Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Drag Racing at Maple Grove Raceway • Reading, PA

Something different! That's where this one is going. When I realized the drag races at Maple Grove Raceway outside Reading, PA were rained out Sunday, I thought it'd be a great opportunity take the day off and head up to take photos. The crowd was minimal which allowed for amazing access. That's one of the great things about going to an professional NHRA race. You can see the teams tear apart the engines from just a few feet away and the drivers are always signing autographs and making themselves available.
A crew member adjusts the tire pressure.
One of the best parts of these races is the access. You can watch crew members rebuild engines from feet away.
Brendan Bernstein does an interview with ESPN prior the the race.
The crew warms up the Jeg's Pro Stock car prior to racing.
V. Gaines signs an autograph for a young fan. He later went on to win the race.
The tools get used and abused every weekend.
Ron Capps leaves the start line. Unfortunately for him, he smoked the tires and lost the race.
....but not after recovering and giving it all he had to get it to the finish line as fast as possible.
Doug Kalitta's crew members pack up his Top Fuel dragster after losing in the second round.
The amount of force these cars put on the tires in immense. You can see just how out of round the tires on Brandon Berstein's dragster become at over 320mph.

I couldn't imagine riding a motorcycle from 0-198mph in a quarter of a mile.
Khalid alBalooshi took the win after Antron Brown smoked the tires in the final round.

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