Advice on oval circuit shooting

[frostie]

Dont usually post in this forum but I have a question about taking photos at oval races.
Ive been accredited to Daytona for the 500 but Ive never been at an oval, never mind taken photos at one! My experience has been limited to F1, MotoGP and then some other sports like Rugby and football.
What can I expect from working at a NASCAR race and what access do you get as a photographer at these? Is there area's in the fencing that have cutouts for photographers or will I be limited to shooting from the infield?

[Clive Brown]

Your biggest problem if you've not been before is the sheer scale of the place. Can you get your head around cars getting around a 2½ mile oval in less than 45 seconds? For head on shots, cars will be approaching you at more than 200mph, so try and get acclimatized by getting out to the track as much as you can, and seeing as many of the activities leading up to the the main event as possible so that you can get your hand in.

If you should stray into an area where you shouldn't be, armed apparatchiks of the Speedway will firmly and not necessarily politely point out to you the error of your ways....

But overall, it's a great experience, so enjoy!

Please let us know upon your return just how you get on.

[frostie]

Originally Posted by Clive Brown

Your biggest problem if you've not been before is the sheer scale of the place. Can you get your head around cars getting around a 2½ mile oval in less than 45 seconds? For head on shots, cars will be approaching you at more than 200mph, so try and get acclimatized by getting out to the track as much as you can, and seeing as many of the activities leading up to the the main event as possible so that you can get your hand in.

If you should stray into an area where you shouldn't be, armed apparatchiks of the Speedway will firmly and not necessarily politely point out to you the error of your ways....

But overall, it's a great experience, so enjoy!

Please let us know upon your return just how you get on.

Thanks Clive. The sheer speed shouldnt be too much of an issue, as I said I cover F1 and MotoGP, but the size of the Speedway is sure to be very different than what Im used to!

[frostie]

So it turned out that I didnt have a photographers pass for the 500 just a reports one...not that Im complaining obviously but here's a few of my pics from the weekend!

Truck race:

Nationwide race:

[frostie]

I really like this shot just because the number 11's livery is class!

[Rockfan]

Cracking photos, better than mine from Homestead taken in the stands.

Superb, you got my man Carl in the 99.

[frostie]

Originally Posted by Rockfan

Cracking photos, better than mine from Homestead taken in the stands.

Superb, you got my man Carl in the 99.

Thanks Rockfan, I was delighted with how they worked out! Didnt know what to expect given the lights etc but they look pretty cool!