January 8, 2010
By Rebecca Gladden
Last week, I introduced you to Brian Cleary - the talented professional photographer who's been capturing NASCAR racing on film for nearly 30 years - and shared some of his favorite racing photos with you... Interview Part One.
In my continuing interview with Cleary, he told me about another of his favorite NASCAR shots, though he acknowledged that choosing just a few among many thousands of photos was no easy task.
"It's a tough question and tough call," said Cleary. "One thing I enjoy about my photography career is the ability to capture a fleeting moment and freeze it forever."
One of Cleary's favorites, included in last week's column, was the iconic photo of Air Force One flying over the 2004 Daytona 500, as Dale Earnhardt's Jr.'s eventually-victorious car passed underneath. Cleary also cites this classic photo, taken at the start-finish line of the 2003 Darlington Dodge Dealers' 400:
"This was the closest finish in NASCAR history," Cleary said. "With Ricky Craven battling Kurt Busch to the finish for the win. Over the last few laps, the two cars repeatedly slammed into one another as they dueled for the win.
"As they came off of Turn 4 for the final run to the checkered flag, the smoke flew as they leaned on one another and I watched from pit road. I raised the camera and fired away. Again, by pure luck, I managed to get a shot of the two cars side-by-side with their noses on the finish line and the checkered flag in the air."
Cleary's wonderful photo memorialized what many consider one of the most thrilling race finishes in NASCAR history. Polls consistently rank the Busch-Craven battle as the best Cup finish ever and Kurt Busch said it was more important to him than some of his race wins.
"As a photographer, you need to think about what's going on in a race and try to put yourself in the right place at the right time. Sometimes it's just dumb luck that makes a great photo," he said.
Some of Cleary's most exceptional photos are candid shots of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, now all the more poignant because Earnhardt is gone. While there are plenty of racing action and Victory Lane photos, it is the behind-the-scenes glimpses that are the most remarkable, like this 1981 picture of Dale Earnhardt and Neil Bonnett playing in a charity basketball game:
Or this one below of Earnhardt in the Daytona garage in 1987:
Though Cleary's relationship with Earnhardt was one of colleague rather than
friend ("I was a very small fish in his pond and he was the shark"), he did get to know the driver on somewhat personal level.
I asked Brian if there was something he thought might surprise fans about Earnhardt.
"From my perspective, I think most fans would be surprised how excited he was about running the 2001 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona sports car race," Cleary said. "In January 2001, Daytona Speedway had just opened the new 'Earnhardt' Grandstand on the front straightaway. They wanted some photos of Earnhardt sitting in the grandstand and I was hired to take the shots.
"One day, a small group of us walked up into the stands to get the photos of Dale in his driver's suit, sitting in the Earnhardt Grandstand. You could see how excited and proud he was to have the grandstands named in his honor. After the photo shoot, Earnhardt told his Public Relations guy, J.R. Rhodes, about driving the Corvette sports car at Daytona. Pointing to the start/finish line, he said, 'Right there you're doing 150 miles an hour and then, in a hundred yards, you've got to make a sharp left.'
"He was talking about how it was to dive into the infield road course at Daytona and you could tell it was something that he really enjoyed and he was excited about. He ended up finishing fourth in that 24-hour event.
"I think fans would be surprised how passionate he was about road racing, and I wonder how much more sports car racing he and Dale Jr. would have done had Sr. not been killed."
After shooting Earnhardt and other NASCAR legends for almost three decades, who does Cleary enjoy covering in the sport today?
"Absolutely, one hundred percent, no doubt: Tony Stewart," said Cleary. "Not only is he one of the greatest drivers ever in the history of the planet - he's won in everything he's ever driven, from Indy cars to NASCAR to sprint cars and midgets, a throwback to the glory days of A.J. Foyt - but he's one of the few guys who's been able to live in and thrive in the crazy, grueling world of NASCAR today and still maintain his own, unique, outspoken personality. He can win races and championships, create controversy, give a lot back to the world in which he lives, and still be one of the few guys who can walk up to virtually anyone and have a genuine one-on-one conversation. He's also very media savvy and knows how to work the media in a manner that is good for both himself and the sport."
While Stewart is currently Cleary's favorite driver, he recently told his Twitter followers that he is picking a different racer to win the 2010 Sprint Cup championship - Denny Hamlin.
"My son is a big Denny Hamlin fan," Cleary told me. "Although he's not super popular among the fans, I have to believe that anyone who truly takes an impartial look at Hamlin's stats in his brief career would have to be impressed by what he's accomplished."
Still fairly new to the social media scene, having joined both Facebook and Twitter in the past year, Cleary already sees the value of the emerging technology.
"I think they are incredible tools, not just for photographers, but for anyone wanting to promote or communicate about anything," Cleary continued. "Communication and information make the world go round and these are the newest and most efficient means of communication.
"I think people who want to compete in today's world marketplace need to get up to speed on social networking. If done right, the social networks allow an individual entity to compete with huge companies. But, as it has always been, once you get people's attention, you still need to have something good to show them to keep their attention."
And as long as he's tweeting pictures like this January 6 "Photo of the Day," a 1993 shot of Dale Earnhardt wearing a t-shirt in support of his friend, Neil Bonnett, Cleary is sure to keep his followers' attention rapt.
Next week, the conclusion of my interview with Brian Cleary.
Note: Brian Cleary's website is www.bcpix.com and his blog is www.bcpix.com and his blog is www.bcpix.com/photostories/photostories.php. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/bcpix and on Facebook by searching BCPix.com.
Follow Rebecca on Twitter: @nscrwriter
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The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
