Sports : A beginning photographer\'s night at the races

Vinton racer Danny Dvorak takes a corner on three wheels.

Jerry Dedrick's Modified race car.

Racing photography lesson: Try to include the car!

Don Burkey spends race day saturating the dirt track with thousands of gallons of water.

More photos of the cars, and fans, during the annual Hogan Memorial...

Children of racing families have a unique perspective during race day.

The view from the grandstands.

Hogan Memorial drivers sign IMCA flags before the main feature.

Scott Hogan's crew adds fuel and changes tires halfway through the main event.

Hogan family members pass out flags to the drivers.

Confession: I have not watched a dirt track race in Vinton since the “Figure 8” track was in use.

Oh, I have been to the grandstands at the Benton County Fairgrounds many times each year for Fair and Boomtown events, but never to the races.

When Jolyne Hogan sent out a Facebook invitation to the Hogan Memorial, I thought it would be a good chance to learn how to take racing photos while also being part of a great event in honor of one of the 20th Century leaders in my profession.

In deciding which events to cover for Vinton Today, I try to determine how important the event is, how many people will be there and yes, to be honest, how much fun that event would be to photograph. By those standards, the Hogan Memorial is among the best things for me to bring my camera to see.

The pit area was full when I arrived at around 5 p.m. – about an hour before it gets noisy.

I briefly spoke to Scott and Jolyne about the event, and Scott’s car and crew and the cost of competing in the sport.

Then I asked Scott if there was anything I should do – or not do – while taking photos.

“Just stay behind the poles,” said Scott, referring to the light poles.

Oh, I replied. I will stay much further from the track than that.

Hot laps, or warm-ups began at around 6; Scott had told me to be sure I was safely in the infield area before that.

While warming up their cars at low speed, a few of the drivers allowed their children to accompany them for a few laps. I imagine moms and grandmothers probably had words of caution for the fathers who did this; I also imagine the dads just nodded and said, “Let’s go, kids.”

Me, I wandered around the infield, walked up the steps to the announcer’s stand, and tried to find safe places that allowed good angles for pictures. (Hint for racing photography beginners: The southeast corner of the track has the best lighting when as the sun goes down, and you have the crew members sitting atop buses watching the action for a great background.)

I tried to learn more about the different classes of cars: stock cars, hobby stock, modifieds, sports mod, sports compact. The compact cars have 4-cylinder engines; the modifieds take corners on three wheels. Stock cars are similar in shape to those you see in NASCAR.

The first vehicle around the track was the giant tanker truck. Former city council member Don Burkey spends his Sundays at the track spraying thousands of gallons of water on the circuit.

They call it “dirt track” racing but after Don gets done, it’s really mud track racing. This, of course, is for safety, and especially visibility.

Don says he does not have a scientific way to measure how much water the track needs.

“I just keep adding water until the dirt is shiny,” he says, as he climbs into the cab for a few more pre-race laps

The stands were already filling up when I arrived. Jolyne said that in addition to bringing more drivers (37 for the Modified race, nearly 100 in all), the event also draws more spectators.

Both Scott and Jolyne, along with organizer Dana Benning, spend a lot of time welcoming other drivers and their crew and families.

Although they are competitors, Scott says the racers are good friends; the occasional post-race feud is because there is so much money involved in the sport, he adds.

The Hogan siblings and nieces and nephews are involved in this event. Lots of new grey T-shirts celebrating the 19th Hogan Memorial and listing the first 18 main event winners are visible throughout the pit area and grandstands.

At around 6, it gets noisy. The drivers begin circling the track, slowly at first, before eventually building up to racing speeds.

I took more than 650 photos Sunday evening. Most of which were practice photos, just to see what angle works best, and how much time I have as I look through the viewfinder before pushing the shutter button.

I took lots of photos of the front or back ends of cars, and even – as you can see in my pictures accompanying this story – photos of the track without cars.

Eventually I learned to time my photos so the car – or most of it – I was trying to photograph was in the frame.

If you see a photo of a car during an accident, either rolling over, or flying in the air, it’s because the driver was experiencing bad luck while the photographer just happened to be in the right place with his camera pointed in the right direction at that very moment.

There is one roll-over accident, along with a few fender-benders. Nothing too frightening, at least for the spectators.

The races begin. First, of course are the heat races. Those who do the best in these have the chance to compete in the feature races.

“How fast are these cars going,” I ask another photographer, a dude who has been taking race car pictures for a quarter century or longer.

“I have no idea,” he says.

Although the dirt track racers are not, of course, going nearly as fast as the NASCAR automobiles we see on TV, the action is very fast-paced and turning a car on mud while going as fast as your engine and track conditions allow is very challenging.

The Modified heats are scattered among the other events. Scott, along with other local drivers, including Jerry Dedrick, are trying to earn a spot in the feature. Scott, as a previous champion, has an automatic berth in the main event, but he competes as though he does not. He didn’t win his heat, but he did win the second chance event.

The heats come to an end. The feature races start. You can see the results HERE.

Finally, it’s time for the main event, the 40-lap Modified feature.

But first, a moment of silence in honor of Dick and Janet Hogan, and words from Dana about the event. The drivers circle the track a few times, waving US flags; a couple are holding IMCA baners. I see the Hogan family in the back of the pace car, which is actually a pick-up.

“Can I join you?” I ask. Absolutely, says one of the Hogans.

We lead the cars around the track until the green light comes on. The truck makes a sharp left turn into the infield. The race will begin as the cars approach the front straight-away in front of the crowd.

By this time, it’s dark. And yes, taking photos of any sport at night is difficult. Most of my night photos are unusable. I experiment with different settings, trying to find something that works.

At the half-way point, the race stops. Crews change tires and add fuel and make other adjustments. And yes, it’s much easier to photograph a car that is not moving.

Five minutes later, racing resumes.

Race fans already know who won; they also know that Scott made an impressive run, from 16th to 3rd place in the car with the number 33D. The D stands for Drew, the Hogan’s son.

The checks and trophies are distributed. Thank-yous and good-byes and congratulations are exchanged.

Crews load up cars as drivers evaluate their evening’s performance and fortune. Then they make plans for the next race.

Me, I head home to go through my photos.

Some of them look pretty good – even if at times I failed to include a race car in a race photo.