Ringing ears

"Carl Edwards, driver of the #99 Kellogg's/Cheez-it Ford, races during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Wonderful Pistachios 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 10, 2011 in Richmond, Virginia."

I'm not ashamed to admit anything, so I'll come right and say it - NASACR is a challenge.

Got the call a couple months ago to shoot the high-speed auto sport at Richmond in September and was hyped from the minute I was asked. Conversely, I was nervous because I don't follow the sport, have no idea who anyone is and knew simply nothing about photographing it. So to say I was anxious was an overstatement.

Luckily I wasn't alone, as I had the pleasure of being apart of a face-melting, awesome Getty NASCAR team in Richmond.

I can't be more appreciative of the guys on the team. They kept me grounded, had my back and answered my non-stop questions, which means a lot considering I had literally no clue what the hell I had gotten myself into.

It took me a solid day to get acclimated to the sport and I'm sure it will take me another race or two to really feel completely comfortable. In addition, it might also take until another race for my ears to stop ringing.

In short, being put along the wall where these machines fly by and rip your eardrums out was simply unbelievable. I learned a lot, had a lot of fun and can't wait to get back out on the track in the future.

As for the picture, it was one of my favorites from the weekend. And to answer the question probably burning in your mind, yes, I tilted a auto racing image. I'm not a tilter, but it was fitting and worked.

Now only if Edwards would have come in first, not second, and I was able to get a couple more cars in the frame.

Next time I suppose.