Hitting the Wall

The right side of Regan Smith's car after qualifying for the Daytona 500. Tom Burton/Orlando Sentinel©

At the Daytona International Speedway when you hit the wall, there’s no hiding it. At the very least, there is scraped paint.  Sometimes bent metal or a wrecked car.

In “creative” works we tend to hide the mistakes. Newspaper photographers are especially adept at this. The bad frames are ditched.

Race car drivers don’t celebrate the mistakes that lead to wrecks, but they know it’s part of the game. They don’t let those wrecks stop them from driving again. Mistakes are part of the process.

Danica and the Fans

Fans and media surround Danica Patrick after the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200. photo by Tom Burton/Orlando Sentinel ©

This photo of Danica Patrick after her first official stock car race is goofy in a fun way because of the guy on the left side of the photo, pushing his way in to get a photo of himself with the celebrity driver. There’s no way to know if his photo was any good, but you can tell he is enjoying the chase.

The “media scrum” around the famous person of the moment can be scary and these days there are a lot more civilians in the mix. The camera technology makes it easier and cheaper for anyone to get photos. So what’s the difference between the official media and the civilians?