If you photograph baseball, one reason you are there, like it or not,
is to capture the crunching collision at home plate between the runner
and the catcher. If you are a football photographer you want the image
of a wide receiver being upended due to a hard hit from a safety. In
car racing photography, certainly crashes are a part of the
photographer’s job. In 35 years of car racing photography I certainly
made my share. Eastern dirt track open wheel photographer Brent Smith
caught this three shot sequence (we were always looking for sequences) of a two
car sprint car crash at Lincoln Speedway in Pennsylvania  for the
Short Track Digest website.

Mike Mallett caught this two shot sequence at William’s Grove
Speedway. PA  for the same website.  You need an electronic flash with a quick flash duration, and a very fast recycling time for night shots like this. I had all of the “stuff” necessary for night racing.

Of course, when a single frame shot is what you get, that can be just
as great. Rick Neff made the pic, also at William’s Grove in PA. Also
for Short Track Digest.

One more Brent Smith shot from a different track but the same website.

I Have photographed just about everything in the world of car racing,
but for wild pictures it is hard to beat sprint cars on dirt. You have
to enjoy living off of adrenaline to stand in a dark corner often with
no barriers between you and the cars, lighting up the night with your
electronic flash.

Happy Trails,

Wayne