This is a venture outside of the normal Bazemore Files format, as we take a look at this year's PRO Winter Warm-up through the lens of Whit's camera. We'll return to the original format with a new installment but for now, let's take a peek behind the scenes with the slightly opinionated Bazemore.

EDITOR'S NOTE -This is a venture outside of the normal Bazemore Files format, as we take a look at this year's PRO Winter Warm-up through the lens of Whit's camera. We'll return to the original format with a new installment but for now, let's take a peek behind the scenes with the slightly opinionated Bazemore.

RON CAPPS - It's my old sparring partner! Yeah - I' still occasionally read some stuff on the Internet about Capps and me. It is all BS. Ok, so we had a little dust up a long time ago, and yeah, perhaps I do owe him a smack, but what good is holding a grudge? I try not too, and obviously, so does he.

The fact is, when I go to a race now, Capps is usually one of the first people I go and say hello to. And it has been that way since the day I stopped driving. It is because I respect him.
Really.

You see, Capps and I were both competitors. And me, I tended to not care if my competitors liked me too much. Fans, too for that matter. Just wasn't important.

What was important was giving my very best, and that is still important today. It doesn't matter what you do in life: no matter if you drive a Funny Car, make images with a camera or drive a school bus, do it to the best of your ability. You will be a much happier person than if you just meander through life content.

Capps has had a great career, make no mistake, but I would hate to be in his shoes. I really would. Capps almost has to win a Championship - or win Indy. It is just a fact. You can not have a career like Capps has had and call it totally successful without at least one of those wins. So the pressure is on him. But the important thing about Funny Car racing is to always remember that you race for no one else but yourself. You certainly don't race for the money - there isn't any
(relatively speaking, of course), you don't race for sponsors ( they would never pay enough to offset the risk, plus they can disappear tomorrow). You don't really race for your family either (there are easier things to do which allow you to be a better parent). You race for yourself. And that is what allows you to have success because it takes away all the pressure. You win great races because you want to, not because you have to. Look for Capps to have a great year. I hope so.

MATT HAGAN - Matt is one of the current racers I never raced against. I like him - and I think if I was racing today I would still like like him. He is a no BS guy, and isn't afraid to call a spade a spade. I like that in a person! I did an interview with Matt at the end of last year, when he came under fire for what some people perceived as benefitting from team orders at the last race of 2014, and he definitely wasn't afraid to share a strong opinion regarding the hatred he said the Force fans were directing towards him. Basically, he said he would be ashamed if his fans acted that way towards any of his competitors. You know, I agree 100% having been on the receiving end of the vitriol myself many times. It is crazy what people with no balls say behind the anonymity of a computer.

Crazy. And sad, too, that people are so frustrated in their own lives that they feel the need to put other people down. Passionate fans are great, make no mistake, but the fact is there are a lot of haters out there, and haters are gonna hate. They only look stupid in my opinion ...

Matt won the 2014 FC Championship, pure and simple. Did it look like there was the potential for a dive? Yes, but no more than my old buddy Force did for many years.

Matt is one of those guys who just wants to race and win. He's my kind of guy.

DOUG KALITTA - Back in the day this would have been a very low percentage shot - just past half track - car hauling the mail. But today, the technology of modern cameras and lenses makes it doable. You still have to get it right. I mean, there is some skill involved in shooting a super telephoto lens, but it is definitely easier now than 30 years ago, for sure. Unfortunately, this IS still a low percentage shot for a different reason. Getting a position like this at an NHRA national event is close to impossible. At West Palm Beach, I wanted to be at 300 ft, down low, next to the wall but the guy in charge said no. He did say I could be further down the track, on a ladder behind a flimsy chain link fence. Since the legal location was much more dangerous than the "illegal" one I had in mind, I parked my rental car behind the fence and stood on the roof, offering myself some possible protection if I was able to jump off if someone crashed.

It was a good practice session for me - these cars are almost going 300MPH at half track, so following them with a 600mm lens is a learned art. Practice, practice, practice. Glad one was sharp!

TONY SCHUMACHER - This is tire shake. Tony did a great job of pedaling on this run - look closely at the injector blades, and you'll see they are just starting to close. It amazes me that some drivers today have trouble catching a car when it shakes. It is so easy: when it shakes, you just slap off, then back on, the throttle as quickly as you can. Simple. Back in 1995 or 1996, I thought I was a bad a**, and my time off the throttle, measured from the moment the graph started down, to the "V" at the bottom (when the graph starts back up - which is when you press the throttle down again), was .02 of a second. So one time, I was bragging to Chuck Etchells about how great I was, and he just looked at me and said he does in a tenth and a half. "No way," I thought. Chuck was (and I'm sure still is) a serious beer drinker, not very fit, and considerably older than me. So we went over and looked at one of his graphs. Sure enough...

To make a long story short, I applied myself and got down to a tenth and a half. But that was not the best, only equal to the best - maybe! So I worked harder. Finally, it got to the point that I could pedal it in one tenth of a second. Maybe today somebody is better - it would not surprise me at all. The moral of the story, and something I learned is that no matter how good you really are, or how good you THINK you are, you can always be better. And, of course, there is always someone better than you. Always. It was a good lesson, and one I try to remember often.

Tony Shoe is an excellent driver. Very excellent. But I am sure he works at it and probably knows there is someone better than him. And there probably is. But as long as you are trying to be the best, then without question you will be YOUR best. As long as you keep improving YOUR best, then you will become successful, no matter what you are doing.

BRIAN CORRADI, ANTRON BROWN AND MARK OSWALD - Part of the magic of photography, and something I am reminded about when I look at photos of my own favorite sports, is the photographer is able to take the fan to inaccessible places. And that is also cool for the photographer. In my case, attending the U.S. Grand Prix last October gave me access that you simply do not have at an F1 race unless you are an accredited photographer. It is the photographer's job to tell the story.

This image of Antron and his two tuners is an example. Brian is squirting the gas bottle into the injector, and Mark and Ant are obviously concentrating on the job at hand. These guys are pretty serious racers, even if Antron's usual demeanor might suggest otherwise. But this image says what kind of effort they make, and how seriously they take their job, more than any words could describe.

Obviously, I have access to everyone at an NHRA race, but long before I raced myself, I gave myself access to do the job. Access is the key to getting great images. Once, in the mid '80's while shooting Paul Newman for Nissan, Mr Newman said I was a pain in the ass, and "when will I be finished?" I politely explained that I was just trying to make enough money so I could pay off my Skip Barber (Formula Ford) bill and that I really didn't care for movies, but I only cared about my images and my racing. He asked if I was racing FF in the Barber series, which I was, and afterward went out of his way to "give" me shots.

Access! It is a fine line between respect and getting into a position to do the job you need to do, but you learn.

Seriously, photographers are the eyes of the sport - and the better the images, and the more exciting, the better the sport is represented to the general public. Think back to when you were a kid - old Hot Rod and Super Stock Magazines, DRUSA, pictures of Jungle Pam and Linda as well as guys like the Snake and Garlits. Those images made me fall in love with the sport (and Pam.) Really. Without imagery, would any of us have been exposed to the excitement that is our sport? Not likely.

ANTRON BROWN - My take on the famous facebook post from Mark Rebilas last week when he posted a head-on shot of TJ doing a burnout - only there was not any smoke! I'm tellin' ya; the tuners have way too much control. Throttle stops are set so low, the tires barely spin. Come to find out, several drivers who will remain nameless have their chutes released automatically - on every run! I just can not believe it. In a nutshell, that is what is wrong with the sport - the drivers are just not as relevant as they need to be. If your guy or gal can not find the finish line, either live with it or fire them. Simple. But don't crutch them. Same holds true with throttle stops. Take 'em off and let the good drivers have an advantage over the idiots. Seriously. The fans pay the money, give them some burnouts, for crying out loud.

Shooting this photo was fun, manly because I did not get run over, and I like the end result. It was bad, mid-day light, but it looks good here. And there is some smoke, but I did 'help' the image a little in Lightroom. Got to photoshop in the burnouts in this era. Sheesh. Thanks, Ant!

TODD OKUHARA - I kind of like this one of Todd as he overlooks prep being done on the Spencer Massey TF car. Todd's been doing this for a while now - it is amazing how fast time flies. I remember his first win as a crew chief - we won Seattle in 06, my last year in a DSR Funny Car. I think we beat Capps in the final, which always felt good. We had struggled all year more or less, then by mid-summer, the car started coming around. We were runner up at Indy - my last race for the team before leaving to join the ill-fated David Powers outfit, which ended up being a highly compromised effort. But the car was flying when I left, and I have no doubt that together the three of us (Todd, Phil Shuler, and me) would have won at least one Funny Car championship together. Absolutely, no doubt. Business is business, and unfortunately, with Matco leaving, Don was forced to take on Beckman who had his own private funding which enabled the team to keep going. That was a good thing, and at the time I was actually excited to be moving to a Top Fuel car.

Todd, Phil and I had great chemistry together. It was one of my favorite times, even through our struggles because there was a refreshing honesty, and everyone was working towards the same goal. Life moves on, but it has been great seeing Todd have so much success at DSR.

DAVE CONNOLLY - Welcome to Top Fuel, Dave! No Pro Stock car ever does this, at least not a legal one. I am excited to see how Connolly does in Top Fuel. I am sure, from a driving point of view, he will do very well. The guy certainly knows how to win races, he won't let any pressure get to him, but I want to see how well he leaves. Just curious  to compare someone who has a great reputation in Pro Stock to the really good Top Fuel leavers. The BVR team is looking strong with Dixon now on board for a full year as well. It looks like the team has strong funding, and together with two highly motivated racers and a hook up with DSR, good things should happen. 

CHAD HEAD - It is cool to see Chad doing well in the old man's car. And this is one of my favorite images from the PBIR shoot. There is a lot to be said for bright paint on a race car - it is so important. If this was a dark car, the image would not have worked. If you do have a dark car, it is essential to paint a 1 -inch edge around the bottom of the body in a bright color to separate the body from the ground. Everyone needs money, and everyone needs ink to help find that money, so you might as well make it easy for yourself. Why not? Even the DSR team could take this advice and help their cause a little - Capp's car, Beckman's - they could all use a bright lip at the bottom of the car.

More often than anyone would like to admit, a photograph is published in a paper or magazine on the merits or the actual photograph - not necessarily on the merits of the team or driver. Something to keep in mind if you like to see yourself in
magazines.

As for photography - this is an example of what can be done in the digital age. Nighttime action with a 600mm lens! I am still amazed at the possibilities.

MORE DAVE CONNOLLY - I am not sure how successful Connolly's weekend was - the car seemed to wheelstand then almost immediately smoke the tires more often than not. Testing is testing, but when you are a new driver, nothing inspires confidence like going to the finish line. No matter - come Pomona time, he'll be ready.

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