The Sharpe Image

MArk Martin wins the Southern 500

I was very excited to head into the Southern 500……..I have always loved this race!  This is a race that is really “steeped” in tradition.  I can remember going to the race way back in the day, always a good time.  I was really pissed off when NASCAR took the original date in Labor Day and moved it out to California.  Somehow, the race lost some of it’s identity, just not the same.  Same thing happened when NASCAR repaved the surface of the track.  The track surface was just nothing but rough for years.  You had to pit for tires before you did for gas…….made things real interesting.  But after the track was repaved, tires could go the distance.  Changed the whole complextion of how the race was run.  Still, the Southern 500 is a good race.  It was good this year.  Mark Martin came from out of no where the last 25 laps to win it.  I am glad to see Mark win again.  He seems to be just as strong as ever at 50 years old.  I think that he will be a contender for the Championship this year.  Score one for the old guys!

Mark MArtin celebrates after winning the Southern 500

I really was hoping that Mark would do a real “burn out”  but he did not.  I was lucky to catch this image.  The pit road wall was coming up real fast in the frame as I shot this.  If you look in the bottom lest corner, you can see the roof of another car as it came down pit road.  I was lucky enough to be high enough to catch this and crop the other out.

MArk Martin in Victory Lane

This is about the best shot that I got from V/L.  Mark typically does not do a lot of celebration when he gets out of the car…………..and this time was no exception.  But he always does well with Champagne.  I thought that this was a good celebration shot to move fast on the wire service that I work with.  Not a stellar shot, but it gets the point across.

Ryan Newman and the #39 ARMY Chevrolet Pit

I really thought that Ryan Newman had a real chance of winning this race.  I went down to shoot his pit stop.  The really cool thing about Darlington is that you can get some amazing pit stop shots.  I thought that this one was nice.  I tried to make it really BIG in the frame…………a real “in your face” shot.

Matt Kenseth pits in the Southern 500

Here is Kenseth pitting early on in the race.  He has strong at the drop of the green flag.  Here again, I wanted that “in your face” feeling.  I wanted to capture and angle that you usually do not see.

Jeff Gordon pits during the Southern 500

Jeff Gordon got down a lap early in the race. He came in to pit for a cut down tire.  Like I said earlier, Darlington offers some amazing angles for pit stops.  I tried to take advantage of this.  I just wanted to show action with this other than the normal pit stop.  I thought that it did the trick.

Gordon fights to get his lap back

Jeff really fought to get his lap back.  At the time Greg Biffle was leading the race. Here you can see Gordon passing the Biff (car #16) to gain the lap back.  Gordon went on to finish in the top 10.

Joey Lagano runs in 2nd place. What a day for the rookie

I shot this trying to give a sense of what race it was.  I cought part of the track name on the wall behind Lagano.  This kid lead the race at one point!  Unheard of for a Rookie.  This kid is going to win Championships when he figures it all out.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Spins late in the race

Although the race was full of wrecks, it just seemed that I was where they were not happening for most of the night. But I did get Earnhardt Jr spinning down the front stretch.  Not the most spectacular of wrecks, but it got the job done for news and editorial services.  I wish that Dale was having a better year………..I have always been a fan of his.

Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed some of these images for Darlington.  If you want to see the whole race wrap, please go to www.TheSharpeImage.com.  The next event that I am shooting is my Son Nicko’s Trike-a-Thon!  What a site, a pack of 4 year olds racing trikes to raise money for St. Judes Hospital!  I bet that it will be more fun than the Daytona 500!

C-ya, Sam