A tough decision

It's been a bit since I last posted. I've had some things happen that I want to stop for a moment and share with you all regarding an incident in April of 2021, that has greatly impacted my dirt track racing photography. I was involved in a near-miss at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Arkansas. A sprint car came within inches of hitting me. Unfortunately, it did hit a lady who was the track photographer at the time. She was knocked unconscious, but by the grace of God's protection, she survived.

I saw her get hit as I turned and ran from the car that was sliding toward us. It's a scene that I will never forget and one that I have had a really hard time moving past. For me, I was fortunate to not be hurt, but the emotional impact has been great. I am unable to shoot like I once did...with ice in my veins, not caring about the danger, only focusing on the result. I decided to write about the experience in the hopes that it would be healing to talk about it openly. It has helped, but I continue to deal with the effects of PTSD from it. So, unfortunately, I've pretty much stopped shooting dirt track races. It's a sad close to really what helped me cut my teeth in the sports photography world.

Here is the column I wrote in Dirt Empire Magazine regarding what happened: