TJ – vintage & historic racing coverage

One of my favorite things to do on a race weekend is to walk through the paddock and find the cars at rest. “Shhhhh, they’re sleeping.” These quiet moments offer a great opportunity to document close-up details of each car, highlighting the variety of colors, unique engineering designs, and their aesthetic beauty. Here are a few photos that I took during my walk through the paddock.  Enjoy.  TJ

#3 – 1969 Chevron B-16

#33 – 1970 Lotus Type 61

#4 – 1971 Lotus Type 69

#17 – 1957 Porsche 356

#80 – 1966 Ford GT40

#17 – 1967 Matich SR3

One of the most impressive performances of the weekend goes to Ben Sinnott (Fairfield, CT) in Group 6, driving his (#15) 1991 Lola T90/91.  He won both Sprint events on Friday and Saturday, and took second overall in the Brian Redman Enduro. Ben also took top honors in the Sunday S2 race. I particularly took notice of his helmet design…a fitting homage to Nigel Mansell.

Stay tuned. There will be more photos from the Jefferson 500 weekend in the days to come. TJ

#15 Ben Sinnott (Fairfield, CT) – 1991 Lola T90/91.

Ben’s “Nigel Mansell” inspired helmet.

A classic overtaking maneuver in turn six.

It was a fantastic weekend of racing at this year’s running of the Jefferson 500 (May 18-20). The small town of Summit Point is tucked away in the rolling hills of West Virginia, just west of Charles Town….just an hour away from the congestion of Metro Washington, DC. An easy get-away to get your sports car kicks.

Legendary Sports Car Designer Peter Brock was the Grand Marshall for the event. For many of the races during the weekend, he piloted the pace car. But this was not just any pace car…this was a beautiful and iconic car of his design…The Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe.

Owner Charles Stringfellow (Vienna, VA) described the car as the continuation series, Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe CSX 2612. Here are a few photos of this truly beautiful car.

Stay tuned. There will be more photos from the Jefferson 500 weekend in the days to come. TJ

#14 – Classic blue with white stripes. It doesn’t get any better.

Lined up to lead the pack. A perfect day for racing. Not a cloud in the sky!

Peter Brock, Grand Marshal of the 2012 Jefferson 500.

The Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe CSX 2612 “at speed.”

Just after negotiating Turn 16, the “Le Mans Curve”, the cars of the 12 Hours of Sebring begin down the long back stretch leading to turns 17 and 17a, thereby completing another lap of the course. This long back stretch is known as the “Ulmann Straight”. Here is where the cars pick-up some serious speed. Though this is the place to be to see the cars reach their full potential, it is not one of the most populated parts of the track for spectators. This portion of the track borders the back of the competitor paddock. The fences are pretty high too. But that didn’t stop me from checking it out!

While exploring this part of the track I came across a nice gentleman who had set-up a nice campsite and constructed an equally impressive observation stand. Naturally, I asked if I could try it out. Here are a few photographs from that vantage point.  Enjoy!

Black Swan Racing - Lola B11/80 HPD - ALMS/P2 (#54) Timothy Pappas, Jon Fogarty, and Bret Curtis.

AF Corse - Ferrari F458 Italia - WEC/GTE-Am (#61) Robert Kauffman, Michael Waltrip, and Rui Aguas.

Level 5 Motorsports - HPD ARX-03b - ALMS/P2 (#055) Scott Tucker, Christophe Bouchut, and Joao Barbosa.

Flying Lizard Motorsports - Porsche 911 GT3 RSR - ALMS/GT (#45) Jorg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, and Marco Holzer.

Greaves Motorsport - Zytek Z11SN Nissan - WEC/P2 (#41) Christian Zugel, Ricardo Gonzalez, and Elton Julian.

During the 7th hour of the race, Dempsey Racing’s day came to an abrupt end. During one of the many restarts during the race, driver Henri Richard tangled with traffic which resulted in a huge accident approaching turn ten. Richard did not suffer any serious injury.

Being in the paddock at the time, I wandered back to the Dempsey garage just as the crew and team principals arrived…awaiting the arrival of their car on a flatbed. A bitter end to a promising day. Here are a few photographs of the team during the weekend. Enjoy!

Actor/Driver/Team Owner, Patrick Dempsey, watching his Oreca FLM09 - ALMS /PC (#025) being delivered on a flatbed after the accident.

Dempsey Racing - Oreca FLM09 - ALMS /PC (#025) The pre-race waiting game for drivers Henri Richard, Dane Cameron, and Duncan Ende.

Pre-race - A nice helmet design for driver Dane Cameron.

The last ride of the day. Let the work begin to prepare for the next event, the Long Beach Grand Prix.

Patrick Dempsey and Dane Cameron assess the damage. They'll be back.

The 12 Hours of Sebring is a grueling event. It’s a race around the clock…against the Florida heat…up and over the bumpy WWII airport surface of Sebring International Raceway…and a race against a highly competitive international field of competitors. Each team will encounter multiple challenges during a race of this length that can either make or break their chances. The entry of PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports overcame a mix of unfortunate circumstances and late gearbox problems to finish an impressive second in the American Le Mans Series Prototype Challenge Class.

Fortunate placement of their pit allowed for a unique view from behind the scenes. It was truly a joy to watch the team work together and persevere. Here are a few photos of the team, and their sharp lookin’ car. Enjoy.

PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports - Oreca FLM09 - ALMS /PC (#52) Butch Leitzinger, Ken Dobson, and Rudy Junco. Friday qualifying.

Crewman Chris Oldham, with driver Ken Dobson in the background, during the pre-race activities. Excitement is in the air prior to the start of the 60th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Driver Rudy Junco (Mexico) receives congratulations from the team for a very successful stint behind the wheel.

Veteran Driver Butch Leitzinger (USA) confers with Rudy Junco. Each driver must rely on the feedback of his teammates in order to get the most out of the car.

Driver Rudy Junco behind the wheel on the Ulmann Straight.

Last lap...and a well-earned second place finish in the Prototype Challenge Class.

Part of my focus during the weekend was to capture elements of the racing culture that depict a personal side of the people involved. One aspect that illustrates this is through the unique and individual helmet artwork designs for each driver. Beginning in the 1960’s, stylized helmet designs became more and more prevalent. Drivers used their helmets as a personal canvas to make a statement and highlight colors and patterns of their country origin and culture.

This form of art remind me of many of the hand-cut silkscreen prints (t-shirts) I produced while in high school and college. “Coulda, shoulda, woulda.” Sometimes I wish my art interests would have introduced this opportunity to me. But for now I’ll just enjoy the artwork through photography.

Here are a few of the helmet designs I came across during the pre-race grid walk. Each has their own style. Enjoy!

Jan Magnussen, Denmark, Corvette Racing

Tommy Milner, United States, Corvette Racing

Pierre Kaffer, Germany, Pecom Racing

Nic Jonsson, Sweden, Krohn Racing

Emmanuel Collard, France, Pescarolo Team

Stephane Sarrazin, France, Starworks Motorsports

Bright and early on race day morning, Saturday the 17th of March, the American Le Mans Series opened the pits. Just one hour before the start of the famed endurance classic the fans enjoyed access to the cars, drivers, and teams of the 12 Hours of Sebring.

This is an unbelievable opportunity to experience the pre-race energy…and there was electricity in the air. It’s the first race of the season for the American Le Mans Series and the first in the inaugural World Endurance Championship. Many of these same cars will be on the grid in June for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The following photographs are just a sampling of a typical walk up and down the grid. Enjoy!

What’s not to like here! The Falken Tire Girls ready for a long day in the sun.

Pescarolo Team - Pescarolo 03 - Judd - WEC/P1 (#16) Emmanuel Collard, Bertrand Baguette, and Dominik Kraihamer. A beautiful car indeed.

Driver Joey Hand of the #56 Rahal/Letterman/Lanigan BMW GT car, appearing relaxed prior to the start. He and his co-drivers Dirk Mueller and Jonathan Summerton finished first in the GT class.

Dyson Racing - Lola B12/60 Coupe’ - Mazda - ALMS/P1 (#016) Chris Dyson, Guy Smith, and Steve Kane. Despite the crowds, pre-race preparations are still ongoing.

Driver Klaus Graf of the #6 Muscle Milk Pickett Racing HPD P1 car, being interviewed by ESPN/ABC Sports for their pre-race build-up to the race.

Corvette Racing/Compuware - Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 - ALMS/GT (#03) Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia, and Jordan Taylor. Huge crowds welcomed the grid of cars , drivers, and teams. As you can see the Corvettes are fan favorites!

If you really want to see what goes on behind the scenes during a race weekend, a walk through the paddock is an absolute must. Sebring was no exception. The paddock begins with the Sebring Hall of Fame, Gallery of Legends. The home to many legendary cars and memories.

Activity at each team garage was non-stop, interrupted only by special events such as the driver/team autograph session. One highlight in particular was getting a glimpse of the ground-breaking Delta Wing car. Designed by Ben Bowlby, and teamed with Duncan Dayton’s Highcroft Racing, the legendary Dan Gurney’s All-American Racers, Michelin Tires, and Nissan, the car will make it’s race debut at the 2012 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Here are a few pictures from the paddock. Enjoy!

Past - Sebring Gallery of Legends - featuring the (1971) 24 Hour of Le Mans pole sitting Porsche 917 LH (#21) of the Martini Racing Team, driven by Vic Elford and Gerard Larrousse.

Present - The Dyson Racing Lola B12/60 Coupe’/Mazda (#016), being prepped for qualifying.

Future - The Nissan Delta Wing - It will make its official race debut at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

Technical inspection at pre-qualifying scrutineering for the Dempsey Racing Oreca FLM09 - ALMS/PC (#025), driven by Henri Richard, Duncan Ende, and Dane Cameron.

Drivers of the winning Audi R18 (#2) Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen, and Dindo Capello meeting with the fans during the overflow autograph session on Friday.

Pre-qualifying preparations for the Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8 - WEC/GTE-Pro (#97), driven by Stefan Mucke, Adrain Fernandez, and Darren Turner.

I arrived at Sebring in the late afternoon of Thursday the 15th. Just in time to find a prime parking/camping spot, get my bearings of the track, and prepare for night practice. It’s been a long time since I had attended a race that went into the darkness. It’s truly magical. The lights, the sound, and the speed…amazing!

Here are just a few images from that practice session. After a short time I started to get the hang of it. Enjoy!…there’s plenty more to come.

Rebellion Racing - Lola B12/60 Coupe’ - Toyota - WEC/P1 (#12) Nicolas Prost, Neel Jani, and Nick Heidfeld. At speed in the Gurney Bend.

Turn 7 - The hairpin.

Dyson Racing - Lola B12/60 Coupe’ - Mazda - ALMS/P1 (#016) Chris Dyson, Guy Smith, and Steve Kane.

Muscle Milk Pickett Racing - HPD ARX-03a HPD - ALMS/P1 (#6) Lucas Luhr, Klaus Graf, and Simon Pagenaud.

Corvette Racing - Chevrolet Corvette C6ZR1 - ALMS/GT (#4) Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner, and Richard Westbrook.

Luxury Racing - Ferrari F458 Italia - WEC/GTE-Pro (#59) Frederic Makowiecki, Jaime Melo, and Jean-Karl Vernay.