Mayhem in Jackson...Reminds me why I love drag racing.
/So, this is not going to be your typical write up regarding an event that I covered. It won’t be a write up that lists winners, or even runner ups. This is an article on how a small track, a great promoter, and amazing people renewed my love for drag racing.
I have said it over and over before, this life isn’t for everyone. Personally, I have been a part of drag racing for over 30 years, and it is a part of my DNA at this point. That said, there are times that I question why I do what I do and the stress that it brings me. Anyone that believes I do this for the money is absolutely ignorant. Going to a race doesn’t mean that I am getting paid, contrary to that belief, I don’t get paid by promoters to cover events, my amazing branding partners are what keep this machine rolling.
During 2020 it has been more difficult than ever to convince people and businesses to invest in branding. Either they are afraid to spend money or are too ignorant to understand the future of digital branding within our industry. Nonetheless, that makes it more and more trying to travel and cover these events for you. As discouraging as that may be, this is my calling and what I love to do. Over the weekend, a small “outlaw” track in Jackson, TN. helped me fall in love with our sport all over again.
We have seen it time and time again, another race canceled or postponed. This is exactly what happened to Brandon LeCroy of Hurricane Productions in Alabama. Brandon was supposed to have a race called Mayhem in May, and due to the BS that we are all dealing within this country, he was forced to postpone the event. Brandon called me after the decision was made to postpone it in an attempt to figure out when the next best time would be. We tossed around some weekends, and I said that a particular weekend in August would work best. It was a weekend that would work for racers, media, and most importantly the track.
Jackson, TN is a small track situated between Nashville and Memphis in what I would call the Northwest part of the state. While I had never been there before, I remember my good friend Tyler Crossnoe talking fondly of it, as that is the track he grew up going to. Plenty of trees, cornfields, and places that didn’t make you feel like you were in the middle of a damn industrial park. I was going to have the privilege of working with and sharing the wall with other great photographers like Jennifer Chandler of Jennifer Chandler Photography and Cara Doggett of SpeedX Media. It wasn’t going to be an event where half the media didn’t know each other or didn’t like each other. Chris Sears, who is another friend of mine from Chris Sears Photography was also there, but could only join us on Friday night.
HOT…HUMID…and disgusting were some of the words that I would use to describe the weather that we endured throughout the weekend. Then again, it is August in the south, so none of that really surprised me in the least. For me personally, I didn’t care what the weather was, hot, cold, or anything else, as long as it was dry, which it certainly was.
Let me explain to you why none of that mattered though. Last year Brandon decided to hold an event as Steele Dragway in Alabama, or sometimes known as Alabama International Dragway. His hopes were that as a newer promoter, he’d have the right classes, the right payouts, the right marketing, and the racers would show up. Well, guess what, they didn’t, in fact, he had very few racers show up, but being the stand-up man that he is, he still paid out like he said he would. That action alone was reason enough for me to go to the event in Jackson.
On Friday, as soon as I pulled in the gates the staff was welcoming. Gave them my name and they appeared to know exactly who I was and why I was there. Jennifer was already there, and Cara had ridden with me to the event, so we went and parked up by Jennifer on the spectator side. Let me tell ya about the spectator side though. I absolutely loved it! Up on a hill with trees and shade. Plenty of room to park without being on top of each other. Even enough room for me to do photography from up there and get a clear view of the starting line.
This wasn’t a race where success was measured by the biggest toter in the pits either. This was a downhome race. No one cared what you drove, where you came from, or any other bullshit. They were all there for a purpose, and that was to race and support Brandon. Support him they did too. A great number of fans showed up to see the racing, and even partook in plenty of social distancing most of the time. The pits were full of great rides that wanted to test the surface at Jackson.
Speaking of the track surface…to say impressive might be an understatement. It wasn’t a run and drag run and drag run spray and drag. The track was there, and it was really there. The shutdown area seemed to go on forever as well. My biggest gripe when I go to smaller tracks is always the lighting. As a photographer, I want to at least have a good base of light to work from, as I don’t have to use high powered flashes, etc. Jackson apparently knows how the hell to angle lights and do it right. That track is better lit than a lot of bigger and well-known tracks that I have shot at. No obvious lighting behind the cars, though sunset can be tough in the left lane. There is even lighting going down the track, and not stupid pockets of lights. The track is a concrete wall track and not a guardrail, which makes drivers and photographers both feel a sense of security as well.
People is what makes drag racing so much fun. Yes, huge nitrous purges, wheel stands, burnouts, etc. are all great things to feel, smell, see, and experience, but in the end, it’s the people. The people that came to race at Mayhem were great people, they are people who really love the sport of drag racing. The people at the track were some of the best that I have encountered lately. No egos, no bullshit, just good ole’ fashion drag racing in the south! Personally, I can’t wait until Brandon holds his 2021 event, and I hope that no one schedules something on top of it, because I will be at his event helping remind people what drag racing is really all about.
Thank you to Brandon LeCroy, Hurricane Productions, Jackson Dragway, Cara Doggett, Jennifer Chandler, Paige Chandler, and everyone associated with this event for reminding me yet again why office life will never be for me.