Driving over the Blue Ridge Mountains to Eastside Speedway, after having been away for several months, feels like going home -- in an odd sort of way. My attachment to the place has nothing to do with family (although I've made a lot of friends there, over the last few years). Instead, it's all about photography. Eastside is where I was reborn as a photographer, after having put down my cameras for nearly thirty years.
Since 2002, I've been working on Democracy of Speed, a documentary project about the culture of motorsports in America. It focuses on Eastside, the track where I first realized how deeply blacks, Latinos, and women are integrated into the world of drag racing. This was something I hadn't expected, aAnd it's something that distinguishes drag racing from every other motorsport. In fact, I'd always thought that drag racers were a bunch of dumb rednecks. (Forgive my language, but, in my ignorance, that's what I was thinking.) Turns out, I was wrong on both counts-- they aren't dumb and they aren't (most of them) rednecks.
All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2010. Click directly on any of the images to see much larger versions.
I was back at Eastside, a couple of weekends ago, for the annual Southern Bracket Racing Association (SBRA) finals. It's a team event. Over 200 racers representing several dragstrips in Virginia and Maryland descend on Eastside to determine which track will win the championship.
It was the first time that I'd been at the track since the Easter Sunday Funny Car show (another highly anticipated annual event). In part, I was there to make some photos. After spending the last few weeks shooting drag races on assignment, it was nice to be able to slow down, sling a Rollei TLR around my neck, and shoot some film. Because, after all, square photographers are cool.
But the photography for Democracy of Speed is largely finished. (You can see a gallery of images, here.) Right now, I'm putting most of my energy into editing and talking to publishers.
So, I was able to spend a lot of time hanging out. That's Susie, the wife of my friend, Larry, who's one of the best racers around.
The guy standing on the left is a member of the Steppe family. His father and uncles have been racing at Eastside since the mid-1960s. That is, they were racing at the track -- against mostly white opponents -- before the state of Virginia was completely desegregated.
I'm constantly fascinated by the ways in which drivers personalize their cars.
Fans watching the race.
A certain amount of friendly wagering goes on at these events.
A motorcycle racer and a friend wait in the staging lanes.
A four-footed fan.
By the way, Old Dominion Dragstrip took the team honors, going home with this year's championship. Eastside's racers came in third.
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