrell Zachery stiff arms Kyle Kuntz after making a catch.


Auburn quarterback Chris Todd sets up to pass as the rain keeps falling.


Mario Fannin had a decent night for Auburn. He had three catches for 55 yards. Here he's on his way to a 36 yard touchdown.


Chris Todd passed for five touchdowns on Saturday night. He also had 287 yards passing with 19 completions. Not bad for someone that had shoulder surgery during the off season.


After Darvin Adams scored on a long pass play, Terrell Zachery helped him celebrate in the endzone. Here they strike a pose.


Ben Tate always runs hard. He's beginning to carry more of the load when the game winds down.


Eric Williams of Ball State reaches the ball out towards the goal line, but it was late in the game.
Too little, too late.


And it wouldn't be football without a picture of head coach Gene Chizick in action, now would it?
Ball State put 30 points on Auburn, but most of them came when the backups were playing late in the game. A lot of people around here seem to be concerned about the Tigers defense. They are a little thin, but I think coach is trying to get his troops a little 'sperience.
Maybe it'll be enough Saturday night in K town.

No. No. No. No. No. No. OK, Yes I Will

A couple of weeks ago when I was shooting the night race in Atlanta, I was asked by someone from my wire service if I wanted to shoot the race in Richmond.
I told them 'No'.
Later that night, they asked me again.
Again, I said 'No'.
This happened a couple of more times after the race as we were working trying to get our images out.
Monday was Labor Day and I was at the river, kicked back relaxing, eating some BBQ and par-taking in some adult beverages, when my cell phone rang.
My wire service was calling me to personally ask me about shooting Richmond.
I said 'No'.
After I got home, I got on my laptop to check my e-mail, and I had an e-mail from the owner of the wire service, this time with the schedule for the weekend.
It didn't take much more to convince me I needed to go to Richmond for the weekend.

I got there about middle of the afternoon on Friday, a little later than I wanted, but I had plenty of time to shoot Cup qualifying. I walked into the photographers work room, and all of the places were taken. One of the other photogs told me I had a reserved spot, but some old wannabe, know-it-all, camera pointing, nerve wracking, button pusher, was sitting in MY reserved place. The old geezer told me he didn't think someone from my wire service would be there. Damn him!!!!


It's a much different atmosphere from some of the other tracks I shoot at.
You get more access. Here Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth share driving secrets.


I was looking for something a little different, someway to shoot the pole winner that was not the ordinary, standard image we usually see. I tried my luck at adding the people on pit road, the venue, and the sky and clouds.
I didn't think it worked.
Mark Martin went out early, and I was looking through my shots from his run to see if I had anything to post when I found this one.
It worked better than I thought.


The Nationwide race started later that night.
Here is the standard Kyle Busch images from that race.


Not much happened during that race. Kinda boring for Richmond.
The only action I was was when Jason Leffler blew a tire and left a trail of sparks behind his car.


As luck would have it, I was standing in an empty pit stall that was next to the 38 team. I shot a bunch of images of the crew working on Leffler's car. As I turned to watch him drive off, I noticed his left front tire come off.
When it rains, it pours.


Just a boring image of Brendan Gaughan (62) and Carl Edwards (60) racing side by side at Richmond.


Carl Edwards won the Nationwide race. As we all know, he has a broken foot, so that means he can do his customary backflip from his car, right?
Well, this old wannabe, know-it-all, camera pointing, nerve wracking, button pusher, came back into the photographers workroom after the race and said in a very loud voice 'Hey ya'll, I must be the biggest dumbass of all, 'cause I just crossed the pit wall and ran out the track to get a shot of Carl Edwards doin' his backflip, and after he just drove on by, I remembered he's got a broke foot'.
Yep.


Saturday promised to be a long day. I got there early. Not much happening in the garage, but I had to post something anyway.


Pit tours and all the other B.S.
No drivers.
Anywhere.


Later in the afternoon, the pre-race concert began.
Today's band was All-American Rejects.
Here lead guitar player Nick Wheeler plays his Gibson Firebird (I've always had a soft spot for this guitar).


All-American Rejects lead singer Tyson Ritter.


Finally, after a long race and a short rain delay, the 'Chase For The Cup' sould be decided in a few hours.
Kevin Harvick (29) and Scott Speed (82) race early in the Chevy Rock and Roll 400.


Just looking for something different. Brian Vickers works had to make the 'Chase'.


Just a few laps into the race, Scott Speed spins his Red Bull Toyota. It's Richmond, and a short track, you have to expect a few spins, right?


During the caution, I was in position to shoot a few pit stops from my high vantage point. Denny Hamlin's crew works on his car.


Jeff Gordon (24) leads Denny Hamlin (11) during the Chevy Rock and Roll 400.


I'm beginning to feel lucky. Tony Stewart (14) gets turned by Reed Sorenson (43).


Well, while I'm still up there, why not shoot more pit stops during the caution, right?
This image of Jimmie Johnson was used by USA Today and several other papers.


OK.....it's starting to get boring. Side by side action of Juan Pablo Montoya (42) and Jeff Burton (31).


Just the standard slow shutter speed image i've been doing lately.
It's getting old. Kinda.....


You gotta have a Jeff Gordon Image.


I thought the brake dust coming from the wheel made this A J Allmendinger pit stop a little different.


Kurt Busch during the Chevy Rock and Roll 400.


Denny Hamlin would win tonight's race. I got a shot of him as he crossed the finish line. Not much to it. He did his customary burnout. Way too much tire smoke, I could hardly see his car.
Then he got out of his car, stood on the window ledge, and pumped his arms as he was celebrating.
This image was picked up by ESPN.


USA Today and several other papers and website used this image in victory lane.


After waiting what seemed like a very long time, well after midnight, NASCAR finally got the 'Chase' driver together for a group photo.
I had been transmitting earlier, but decided I needed to go out early so I could get a good group shot of the drivers. I was way late. All I could do was stand to the side and do a 'Hail Mary'.
I missed the one shot I was in Richmond for.
I hope my editors will forgive me.


OK....A lesson to NASCAR.
Don't give champagne to the drivers.
They waste it!

Hot 'Lanta at Night

Signs, signs, everywhere a sign.
Blocking out the scenery, breaking my mind.
That old song from the Five Man Electrical Band was what I was thinking when I was looking through the viewfinder at all of these pit signs.
I don't know why, but stuff like that just fills my head sometimes.
It's been a couple of weeks since my last post and a load of stuff has happened in between.
It's my favorite time of the year. Football is in full swing, NASCAR is in the Chase, baseball is making it's way to the playoffs, the weather is trying to turn cool, and everything is right with the world. Well.....almost.
High school, college, and pro football every weekend, and I ain't shot the first game yet.
Too much other stuff going on. Just wait. I get around to posting it.
First things first.


I was the only photographer at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday for my wire service. Everyone else was shooting football.
I got to shoot Martin Truex jr getting out of his car after he won the pole for Sunday's race.


Just a head on image of Martin Truex jr during Sunday's race.


And a head on shot of Tony Stewart (you can tell I ain't put too much effort into this latest post).


Sunday's race, as are most Sprint Cup races in Atlanta, can get a little bit boring. I spent most of my time walking around looking for something out of the ordinary.


I was almost as bored as this NASCAR official. I just wish I could have propped my feet up.


Pit stops are much easier to shoot from the outside, but sometimes they don't show the action or drama involved taking place in the pits, like an image shot from the pits.


Later in the night, as I was still looking for different angles, I shot a pretty cool image of Jeff Gordon. I knew it was what I was looking for, so I turned away from the opening in the fence and started chimping (OK....I admit I chimp).


Even though I had my head set on, I heard a loud 'BOOM' just behind me, and when I looked up, I saw Kurt Busch, smoke, and sparks. I knew from the sound I heard, he hit the wall close to where I was shooting from. It could have been a really decent photo.

This is my view from the opening in the fence. Notice the tire tracks left by Mr. Busch as he was screaming and hollering and driving right at me. Kinda made me feel like I was the target.


This is the view from inside of turn four showing where I was shooting from. Notice the scuff marks on the wall where it says 'ATLANTA'. That is where he hit the wall.


This is a close-up of the same frame. The opening in the fence is outlined in white. This is shere I was shooting from seconds earlier.


OK......kinda like my night, the excitements over.
Back to the boring race images, this one of Kasey Kahne. He led late in the race.


Maybe my luck was finally changing. I got this image of Joey Logano spinning coming out of turn four.


I wanted to try to capture the intense look of the pit crews as they prepare to service the car. Oh well... I'll keep trying.


Like I said, Kasey Kahne, led most laps late in the race. Yep, he won.
He appreciates the wins.
Sometimes it seems like some of the other drives don't.