Will Hearne: NASCAR fan and photographer

Just minutes before the drop of the green flag in Kentucky Speedway’s inaugural Sprint Cup Series race I was milling around behind Mark Martin’s pit stall. What happened next was something I least expected, yet it was one of the cooler things about the entire weekend.

A man walked up to me and said, “Hey are you Adam?”

He caught me a little off guard. I didn’t know people knew who I was, but thanks to Twitter, I had become a mini-celebrity to some folks while I detailed every moment I could from Kentucky Speedway.

“Yeah, that’s me,” I responded.

“Hi, I’m Will. I follow you on Twitter,” he said.

I had no clue how to respond. “Well, thanks, glad to meet you,” I said, probably looking more calm than I sounded.

On Friday night at Kentucky Speedway, during the Feed the Children 300, I posted Mark Martin’s radio chatter to Twitter. I tweeted an almost instant play-by-play of everything Mark, his spotter Jeremy Brickhouse and crew chief Trent Owens discussed on the radio during the Nationwide Series race.

Mark’s Cup Series media rep, Kendra Jacobs, who wasn’t at the track, tweeted to her 6,900-plus followers that if they wanted play-by-play of Mark’s radio chatter, they should follow me. Not only were the tight knit group of Markaholics following me, but I picked up nearly 50 followers on Twitter during Friday night’s race.

One of them was Will Hearne, the man I just mentioned who met me on pit road prior to Saturday night’s Cup race. Throughout the race and after the weekend we communicated via Twitter and e-mail. Will had mentioned to me that he took a photo of FOX19 Sports Director Brian Giesenschlag and myself during the June 1st tire test that made it into the local Community Press.

FOX19 Sports Director Brian Giesenschlag works the camera while I interview some fans during the June 1st Goodyear tire test at Kentucky Speedway (Photo courtesy: Will Hearne)

Will shared his stories about his photos with me. I decided, “Hey this is great stuff, let me blog about it.”

Folks, meet Will Hearne…

Will Hearne at Bristol during a snow storm in 2006 (Photo from Will Hearne)

They saw a picture is worth a thousand words, and Will Hearne knows what that is like. In August of 2000 he was standing feet from Dale Earnhardt Sr. at Bristol during qualifying.

“I was never a big Earnhardt fan but knew plenty of people that were and that has probably been the best [photo],” Hearne said. “I had to respect him for his dedication to the sport and the fans and I believed that I caught that.”

(Photo courtesy: Will Hearne)

He started taking photos when he was a student at Owen County High School, located just over 15 miles from the racetrack in Sparta. His main love though was sports.

“I liked the action,” Hearne stated.

Hearne studied photojournalism at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Ky., but couldn’t continue to pursue his education due to rising costs for his photographs.

“It was very expensive as a student, film, developing supplies plus tuition, etc,” he said. “The evolution of digital photography that has helped me get my foot in the door. It is easier and cheaper to get good pictures.”

When he took photographs on film cameras, Hearne noted that he had to wait and see if the photo was clean. With digital photography, he notes, you can take a picture and see it “on the spot.”

“The more pictures you take the better your chances of having a good photo as well as learning from your mistakes,” he said. “I am trying to get into it more and would love to find or have an opportunity to continue to follow this dream I have.”

This dream is a dream that any NASCAR fan has: to get paid to watch the sport.

When Will Hearne began following NASCAR, back in the mid 1980s, he began following an up and coming star from the ASA ranks named Mark Martin. He continued to follow the sport through the 1990s but didn’t get a chance to go to a race until 1998, when attended a race at Bristol in the spring.

Mark Martin waving to fans as he walks to driver introductions before the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway (Photo courtesy: Will Hearne)

“They always said if you think this is fun, go to Bristol,” Hearne said. “So off I went, and [I’ve] been hooked since then.”

Hearne got up close and personal with the drivers and the cars.

“I went down early and just started taking pictures of testing, qualifying,” he said, “trying to get as close to the action as possible. I had a lot to learn, but kept going back. Fortunately I have never had an issue with any driver. I have tried to stay out of their personal space and give them space.”

Hearne has also visited Daytona, Martinsville, Nashville, Bowling Green and now Kentucky Speedway.

“While in Bowling Green we started to go to the local track where I met Darrell and Michael Waltrip, Jeremy Mayfield and the Green brothers,” he said. All of those NASCAR stars are from Owensboro, Ky., near Bowling Green and the Kentucky Motor Speedway in Whitesville, Ky.

But no matter how hard Hearne has tried, his freelance work just hasn’t made him much money.

“I have had some success at selling to the public, a few publications and area newspapers,” he said. “It is a passion that I have carried with me since I started taking pictures—to become a photographer—but it is difficult. Sticking with it has been hard; got bills to pay and a life to live.”

Yet, no matter how hard it is to continue to pursue a dream of selling great NASCAR photographs, Hearne had an awesome opportunity to get photographs at Kentucky’s inaugural; Cup weekend.

“Never been that close,” he said of the action in Sparta. “I had been close before but I got a lot of great pictures.”

He also got to hang out in the garage area and take plenty of photographs of his favorite driver.

“[I] don’t mean this in a bad way but, he (Mark Martin) reminds me of my dad, same work ethic and perseverance. They don’t make ‘em like that anymore,” said Hearne.

He even had an opportunity to get some autographs from Mark Martin with the access he had at Kentucky.

“Mark signed everything I put in front of him for three days,” Hearne said. “[Drivers] are people too. They don’t mind you taking their picture, and it is part of their job, but [I] always keep the respect for them as well as others wanting to get a picture for themselves.”

This was Hearne's favorite photo of the weekend, a shot he got of Mark Martin walking toward the pre-race driver's meeting (Photo courtesy: Will Hearne)

It’s that reason that so many fans flock to NASCAR. Mark Martin has a lot of fans, and he made one fan’s weekend a great one at Kentucky Speedway. Those photographs that Will took will remain with him forever. They are mementos of a first-time event in the Bluegrass State.

Each snapshot means something to the person behind the lens. For Will Hearne, each photograph is another chance to chase a passion and a dream unlike any other.

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Like Will Hearne’s photography? Follow Will on Twitter (@ul1card) or contact him at whearne.pics@gmail.com for more information. And, if you ever run into me in public, feel free to come up to me and chat.

I always love meeting new people, especially NASCAR fans. I never knew a quick chat with Will on pit road at Kentucky would turn into a long blog post, but if you’ve got an awesome story, I’m willing to talk to you about it and post it here on the blog.

Have a good Monday afternoon. Stay cool, and thanks for checking in.

Busch wins 100th NASCAR race and ties Mark Martin’s Nationwide Series record

Last week after he won NASCAR race No. 99 at Kentucky one member of the media gathered in Kentucky Speedway’s media center asked Kyle Busch how cool it would be to win race 100 at Indy, in the (arguably) sport’s second most prestigious race.

“Kyle,” the man said, “I know you want to win next week or maybe at ORP, but how cool would it be if you could get win 100 at the Brickyard since you haven't won there?”

Kyle Busch sits at the table in Kentucky Speedway's media center after winning the Quaker State 400 with crew chief Dave Rogers

“I'm hoping it comes at Loudon, sorry,” he said. “Certainly whenever the next one is, I'll be cherishing it just as much as I did the last one.”

Well, I tried at least. 

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see Kyle win this weekend, but I thought it would be awfully cool to see him take the checkers at the Brickyard for win number 100 in his NASCAR career. You can barely write a better story.

But my question at least was prefaced with, “I know you want to win next week.”

“To me,” Busch continued, “I don't want to wait that long for win 100. Hopefully we get the opportunity to run up front again and, you know, have a chance to win some other races before we get to the Brickyard.

“Brickyard is still a little ways off. Maybe we can talk about 104 or something by then.”

Kyle Busch is sitting on 100 wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series, and maybe more importantly, is tied with Mark Martin for the Nationwide Series all-time wins record with 49.

The first person to Victory Lane on Saturday to congratulate Busch was Martin, who has said all along that sooner or later his record would fall to the 26-year old from Las Vegas.

“It’s pretty incredible,” Martin said. “Some people can learn how to drive these racecars if they really, really want to and work really, really hard at it, but the guys that already know how before they ever do it and they work really hard at it are always more successful. That’s the case with Kyle. He was a natural from the first time he slipped into one of these big stock cars on a big racetrack.

“It’s been amazing to watch and it’s hard for me to get my arms around that he is where he is at his age. It’s amazing. It’s really great that NASCAR is in a position today to give an opportunity to young drivers and get an opportunity because 30 years ago having a 25-year-old driver was not something that a top team would want to have.

It’s really cool to see, and I’m just as impressed as everyone else with this guy – every week.”

Busch wanted the media folks to stop harping constantly on his numbers, but was asked if being mentioned in the same breath as Hall of Famers like Richard Petty and future Hall of Famers like Mark Martin had sunk in yet.

“You have to retire first right, to get in the Hall of Fame?” said Busch. “Apparently (Mark Martin)’s not going to be an inductee anytime soon — that’s alright — more power to him. I said on TV, he’s young at heart and he wants to keep doing what he’s doing. That’s awesome.”

So maybe I was wrong for asking Busch if it would be cool to win at Indy. Obviously he’ll still be gunning as hard as ever to win the Brickyard 400, but maybe by then it will be NASCAR win No. 104. We’ll have to wait 13 days to find out.

Drivers sound off on Nationwide Series moving to IMS in 2012

“I guess if you equate it to a minor league baseball team getting to play at Yankee Stadium it’s going to be the same thing,” said South Bend, Ind., native Ryan Newman.

“Change is good,” said Kevin Harvick when asked about it.

“I think it’s cool for IMS,” said Hoosier Tony Stewart.

When the NASCAR Nationwide Series leaves Indianapolis Raceway Park (or O’Reilly Raceway Park or, now, Lucas Oil Raceway) in two-and-a-half weeks, they’ll do so not knowing when they’ll be back.

NASCAR’s second-tier series is slated to run at IRP (yes, it’s IRP, and it’s still the Busch Series, if you must know) on July 30th, and then move to the big track—the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway—in 2012.

“The enthusiasm is going to be up,” said Harvick. “It’s going to be a new venue for the Nationwide Series. It’s going to be new for the fans. There are going to be a lot of new things that go with that.”

Count Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, both Indiana natives, against the plan to move away from IRP. They don’t want to see NASCAR leave its short track roots.

“I’m kind of sad for ORP though because I know from my history at ORP that was a big event that we all looked forward to as USAC drivers getting to watch the Nationwide guys come,” said Stewart.

“I’m sure there’s going to be a lot more excitement,” Newman said. “I’m a big fan of the short tracks; I grew up racing at IRP. That to me is a part of the sport that I think we shouldn’t let go, but at the same time, there is a reason why it’s getting moved to the Brickyard.”

“I hate to see ORP go,” Harvick said. “But things change. This is no different than any other business. You have to keep up with the times.”

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My opinion on the move? Stay tuned. More on Kentucky’s traffic and attendance as well as some fun photos from the Kentucky Speedway weekend of Cincinnati-area TV folks getting work done.

Busch wouldn’t run on Indy road course and Brickyard in same weekend

Last week NASCAR announced that the Nationwide Series along with Grand-Am cars would join the Sprint Cup cars on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Brickyard 400 weekend in 2012. Kyle Busch was the only driver to run in all three races this past weekend at Kentucky Speedway, so the question is, if the opportunity presented itself, would the younger Busch like to run in the Grand-Am race at IMS?

“I won’t drive the road course, I would get confused coming through turn one backwards. That won’t be too good,” he said with a slight smile.

The road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway starts on the front stretch before winding through the infield and shooting out on the main track near the entrance to turn two. But that’s not the only reason Busch wouldn’t want to run in the Grand-Am cars.

“I won’t run that race,” he said. “Those cars are too hot. They’re too hot. Need to be able to roll down the window or something.”

In the late July/early August heat and humidity that owns the Indianapolis weekend, I’d agree with the younger Busch. There have been times at the track where my dad, brother and I just sat and sweated through every pore in our body. And we were wearing t-shirts and shorts, not a racing fire suit. I could only imagine how hot it would be in one of those suits.

As far as it’s scheduled now, the Nationwide Series is supposed to run the regular track at Indy. If they aren’t, I haven’t seen a release saying they’ll also be running the road course. And I think it would make headlines if they were going to.

(Note: After reading and re-reading the press conference notes, I’m almost certain the Nationwide Series will run on the oval, not the road course)

Busch, who is on record saying he wouldn’t run the Grand-Am cars, confirmed that he wouldn’t run in the Nationwide Series if NASCAR decided to put their second-tier series on the road course at Indy.

“That wouldn’t be bad,” Busch said. “I don’t see anything wrong with it at all…there’s going to be some tight sections through the ‘esses,’ I guess you would call it.

“You’ll see some congestion there, but otherwise it would probably be a good event.”

And no matter how much you’d like to see Kyle Busch go through turn one backward and then forward in the same weekend at Indy, it probably won’t happen. But he’s got at least a year to be persuaded. Anyone think they can convince him?

Kyle Busch takes Kentucky by the horns

I’ll admit, I was wrong.

When Bruton Smith stood in front of hundreds of reporters last August and said the Sprint Cup Series was coming to Kentucky Speedway, I brazenly said Joey Logano would be the favorite. Logano was named as one of the seven drivers to participate in a Goodyear tire test a month before the big show in Kentucky, furthering my feelings that the 21-year-old would take the checkers at Kentucky.

Well, I’ll at least take solace in picking the right team for the winner.

From left: Crew Chief Dave Rogers, Busch and team owner Coach Joe Gibbs

Kyle Busch came out at Kentucky and stole the show. He won the Camping World Truck Series race, finished third in the Nationwide Series race, and owned the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, leading a race high 125 laps en route to becoming the inaugural winner of the Quaker State 400.

“This one ranks right up there with the best of them,” Busch said on Saturday night after winning the Cup race. “I haven't won any of the big races, unfortunately, yet. But, you know, it ranks right up there with Las Vegas being another of my prestigious wins that I feel like I've accomplished so far.”

Yet it began earlier in the week for the Las Vegas native. He mentioned that the car was fast right off the truck, and he worked with crew chief Dave Rogers to get the No. 18 just right throughout the weekend.

The one word that was thrown around all weekend was character. The bumpy surface at Kentucky was described as having character by Busch, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer, amongst many others who spoke with the media throughout the weekend.

“This place — you never get a comfort here at Kentucky,” Busch said after winning Thursday evening’s truck race. “It’s such a hard race track. Turn three is just my Achilles heel. It’s killing me. I think it has been all weekend. I’d like to be able to get faster and I’m working towards doing that. We just got to work on things that will help me.”

But after the cup race, Busch was happy to explain what he had to do to get the No. 18 to Victory Lane.

Busch chats with the media on Friday afternoon

“It's certainly a driver's racetrack,” he said. “There's a lot of characteristics here with all the bumps, the way you have to run the line around, whether it's the bottom or whether it's the second lane, where the bumps are, figuring out that, whether you go through them or around them.

“Certainly it makes for an interesting setup, having to talk to your guys, having to work around a shock package or springs that will help your car that will make your car handle best through the turns, over the bumps. You take all that into consideration, do the best you can.”

Now that Busch has cemented his name as the first-ever Sprint Cup winner at Kentucky, he’ll be the go-to man for advice on how to get around the track. While some drivers want Kentucky to be repaved right away, others say let it be for a year or two. Busch is one of them.

“I've heard rumors of repaving this place. Hopefully they ask us before they do it,” he said.

Busch chats with his team after Wednesday's Camping World Truck Series practice

And who could blame him? He pretty much owned the place this weekend.