My first season as a dirt track photographer

Part 1 - This in fact is my first rodeo

In 2025 I made the jump to shooting motorsports and my local dirt tracks, mainly Wayne County Speedway (Orrville, OH).

My Goals were simple.

1) To see if I was worth a damn at shooting motorsports

2) Grow my portfolio

3) Make some connections

4) Have fun and learn

It all started in February or March of 2025, I wanted to challenge my photography skills and dive into the world of motorsport. I had always been a NASCAR and Formula 1 fan and up until recently really got into the IMSA series and other sports cars series. But, being able to shoot those upper tier series you can’t just go to a race and have an all access pass just because you have a nice camera and you like cars. Also, the closest track to me that hosts those types of races is Mid-Ohio and after doing some research I can’t just show up and freelance, I had to be hired by a team, company or media outlet to get credentials.

Obviously, I didn’t qualify for those requirements.

I listened to a podcast/lesson/webinar by Jamey Price and Drew Gibson through Paddock Focus and the topic was about the business of motorsport photography. They recommended to get a body of work at the lowest attainable class of motorsport available to you.

Well I was in luck dirt track racing is alive and well here in Ohio and there’s tracks close enough to my house. That’s where I would start. The problem is - I didn’t know shit about dirt track racing.

I couldn’t tell you the difference between High Limit or Outlaw Series, what the heck a late model was, and I definitely didn’t know dudes show up in banged up Chevy Cavaliers to race in mini stocks. I had learn and do research, fast. About all I knew was that my favorite NASCAR driver Kyle Larson drove at dirt tracks and this place called the “Chili Bowl” is a big deal.

This photo was taken during my first time at Wayne County. Very much felt like “Who the hell is this new photo guy with the mustache"?”. I got more comfortable being in the pits though.

So I began to reach out to some of the local tracks both asphalt and dirt. I would say something like “hey I’m Scott, I’m an automotive photographer I’m looking to shoot at some races here’s my portfolio, can I come?”. Sometimes I didn’t get a response, sometimes I got no thank you, “we already have a guy that does photos”. Honestly, I thought this venture was going to be dead in the water before it even started.

That’s until I messaged the Facebook page for Wayne County Speedway. I gave the same spiel and I got a response from them along the lines of yeah you need to reach out to Porkchop. A guy named Porkchop? I like him already!

That’s exactly what I did, “Excuse me Mr. Chop, I would like to shoot at Wayne County”. But, this time someone actually said yes! All I needed to do was give him my name, bring a safety vest, let him know what date I was coming and check in at the office shack to get my credential where I was on “the list”. Wait I’m on “THE LIST”?!? Let’s go baby!

Will they tell me to piss off if I take photos of the car before the race?

I showed up with my Canon R6 mkii, Tamron 24-70 2.8, Canon 70-200 2.8, my safety vest that I proudly had a heat transfer of my logo and “PHOTO” emblazoned on the back. I got there at 3pm to buzz around the pits, get the lay of the land and see what I could come up with in my camera. There I met Codee Scheinder and we got to chatting that he needed photos of the right side of the car and that he would pay for the images. Hell yes dude, it’s my first time here and I’m already getting work! Is this what it’s going to be like every time? I decided to go above and beyond and get some BTS photos on top of the requested shot (gallery above). And boy was I glad I shot during hot laps and qualifying because he had car trouble early on and didn’t get to race.

I’ve heard other “big league” motorsport photographers say something like, “make sure you get plenty of shots during practice and qualifying, because you never know what’s going to happen to the car. You can’t come out empty handed thinking you’ll get your stuff in during the race”. I’m glad I took their advice.

I kept walking through the pits snapping photos, but at a distance. I didn’t know the vibe. Am I allowed to get close? Will they tell me to piss off if I take photos of the car before the race? I saw some of the other guys shooting the breeze with the drivers, but I’m a bit of an introvert to be honest.

That’s when I met Joe Adorjan of Joe Adorjan Racing and High Speed Ti. He kind of gave me the lay of the land and welcomed me to their trailer to shoot around. He was very kind and I appreciate that. Thanks Joe.

Before I made my way to the infield I hung around outside of turn 4 and got some shots. I hustled to the infield where there were a hand full of other dudes sporting their safety vests representing their own photo business names on the back. I thought to myself, play it cool, act like you belong, keep your head on a swivel, and don’t do anything dumb.

“Jesus these guys are bat shit crazy and I’m here for it!”

Ok it’s go time now, heats are starting and these dudes are flying around. My first thought was “Jesus, these guys are bat shit crazy and I’m here for it!”

Before coming I did my research on how to do panning shots. I had a general sense of what my settings should be and what I need to do. What I didn’t realize was how tough it was to get a decently composed in focus shot. I wouldn’t say it was a complete struggle, I just wasn’t ready for a low percentage hit rate compared to my static portrait styled shoots. After I nailed down what looked like some good stuff from the back of the camera I started to get more comfortable by panning in vertical, putting the car somewhere other than dead center of the frame, and playing with my shutter speed.

Ok now let’s see what the people have to say.

As night fell, I had to bump up the ISO and use my flash which I hadn’t used much in the past. I was pleasantly surprised to see some cool stuff on the back of the camera. I got to chat with some of the guys on the infield and they were all very welcoming and we talked about our settings and shots. The one thing I noticed was that these guys knew a lot about the sport and the who’s who within the local community. Again, I didn’t know anything so I’m taking all the information in about the scene like drinking from a hydrant.

When I got home to start the editing process I think I took somewhere around 1,200 or 1,300 photos. I culled that down to a final album of 217 passable photos. Ok now let’s see what the people have to say.

I saw what the other guys were doing. They made these huge albums and shared all their photos from the night with watermarks on Facebook. Well I didn’t necessarily want to do that. I wanted to see what the market was like for downloading images. I set up an album on Cloudspot and just shared that.

-Crickets-

I didn’t really get any feedback other than a couple of likes and “Nice pics bummer none of our car” from Ashley Griffitts. Ashley is a very nice lady and I love saying hi to her and Jesse when I see them. I have in fact gotten more pictures of their cars.

That’s ok though this was a opportunity to learn to shoot in this setting, figure out the scene, learn names, and have fun. I decided I was definitely going back to continue to shoot and build my craft.

The gallery below shows my shots. Obviously they’re not the best out there. They aren’t supposed to be.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to follow me on all the socials!

Scott