Chicagoland Speedway, Part II

If you've never attended a NASCAR race, I'm not sure I can fully describe the atmosphere. It's a bit of a circus-carnival (complete with funnel cakes). NASCAR is a huge money maker, and outside the track are rows and rows of trailers selling driver merchandise. From gaudy screen printed tees to toys for the kids to everything in between, NASCAR fans are very driver loyal, and there are plenty of people to capitalize on that loyalty.

In addition to selling merchandise, the trailers serve as a location for driver appearances, where fans can line up early in the morning in hopes of getting a ticket which allows them to come back and line up later in the day to get an autograph.

Drivers Brian Vickers (top) and A.J. Allmendinger (bottom) from Red Bull racing both signed autographs for waiting fans:

It wasn't just drivers - actor Brendan Fraser was at the track to serve as Grand Marshall for the Sprint Cup Series race and promote the new Mummy movie. He also signed autographs at driver Ryan Newman's trailer:



And then there was The King. Richard Petty, celebrating 50 years in racing, made an appearance, as well. Fans were crowded around the trailer, making photography a bit difficult:

Chicagoland Speedway, Part I

This will be the first of several posts this week featuring photos from this weekend's NASCAR races at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet. I've attended the races at Chicagoland for several years now. My father and I don't share many common interests, but we are both racing fans. I enjoy sharing the racing experience with him each year, and always look forward to both the NASCAR weekend in July, and the ARCA/IndyCar Series weekend in September. First up in this week's series: a few images from Friday night's Nationwide Series race.

It's funny the reactions you get as soon as you attach a 70-300mm lens on your camera. "Wow, that thing's huge," "You must be able to see forever in that thing," etc. I rented a 100-400mm last year, and the comments were even crazier, and more plentiful. I have to laugh, because from up in the grandstands, even 400mm only got me so close to the real action. I found myself in serious lens envy of this guy. Excuse me while I wipe the drool...

The cars make their way around the field for the parade laps, before taking the green flag for the start of the race:



While the track seems to sell out each year, they sell the tickets in a package. Usually the only race with packed grandstands is the Sprint Cup Series race. However, this year, perhaps due to the lure of racing under the lights, the stands were packed on Friday night for the Nationwide Series race, as well. A small section of the 75,000+ in attendance:



The first night races at Chicagoland Speedway made for some gorgeous sunsets. This image was taken under the grandstands, looking out over the parking lots: