I enjoy my photographry work at the area racetracks. It puts me close to the action and I get to meet the drivers that put it on the line to race each week. It is a passion of mine. I am so thankful for those that got me started in it, have helped me along the way, and those that continue to support me.
Another passion of mine is my family. With two growing girls, I try to spend as much time with them as I can. That is the primary reason I will take some weekends off here and there during a race season. My wife appreciates the time off as well.
My youngest daughter, who is now 6, was begging me for almost a year to take her to a race. Being a photographer and having to keep an eye on the action on the track, it would be very difficult to also keep an eye on her. Plus, many tracks have insurance restrictions against young children in the infield. An “off” weekend was a great time to take her.
Back in May, I took her to one of our local tracks. We walked around the pits for a few minutes to see and hear the cars up close, and even got close enough to the track to get some dust in her hair (she did not like that part, but did like the noise).
As we made our way out of the pits toward the grandstands, we stopped by the Blount Motorsports hauler for a minute. She wasn’t very interested in the car just sitting there. As we started to move on, one of the guys from the crew came out and handed her a Donald McIntosh hero card. He wasn’t racing that night, but she didn’t know the difference. Her eyes lit up and she went on and on about getting that card. She was even more thrilled when I told her it was my picture on the card and I had the card made for the team. I guess she never grasped at the things that I do.
I persuaded her to put her card in the car before going to get a seat. We grabbed some seats and watched the rest of the racing program. But as the night went on and even getting into the car to go home, all she talked about was that card.
We made it home and she ran in to show the card to her mother. She then grabbed something to hang it up next to her bed (it is still there). Even though the excitement has worn off, I still remember that night as though it was just last night. I also remembered back to the times my dad used to take me to the races when I was her age. That is when I got hooked.
I don’t expect her to become a race fan, she really hasn’t asked about going again. She still makes jokes about me watching a race on TV (just like her mother does). But that is okay. I was glad to take her and let her experience something that I enjoy so much.
