Kansas Speedway

NASCAR for USATSI

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I had another fun (and HOT) weekend at the race track in Kansas City, Ks. covering the ARCA Menard’s Dutch Boy 150, Camping World Truck Series Heart of America 200, and AdventHealth 400. Here are my favorite images from the track:

NASCAR for USATSI

After four long months I finally dusted off my cameras and photographed a live sport on Thursday.

There were no fans, plenty of humidity, and lots of pace car appearances at the Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Here are my favorite images, taken for USA Today Sports Images:

NASCAR Day 3 for USATSI

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I survived! I heard "Sweet Home Alabama" more times than I can count, but I made it through my first NASCAR weekend and I can honestly say that I can't wait for my next one.

Here are some of my favorite images from the NASCAR Monster Energy Series Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday.

NASCAR Day 2 for USATSI

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On day two of covering NASCAR I learned a very important lesson: never apply chapstick right before the start of a race.

While awaiting the first laps of the Xfinity Series race from a photo window outside Turn 1, I made the fateful decision to apply a coat of Burt's Bees lip balm. After the cars made their first pass, kicking up clag and track dirt and sending it swirling over the outer wall, a coat of grime lodged itself onto my sticky lips. I spent the rest of the day with a gritty taste in my mouth and feeling generally grossed out. Lesson learned.

That mess aside, here are some of my favorite images from MENCS Practice and the NASCAR Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 300 on Saturday.

NASCAR Day 1 for USATSI

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This past weekend I was exposed to NASCAR for the first time. To be honest, I knew next to nothing about the sport going in and was kind of expecting not to enjoy myself. In short: I was very wrong. It was loud, I met the best people in event staff and in the photo room (shout out to everyone that helped this rookie survive the long weekend), and had a genuinely amazing time.

Here are a few of my favorite images from Practice 1 and Qualifying on Friday.