Gallery
These are all photographs at various motorsports events taken by myself. If you wish to use one or more of these images (in better quality and size of course), please contact me at nickfromhedgesports@gmail.com, nhagy@asu.edu, or by texting/calling me at (571) 364-4606.
November 7th, 2021
November 6th, 2021
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Race: NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship
Track: Phoenix Raceway
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Race Winner: Daniel Hemric
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Daniel Hemric made it to the Final 4 round of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs with several runner-up finishes and an impressive consistency, but one thing was lacking from his resume: a win. On the final restart, Hemric chased down race leader Austin Cindric, who was driving for Team Penske, and passed him in the final corner of the final lap, beating him to the line in a photo finish for not only the race win, but also the championship.
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Series: NASCAR Cup Series
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Race: Season Finale 500
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Track: Phoenix Raceway
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Race Winner: Kyle Larson
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As well as winning the race, Kyle Larson completed one of the most impressive comebacks ever witnessed in NASCAR. After being sacked by Chip Ganassi Racing in April of 2020 for using a racial slur in an iRacing live stream, Larson was picked up by Hendrick Motorsports to drive the famed #5 in 2021. After a season close to that of Jeff Gordon's 1998 season, Larson amassed 10 wins en route to his first NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
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November 6th, 2021
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Race: NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Qualifying
Track: Phoenix Raceway
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Pictured: Brandon Brown
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Brandon Brown made headlines in the summer time after his first career win at Talladega Superspeedway, but that was not the reason his name was in the news. In the background, the audience could actually hear the crowd shouting their severe displeasure for President Biden. As a result, the reporter interviewing Brown immediately following his win, Kellie Stavast, had to think of something to say on T.V. about the situation, because ignoring it would lead to the network facing huge penalties. "You can hear the crowd, shouting 'Let's Go Brandon.'" That phrase immediately skyrocketed to infamy, and has been used as a code phrase for "F*** Joe Biden" ever since. Brandon entered the final race weekend long behind the championship contenders, as he was not eligible when he achieved his first win. Ever since the phrase went main stream, Brown has tried and failed to secure sponsorship, as brands are afraid of being associated with the person who inadvertently and unwittingly led to the birth of the phrase. In an ironic twist of irony, the only company that would sponsor him was LGBcoin, forcing Brown's hand and making him embrace the phrase he dreaded not so long ago in order to fund his NASCAR career. Even so, LGBcoin is being pushed back on by NASCAR and a majority of the fanbase, and Brown's future in NASCAR is still uncertain.
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May 16th, 2021
Series: IMSA Weather Tech Sports Car Championship
Race: Acura Sports Car Challenge Presented by the TLX Type S
Track: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course​
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Pictured: Turner Motorsports #96
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This one is going to be a bit personal.
Ah, the Turner Motorsports outfit. A mostly privateer outfit, Turner Motorsports is a tuning company specializing in BMW's that decided to try their hand at endurance racing. In 2021, they ran a yellow BMW M6 GT3, with the occasional second entry sporting a white Liqui-Moly livery. I've hat the pleasure of meeting the team on several occasions, most of them at Virginia International Raceway. Their senior driver, Bill Auberlen, recognized me each time after the first. One instance in 2011, I went to their paddock and they basically made me part of the team. I was given a shirt with autographs of all the drivers, a hat, and a bag of stickers and temporary tattoos to hand out to people. They said if I wasn't able to give all the tattoos out, I could keep the rest. I did a bang up job and gave out every piece of merchandise in that bag, and they gave me even more as a thank you. I was also able to sit in the car, and they taught me so much about the car and their team. Now, at the time I was 7 or 8 years old, so I consider this to be one of my "core memories," and I always find myself at ease thinking back to this time. In this race, in 2021, Turner Motorsports won their class, and 18-year-old me was just as ecstatic as 8-year-old me would have been.
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November 13th, 2021
Series: Nitro Rallycross
Race: Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park
Track: Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park
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Pictured: Tanner Foust
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Tanner Foust has had quite the career for himself. Not only is he an accomplished rally driver, but he's also a stunt driver in multiple films and shows. It's pretty safe to say the guy knows how to control cars in seemingly uncontrollable situations, take this picture for example. Foust, in his Rockstar Energy Audi S1 Quattro RX, flies through the air several feet above the ground, preparing to hit said ground and still be in the throttle. The cars raced in Nitro Rallycross are specifically designed to jump, and jump high. They are also built for acceleration, more than top speed. An average Rallycross car can go from 0-60 mph in less than TWO seconds. That's as fast as an all-electric Tesla Model S Plaid. However, most of the time this means that Rallycross cars can only reach speeds of 120-140 mph.
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May 16th, 2021
Series: IMSA Weathertech Sports Car Championship
Race: Acura Sports Car Challenge Presented by the TLX Type S
Track: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
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Pictured: #55 Joest Motorsports Mazda RT24-P DPi
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The Mazda Daytona Prototype International (DPi) program ended after 2021, and while the constructor never won the series title for their class or the coveted Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, they did get several runner-ups in both cases, as well as a win at the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Sahlen Six Hours at the Glen. For 2021, they downsized to just a one-car effort and ran this gorgeous white Multimatic and Idemitsu livery with splashes of orange and black. The RT24-P is widely considered the most beautiful DPi to run since the conception of the class, and one of the most visually-appealing prototype racers in history.
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January 25th, 2022
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Race: Next Gen Testing
Track: Phoenix Raceway
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Pictured: #42 Petty-GMS Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
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NASCAR kicked off testing for their new Next Gen Cup Series racers at Phoenix Raceway on Tuesday the 25th, and most of the teams showed up. One of which is a new effort, which is a joint effort by Richard Petty Motorsports and GMS Racing. The #42 ran lots of laps yesterday, and the car will be piloted by Ty Dillon in the upcoming season. Notable features of the Next Gen Camaro include hood vents, the NACA duct in the windshield, the forward-positioned number, and the single lug wheels.
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January 25th, 2022
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Race: Next Gen Testing
Track: Phoenix Raceway
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Pictured: #23 23XI Racing Toyota Camry
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In their sophomore year of competition, 23XI Racing is undergoing major changes. Along with the new car, the team run by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan has added a second car to their lineup, the #45 driven by Kurt Busch. At testing, the car was shared between Busch and Bubba Wallace, who will drive the #23 in 2022.
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January 25th, 2022
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Race: Next Gen Testing
Track: Phoenix Raceway
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Pictured: #17 Fastenal Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing Ford Mustang
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Another team changing over the offseason is Roush. Formerly Roush Fenway Racing, the team is now co-owned by ex-Penske driver Brad Keselowski. As a result, Keselowski will run the #6 Mustang for the team in 2022. For the Phoenix test, RFK brought the #17 that will be driven by Chris Buescher, who was in the car on Tuesday. Keselowski will pilot the Next Gen Ford on Wednesday.​
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February 5th, 2022
Series: Monster Energy Supercross (450 SX Class)
Race: Glendale SX
Track: State Farm Stadium
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Pictured: #3 Eli Tomac Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha YZ450f
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Eli Tomac made a huge move in the off season, leaving a rather safe championship-contending team in Kawasaki for the, at the time, rather unproven Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha. At the beginning of the season, it appeared as if Tomac had made a mistake. Jordan Anderson, taking over Tomac's old Kawasaki, won the second race of the season. Tomac was running top 5, but not contending for wins as much. This changed after Round 3 at San Diego, when Tomac took over the points lead following Chase Sexton's breakout win. He went into Oakland and won, extending his points lead, and did it again at the first Triple Crown event of the season at Glendale.
February 5th, 2022
Series: Monster Energy Supercross (450 SX Class)
Race: Glendale SX
Track: State Farm Stadium
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Pictured: #25 Marvin Musquin Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F
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Marvin Musquin had a quiet Glendale SX weekend, finishing 5th, 4th, and 11th in the three main events. A few years back, Musquin was the top dog at Red Bull KTM. With Dungey freshly retired, Musquin moved to the #1 seat at the team. That was until Cooper Webb moved over to the team from Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha in 2019, and immediately won the championship. Now, KTM has added Aaron Plessinger to their stable and he looks to be showing improvement every race.
February 5th, 2022
Series: Monster Energy Supercross (450 SX Class)
Race: Glendale SX
Track: State Farm Stadium
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Pictured: #27 Malcolm Stewart Rockstar Energy Husqvarna FC 450
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Malcolm Stewart has started to forge his own career despite being associated with legend James Stewart. He rode for Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha in 2021, and had some pretty decent runs. He then moved to the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna camp for 2022, and has seen some greatly improved results. He has finished Top 5 in four of the first five races of the season, one of which being a new career best of 2nd place at the Glendale Triple Crown.
February 5th, 2022
Series: Monster Energy Supercross (450 SX Class)
Race: Glendale SX
Track: State Farm Stadium
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Pictured: #23 Chase Sexton HRC Factory Racing CRF450r
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Chase Sexton arrived to the 450 SX Class in 2021 at the Honda HRC team as a teammate to Ken Roczen. He struggled at first, netting a 22nd and 14th place finish in the first two rounds, but he quickly found his rhythm and was knocking off Top 10s, and even scored two runner-up finishes. In 2022, he was looking to have a breakout year. To say he has is an understatement. A 5th and 9th at Anaheim 1 and Oakland respectively are not that impressive, but a win at San Diego followed by two 3rd place finishes at Anaheim 2 and Glendale has boosted the young star up to 2nd in the overall standings behind Eli Tomac.
August 14th, 2022
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Race: Federated Auto Parts 400
Track: Richmond Raceway
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Pictured: Landon Cassill (front) and Tyler Reddick (back)
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This was the first race I attended with a full, photography-purpose camera for some more professional shooting, and I think the results speak for themselves. Compared directly with the photos I took at Phoenix Raceway in January, they are a huge step up. The Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway was also my first race since moving back home to Virginia. Pictured here is the #77 Voyager Chevy driven by Landon Cassill for Spire Motorsports and the #8 3Chi Chevrolet driven by Tyler Reddick for Richard Childress Racing battling for position in Turn 1.
