rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I was shooting drag racing every weekend in 1967, working for Beeline Dragway. I think the reason there isn't much in that area is that not everyone can get trackside and photograph from that location. Anyone can take their camera and shoot from the stands, but that isn't as visually exciting as standing 20 feet from a dragster when it launches.
--Bob

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

NHRA National races may not allow flash but other sanctioning bodies and tracks do.
I have never heard a driver complain about flash being used, even at night.
You can make your own Lightroom Presets if you want.
If you do Facebook there is a group called Drag Shooters you can ask to join.

Best,
Todd Ferguson

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Until your assessment of NASCAR being bigger than the NFL you had an audience for your complaint. I saw a portion of the recent race at Bristol Motor speedway, the crowd was dressed as empty seats! Bristol used to get bigger crowds just to watch practice. NASCAR is dying faster than the old World Football League. The NFL has never been stronger. How much assistance do you need to shoot a 3 second event? If you need any, you are lost. There is nothing equal to a fuel dragster going from a sitting-still position to 300+ MPH in 3 seconds. The physical constraints are too much to comprehend. Just watch the tires, they tell the entire story of a dragster. But, in 3 seconds it is all over! A 3 second retention span isn't going to excite any developers of apps, how much money can be spent in 3 seconds? "Hole shots" are what most fans want to see, and you know the limitations on those. There are lots of reasons why no apps are available, but primarliy there is no demand. How effective is an app that would tell the user to get the "hole shot"? There are landscape apps because there is a demand for them. If you feel strongly enough you could create your own app and sell it. Let us know the results.

Wanderer2 Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains

Some years back when I lived near Laguna Seca Raceway in Calif. I did some shooting of motorcycle races there. It was great fun and had the added feature of being able to get a free pass that allowed me to get into the pits and anywhere around the periphery of the track closer than a regular ticket holder. To convince them to give me that pass I had to show them a portfolio of a previous race I had shot. It was possible to get some great action shots there, such as sidecars lifting one wheel in a corner, and I have fond memories of being there.

Skiextreme2 Loc: Northwest MA

Yep, being 20 feet away from a car that will be going over 300 MPH in 1,320 feet as it takes off is a rush. Cars that exceed 100 mph in ONE second. Watching Porche 911RSRs or Ford GTs going by with twin turbos screaming at 7,000 rpm as they come out of a corner is like standing next to a small jet taking off. I'll be trackside at a few races in the next few months.

I learned by doing, the same as I learned to photograph most anything.

pbradin Loc: Florida

You left out my absolute favorite type of racing - sports car racing. Like you, there were no tutorials and no books when I started in 1962 (yes, I am ancient). But I found out very quickly that a lens of about 200mm sure helped out. I was shooting with an old Miranda "D", and I don't remember what lens I had on the camera when I was at the first Daytona Continental in January of 1962 (Dan Gurney won in a Lotus 19 - Ford sponsored by the Aciero Brothers). That race was a three-hour race, but it has grown into what is now the Rolex-24. After that first race, I bought a Soligor f5.6 "preset" lens. One thing I found was that working races as a course worker, steward, or, in my case doing timing and scoring helped with the photography. I worked my first race doing T & S at Sebring in 1963. I got a free pass, a free special parking spot in the paddock behind the pits, and only had to work half the race, doing three two-hour stints. I did that for twenty-one years, during the great battles of Ferrari, Porsche (908's, 910's, 917's, 935 Kramer K3's, and 962's), Matra (the loudest, headache creating high-pitched sound) and, of course those original Ford GT's, Mk IV's and Cobra's. There were the amazing Chaparral's, too. But, we had access to the pits and the paddock, literally walking through the pits during the practice days before the race. Same at Daytona and Road Atlanta and Palm Beach International Raceway. Timers and Scorers have been virtually eliminated by transponders installed in every racecar, so now I am a "civilian" again, but I learned a lot about shooting cars at speed. I still use a lens of about the same length, although at some tracks, like the banking at Daytona requires a little more reach. I have been using a 70-200 f2.8 lens, and for the longer reach I just slap on a 1.4X teleconverter.I always shoot at about f8 or more if I have the light, to keep the depth-of-field from being to shallow, although you can do some creative things at 2.8 and zero-in on just the driver or the front of the car or whatever. I learned that you want to shoot at about 1/250 to 1/300th of a second to blur the spinning wheels and the background to show the "speed". Image stabilization in "panning mode" helps, especially if you are an old guy like me. A 70-200 f4.0 would work well, too, and be a bit less expensive and lighter, too, and it will still autofocus pretty well with a 1.4X TC on the back. A lot of this transfers to Stock Car Racing, and Sprint Cars , too, except the Sprint Cars are raced mostly at night. If you have some of this kind of gear, you should try shooting a race. It is a lot of fun. You can use a lot of your experience from shooting birds in flight since both things require a longer lens and panning. Try it. If you know someone who races, even better, and offer to give him some shots of his car that he/she can pass along to sponsors (that makes sponsors happy!), friends and family and crew members. The black and white is of the Patrick Dempsey (of television and movie fame) car at the 2014 Daytona test session before the 24-hour race.

SandMan72b

You forgot Formula 1 and Rallying

planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

I went to the NHRA Midwest nationals a year or two ago at Gateway Motorsports Park, near me in E. St. Louis. Never saw night racing though, except on ESPN...looks pretty cool. I sat near the start line and got some decent pics. My favorite motorsports photography has afterburners and props :)

drklrd Loc: Cincinnati Ohio

Haven't heard of slot car races for years. Are they still doing them?

daddybear Loc: Brunswick, NY

I pit pass at New Hampshire. Boring races.

lenscap66

"NASCAR is now bigger than the NFL"
If you've been following & photographing motorsports as long as I have you know that's a stretch, particularly in the past few years. But your interests in motorsports photography is spot on. Many NFL stadiums ban standard size DSLRs or any camera with a focal length lens exceeding certain inches in length (typically like 85mm or greater) blocking "photo enthusiasts" (as fans) from capturing the action for which they pay $100+ / per seat to attend!
However motorsports, generally, has no issues with photo enthusiastic fans. 'Run what you brung' is the norm. So there are major league sports that welcome our type. In my region, Colorado, increasingly rodeos are now prohibiting use of such DSLR cameras! Cowboys are increasingly wanting $ for capturing their likeness and the promoters have no idea how offensive that is to photo seekers - particularly if you are willing to sign an agreement promising that you'll never sell your photos of such.
The irony is how are they going to police all these "No Photography Allowed" mandates? Are they, next, going to ban cell phones?
Whoever said: "You can't fix stupid" got it right!

tradio Loc: Oxford, Ohio

Sounds like you have figured out what your first book will be about. Where there is a need, fill it!

Indylp

Of course there is
Ive been shooting racing since 1977, next week I head to Indy for the 55th year in a row

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Indylp

lets not forget NASCAR....

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BigGWells Loc: Olympia, WA

I am never surprised about posts, when people do not really read them. The reason for my post, was not to ask for photos, but was merely making an observation as to the fact that you do not find tutorials, presets, etc, like you do for landscapes. I was not asking for advice how to shoot motorsports, that I have done on my own. I will say, there have been some very nice photos though. Again, just making an observation about posts...not being snarky..