A scene straight from the racer's Bible... D/G contender Dayton Sizemore does a furious burnout in his '68 Camaro at the March Meet, while his guardian angel (well, crewman actually) appears to hover nearby. He's missing the wings and halo, but the earmuffs will do in a pinch.

Photo info: Canon 30D ISO 640 1/1000 sec. at f/4.5 shutter priority 200mm focal length on a 70-200mm zoom

Here's a "what the heck is it?" At the DragFest event in May at Bakersfield, there was some Saturday night work going on in the pit of Adam Sorokin's "Batcar". The RB Entertainment - Champion Speed Shop car has the bubble canopy up and slicks off while crewmen toil away to be ready for Sunday.

Photo info: Canon 30D ISO 1600 (available light-no flash) 1/30 sec. at f/3.5 handheld 24mm focal length on a 24-85mm zoom

John Force and daughter Ashley Force-Hood hightail it to the shutdown area just after her sisters Brittany and Courtney completed a late afternoon, head-to-head race in the Top Alcohol Dragster class at the World Finals at Pomona in November. John's expression shows he's gotta be a proud daddy, but has he ever been known to hide his emotions?

Photo info: Canon 30D ISO 500, 1/800 sec. at f/5.6, shutter priority, 260mm on a 100-400mm zoom

Appearing to invoke the spirits for the upcoming run, Michael Beebe appears to give Jim Murphy a target to line up with over the top of the injector prior to the burnout. This ritual seems to be unique to the Murphy team, and makes for an interesting start to their runs.

Camera info: Canon 30D ISO 250 1/1000 sec at f/6.3 Shutter priority 100mm focal length on a 70-200mm zoom

While not a particularly beautiful photo, this shot captures the harsh impact of Cecil Matthews' AA/G machine slamming into the guardrail right in front of a lineup of photographers at the recent CHRR. It reminds us of just how quick things can go very wrong, and those who can't, or don't react stand in harm's way. Fortunately in this case, the rail did its job and the car stayed on the track. The cause was a fuel leak that caused the right slick to spin free, driving the car into a right hook from the far lane just past the tree.

Camera info: Canon 30D ISO 250 1/1000 sec. at f/8 Shutter priority 109mm on a 70-200mm zoom Range estimated at 20'

Rick MacDonald hunkers down at the guardrail and studies the flames and sounds coming from Bill Pitts' Magicar at the recent CHRR Cacklefest. Rick helped to tune quite a few cars over the weekend, but I've got to imagine he's got a real soft spot for this one. I know I do.

Camera info: Canon 30D ISO 500 1/6 sec. at f/6.3 w/ flash assist, Manual mode 54mm focal length on a 24-85mm zoom

Good ol' Walt Stevens had a great time at the recent CHRR. Not only was he one of the Honorees for the Reunion, he also got to take a few passes in his old ride, the Poachers. You can see his freshly lettered name on the helmet presented to him by car owner Paul Schavrien at the Honoree reception a few nights earlier.

Camera info: Canon 30D ISO 250 1/1000 sec. at f/8 Shutter priority 84mm focal length on a 70-200mm zoom

Rick High from Lake Havasu, Arizona was back at the March Meet looking for more success after winning the NE1 title at the 2008 CHRR. Racing in the new 7.0 Pro class, something obviously went wrong though, as he launched up into the air in this wheelstand that did some front axle damage on "re-entry". This would put him out of the running for the rest of the weekend except for some testing. His brother and crewman, Terry, watches in disbelief on the far right.

Photo info: Canon 30D ISO 200 f/6.3 at 1/1000 Shutter priority 126mm focal length on a 70-200mm zoom

In a tribute to the 50th Anniversary of the March Meet at Bakersfield, Art Chrisman gave the crowd a nice smokey burnout in the Hustler 1. Same car, same driver that won the first Smokers March Meet in 1959, but back then the tiresmoke would have been "in anger" on the way to the finish line as burnouts were unknown at the time. It was an honor to witness this run in person.

Photo info: Canon 30D ISO 200 f/5.6 at 1/1000 sec. 91mm focal length on a 70-200mm zoom

Garry Wheeler out of Tulsa, Oklahoma pilots this injected nitro A/F dragster that has been a consistent hard runner over the past year at Bakersfield. He usually advances to the final, but hasn't had much luck in winning that round just yet. Smart money says its only a matter of time for him to get there. In this shot from the March Meet, Garry smokes 'em as he usually does- FURIOUSLY!

Photo info: Canon 30D ISO 200 1/1000 sec. at f/8, Shutter Priority, 400mm on a 100-400mm zoom