Somewhere, it's racing season.
Sadly, that somewhere would not be central Virginia, where the weather is chilly and wet. And it promises to stay that way all weekend. Like everybody else connected to the sport -- drivers, crew members, officials, fans, writers, photographers, and assorted hangers-on -- I'm more than ready to get back to the track. The weather being the way it is, however, what I'll do is to cobble together my new blog.
Last season, I posted my racing photos and stories on my main blog. This year, I'm giving racing its own space in the virtual world.
NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Bristol, TN, 2009: Ashley Force Hood, in her Funny Car, performs a burnout on Friday night, just before a pass that put her in the number one qualifying position. (All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2009. Click directly on any of the photos to see larger versions.)
Since the rain means that there's no racing in my neighborhood this weekend (in fact, racing doesn't really get going around here until Easter Sunday), I've decided to post some of my favorite photos from last year. These are a few from the NHRA's Thunder Valley Nationals, at Bristol Dragway, last May. (You can read the full report and see many more photos, here.)
NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Bristol, TN, 2009: Mike Edwards, left, and Allen Johnson, right, leave the line during qualifying.
One of the things that got first got me interested in drag racing -- besides the fact that the cars are fast, loud, and dangerous -- is the fact that the sport is so diverse. I'm looking at drag racing's racial and gender diversity in a documentary project, Democracy of Speed. This openness is impressive, and it goes right back to organized drag racing's origins in the 1940s and '50s.
But there are other kinds of diversity. For instance, there's a whole lot of diversity in the race cars that the drivers bring to the track. How about a drag racing minivan?
NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Bristol, TN, 2009. A sportsman racer heads down the track.
Don’t laugh. That’s Bill Howell and he’s a damn good racer. He qualified third (out of 38). That minivan is quick, too. It runs the quarter mile in the low 14's.
Much more about the 2009 Thunder Valley Nationals, here.
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