Part 2

And while some of the great independent shooters in your favorite series were born outside the U.S., most working here are Americans, or Canadians, or naturalized citizens. In patriotic terms, domestic jobs are being taken away by choice, not by need. It’s tribal mentality, and the rich ignorance on display is baffling. Rather than taking a moment to consider the wellbeing of the entire racing community, your favorite racing series are demonstrating how little they care for those outside their fortified walls.
With no fans in the stands – or in any other area of the track – it would not be difficult for photographers to work while maintaining COVID-19 safety measures. Image by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Another common practice is for sanctioning bodies to charge those small business owners an exorbitant sum to work in their series. For small business owners to sell their work to a client, thousands of dollars are often demanded by those series at the start of each season to receive the rights to supply those images. And despite paying the fees, the door has been shut as big agencies and employees have been given exclusive access to shoot the races.

Oddly, the manufacturers who pour untold millions into each series have had their contracted photographers barred as well, despite making formal pleas for the policies to be reconsidered.

Sadder still, the actions by NASCAR, which was the first to set this business-killing policy in motion, are being parroted by other series. NASCAR’s road map has become the guide for other series to hide behind.

The arbitrary nature of these decisions is what’s so maddening. It’s a case of executives choosing which small businesses live or die, and if they think otherwise, they’re kidding themselves. It’s telling giant auto manufacturers, and the teams and sponsors who make the sport possible, their chosen photographers and the contracts they’ve executed are unwelcome and invalid.

And that’s where this generation’s Jesse Alexanders and Dave Friedmans are at serious risk of going out of business. Odder still, some series have given teams a fixed number of people who will be credentialed for each race, and in some cases, parents, spouses, and friends will be found inside the track. All while legions of professional racing photographers are cast aside. And if you think there’s a way to game the system by adding some of the independent shooters to those team credential lists, think again: They’ve been listed as ineligible for consideration.

Hell, even a handful of reporters are getting the golden ticket to turn up and cover the races while sequestered in the media center. Granted, the same reporters, who aren’t allowed to leave the media center, can just as easily watch and write from home, but nonetheless, my non-essential brethren have gotten breaks to attend where those who truly need to be there have not.

Some of the most ingenious people found at a racetrack throw 500mm lenses over their shoulders and go trekking in search of excellent images to capture. As lone operators who do not require support staff or close proximity to others to perform their jobs, there are few layers of support within the sport that are better prepared to work while social distancing than the very people who’ve been banned.

They don’t need to be in the garages or up close on pit lane to document the action; that’s where long lenses and skill comes into play. With empty grandstands, and vacant photo holes, and remote corners to explore, one shooter can cover his or her imagery needs while in a different zip code from the next.

Rules are already in place for the favored photographic employees and big agency types to follow; the only issue here is in the double standard where small business owners have been disinvited from their workplace.

Ask those media outlets, and auto manufacturers, and teams whether the independent racing photographers they use to communicate with the world are considered essential, and you’ll receive a resounding, all-caps YES in response. Our sport’s greatest visual communicators will disappear without immediate policy changes. I wish I understood why our favorite racing series refuse to listen and act.

IndyCar, Insights & Analysis, NASCAR