John Edwin Mason: Documentary, Motorsports, Photo History

Bug Out 69: Old Dominion Speedway, 29 May 2011

A couple of weeks ago, I dusted off my favorite old cameras and headed up US 29 to Old Dominion Speedway, in Manassas, Virginia, for Bug Out 69. It was part of my never-ending rambling through the more obscure byways of American car culture. I also figured that it would... Read more →

How to Shoot Like an Historian

An historian with a camera? That's a bit like a fish with a bicycle, isn't it? After all, a camera isn't a quill, a pencil, or a microfiche reader. It's not a computer or even an audio recorder. It isn't, that is, a tool of the historical trade. Don't get... Read more →

Hy Peskin & Juan Manuel Fangio, Havana, 1957

Hy Peskin (1915-2005) was probably the first great American sports photographer. He was the guy who moved the camera from the press box to the sideline at baseball, football, and basketball games. The move revolutionized sports photography and made it recognizably modern. Peskin was also the first staff photographer at... Read more →

Review: "Racing While Black": How an African American Stock Car Team Tried (and Failed) to Make Its Mark On Nascar

Leonard T. Miller dreamed of making it big in Nascar. His goal was to find a talented and ambitious black driver and build the racing team that would rocket him to stardom. Nascar [National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing] would be transformed; Miller would be a hero. Racing While... Read more →

The Maxton Mile, 10 April 2010

Spending a day at the Maxton Mile -- that's the nickname of East Coast Timing Association's land speed races -- great way to start the 2010 motorsports season. These land speed racers are driven by passion, not prize money or corporate sponsorships. You can read more about the race (and... Read more →

Grassroots Drag Racing in the 1950s: Life Magazine at Cordova Dragway

Over the last few days, I've been rummaging through Google's Life magazine photo archives. I came across an absolutely stunning series of photographs that Grey Villet made at a small dragstrip in Illinois, sometime in the late 1950s. They're terrific, and, amazingly, they've never published. The series offers a rare... Read more →

Weird and Wonderful: Dodo Brockman's Ex-Nascar Superspeedway Modified Mustang II

In the last week or so, I've learned more than I ever dreamed I'd know about the wacky, wonderful race cars called Superspeedway Modifieds. My interest was sparked when I saw Dodo Brockman behind the wheel of his 1977 Mustang II Superspeedway Modified at the Vintage Racer Group's annual Turkey... Read more →