The Last Song

I’ll remember it for as long as I live. I was 18 years old and my dad and I were attending our first Formula One race in the flesh. We arrived at Indianapolis motor speedway just prior to the start of free practice 1 on Friday in 2005. Walking up the tall metal stairs on back side of the enormous grandstand, I heard it for the first time. The sound was a screaming V10 engine off in the distance. A high pitched wail that was quickly getting louder, and sharper with each passing millisecond. As we were nearing the top of the steps, the car came screaming by. I have no idea which car it was. I have no idea which driver it was. All I know is that the sound I heard rattled my bones and gave me goosebumps.

F1 is, and always has been, an assault on the senses.

Eight years later, I’m standing outside of Red Bull Racing’s garage in Austin, Texas at Circuit of the Americas with camera in hand. The car roars to life. Everyone in the area plugs their ears to keep from going deaf. But not me. This is the last time I will hear one of these V8 engines sing it’s song and I’m trying my best to savor it. I love it. It makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Next year, F1 switches to turbo powered V6 engines with a lower RPM and what will surely be a much different sound. No one knows what it will sound like when they first hit the track early next year, but I plan to be there to find out.

So cheers to Formula One for making young kids like I was, fall in love with the sport, before they ever even saw a car go by. What you hear is such a big part of what you feel. And I hope and pray that F1 continues to be the greatest show on Earth (but yes, I agree the racing needs to improve).

Not much to write about the race. Vettel is supreme. His machine is one of Newey’s greatest masterpieces, and they dominated the field. But outside of the track, I’m happy to report that the United States Grand Prix was as much of a success as it was in it’s first year. And I’m proud to have been there for it. And I’m content to end my 2013 racing season alongside great friends & awesome cars at this special race track and special Grand Prix. I’m so proud to have shot not one, not two, but three Formula One races and two weeks worth of F1 testing this year. Hopefully much more to come next year….

I can’t thank the people that got me there enough. James. Russ. Laurent. Matthew. Buxton. Nunez. Cantle. Road and Track. Rainier. The entire NBC F1 crew. George. Richard. TK. Kerri & Kevin. The Austin Grand Prix. Circuit of the Americas. My family and friends. And everyone else who follows me, shares my images, or compliments me on the work I’ve done. Any small amount of success I have is all in large part due to the support these people throw me in a variety of different ways. So thank you all.