The Race...

Once in the infield, the excitement was palpable. This isn't a race series that most people pay attention to, but it certainly has its fans and followers. As the drivers come from all different areas of racing, it really is a series which can appeal to almost any race fan.

The Rolex 24 begins at 3:30pm on Saturday. From that point forward, for the next full day, the race is on. It doesn't matter how many laps are turned, at 3:30pm on Sunday the checkered flag drops. This year it would be the 50th time that's happened.

Walking through the infield can be a lot of fun. The sights, sounds and sometimes even the smells are distinctly "racing".

Where else could you see a four year old decked out like this?



"The Painter"



This guy paints a car, then his suit, and then himself. Awesome...


As much fun as walking through the infield can be, the reason we show up is for the race. Being that this was the 50th Anniversary, they had "parade laps" featuring many of the cars which have won this event in the past:

Once the green flag dropped, though, it was on. Not only are these cars fast, but they're loud. I've been to plenty of races in my day, and have a hard time recalling cars that were louder than these.

Now, as I'll often do, I'll spare you the text. Enjoy the photos:

We finally decided to leave around 9:00pm or so. We had a little bit of a drive back to St. Augustine and, truth be told, after shooting over 5,000 frames between us, it was unlikely we were going to get any pictures that didn't look like dozens we'd already shot. We had a nice, leisurely drive back, dropped Gloria off at her brother's, and headed back to Greg's house.

It was, just like last year, a great time.

I can't wait for 2013...

See ya' next year!