NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem - Revisiting Bradenton
By David Stenhouse
My quest to learn motorsports photography continues down a very long road, it seems.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I was a late bloomer when it came to traveling east of Idaho. I didn’t leave the West until I was 27 years old. When a career change provided me travel outside of my safe zone and on eastward, I learned quickly the rest of the U.S. is in full speed by March while the Puget Sound region is still asleep in a winter season that may stretch to July. I experienced a great example of this on another Florida trip.
PHOTO GALLERY - 2022 NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem
The National Muscle Car Association kicked off the 2022 schedule with Muscle Car Mayhem at Bradenton Motorsports Park March 17th-20th. While rains poured in Puget Sound with temperature highs in the 50s, I experienced 90 degrees and a mild sunburn at the Florida facility that same day. For a Pacific Northwest guy, it was hot, but I enjoyed every minute of my third visit to this popular track. One of a few locations that never shuts down throughout the year, I walked the grounds and tried to stay out of everyone’s way. And similar to any other dragstrip I have visited, the racers, teams, and spectators are a welcoming crowd.
Alex Taylor drops into her 1955 Chevy during a Saturday qualifying session.
I use a @datamutz Instagram account to showcase many of the motorsports and cruise photos I capture and follow many drivers and their teams. Just like any other tool in the toolbox, social media has taxed me to understand how it can be used correctly. What it has brought to me is an ability to easily spot better-known teams and individual drivers. Tom Bailey and his Sick Seconds 2.0 Camaro, Alex Taylor in her the ‘55 Chevy, and Lindsay Wheelock in the Dodge Challenger are drivers I discovered through YouTube and Instagram. So, when I crossed paths with them in Bradenton, I made sure to capture some activity.
I try to photo scenes as any spectator would see them. The life around a dragstrip during any event is busy and it is easy for me to be in someone’s way. While getting a shot of Don Lamana’s Corvette Pro Mod, he smiled and let me know the team was waiting for me to move the car up the staging lanes. Polite and friendly. I am thankful for the patience applied to me, as I am still learning the proper photographer etiquette (is there a book I can read?).
Randy Adler brought the ‘57 Chevy Pro Mod to the event. This car is a great shot in any scenario.
As this journey continues into acquiring better photography skills, I am learning my targets are the same group they have been—fun, America-loving, tough, and friendly people. Most with expensive machinery that moves extremely fast. Taking a shot of a Pontiac Grand Am parked in the pits, a man close by let me know “it’s for sale”. When I told him I don’t even have a garage, he told me I was “better off” while laughing. I’m no expert, but I am guessing that corresponded to the yearly cost of racing? Right after that exchange, I texted my family that “I could spend the rest of my life around places like this”.
PHOTO GALLERY - 2022 NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem
Scott Halstead, the crew chief for the Abbott Racing Pro Mod Camaro, spotted me taking a shot of the car from behind. “You can go up front and shoot the motor, and if anyone asks tell them Scotty said it was ok”. I didn’t even ask, and was offered access. I appreciated it greatly while fumbling around changing lenses. Just another fine example of access given to spectators that is rarely seen in any other sport. If it’s not a NHRA event, I have found the ability to walk almost anywhere not forward of the water box at the starting line. That’s why I love capturing this sport. That and of course, the wonderful people.
A pair of classics on the return road during Saturday runs.
I am still working on my skills when it comes to proper lighting in my shots. There are so many things to learn. Much of my work is “spray and pray”, where I hope to get a great 50 shots out of 1,500 or so. I have a clunky system in place using consumer-level equipment and because my photography experience is limited, I probably work too hard to get decent shots. Walking the grounds from the starting line to the end of the track on a hot day can drain me, however I believe the shots I get are worth the effort. At Bradenton, I don’t have a media pass, so my starting line shots are limited to the activity from behind in many locations. This does seem to capture some interesting angles.
There are so many colors, movement, personalities, and backgrounds that can be brought out in a photo. This is the scene around the track and it’s how I see it. A crew removing a tire from a classic Barracuda is a great photo to me, as long as it’s done at the right angle to tell a story—Who is this person and what are they doing?
The tracks I have visited each have a personality of their own. Bradenton screams “Welcome to the South”. I absolutely love it. All visits have been enjoyable and I look forward to many more in future Florida trips. I believe the same fun crowd will be there.
Carrying around a camera since childhood, David Stenhouse has a love for capturing and writing about machines, people, and the U.S.A. He is now so blessed to spend each day running a business with his best friend, high school sweetheart, and wife, Shay.