The Trackside Perspective Round 2: CKNA Spring Nationals

Rolling Into Charlotte Motor Speedway - Friday

I arrived to the track just before sunrise, arriving around 7am on Friday morning. When I got there, I spent some time on the front stretch trying to grab a few sunrise shots before the karts took to the track. One of my favorite photos from that moment, captured not only the front stretch of the kart track but also turn 3 of the big NASCAR oval. This really set the mood for not only the day, but the weekend as a whole.

With multiple clients competing throughout the weekend, my main focus was to keep track of what class they were in, what time they went out on track, and trying to capture enough content to keep social media feeds active. Whether it was standing on the pre grid getting driver candids or standing behind a tire barrier coming to the final corner grabbing on track action shots. A lot of Friday for me was just figuring everything out. From learning the track layout, how each session flowed, where incidents were more likely to happen, and finding the best spots to shoot from.

Chasing Time - Saturday

Saturday was all about qualifying and heat races to set the grid for the final events on Sunday. With how tight qualifying was, I started focusing more on spots where drivers were pushing the limits and mistakes were more likely to happen. Between sessions I spent a lot of time around the fence and pre grid trying to catch more candid moments while drivers were watching qualifying or getting ready.

Once qualifying was complete it was time for heat races. These races would help set the starting lineup for main events on Sunday. If you had a bad qualifying lap, they had a chance to make it up in their heat race. During the heat races I tried to position myself in areas where drivers were more likely to make moves or take chances. In multiple sessions I was able to capture some moments that perfectly describe that last sentence!

All On The Line - Sunday

After two days of practice, qualifying, and heat races, it all came down to Sunday for the drivers. The morning started with LCQs. This gave drivers one more chance to make the main event if they had a bad qualifying run or heat race. You could definitely tell the intensity picked up, so I started sticking closer to areas where things tend to get a little chaotic. While I spent most of the morning on the pre grid trying to capture the final moments before drivers went out for their LCQs, I managed to get quite a variety of different moods. I got everything from a driver sitting super relaxed in his kart to someone sitting along the fence just waiting to go out.

Once the LCQs wrapped up and the final transfer spots were decided, it was finally time for the main events, where in some classes the fields would start with upwards of 50 drivers. With that many karts on track, the racing was bound to be intense. Throughout the finals there were moments where things didn’t go as planned for some drivers, while for others it all came together perfectly.

Quite Track - Final Thoughts

At the end of every race weekend you always get this really odd feeling. After being around constant noise and movement all day, everything kinda just stops. Although I did not get to really relax after all the events were over due to having to get clients there photos and videos, overall the weekend was quite fun.I’ve covered a good amount of karting events, but this one definitely stood out. Between the amount of entries, how busy everything stayed, and just the overall atmosphere. Up Next is Rounds 2-4 of the U.S Legends Car Winter Heat at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.