Robert Cianflone / Getty Images
James Courtney drives the #22 Holden Racing Team Holden during practice for the Austin 400, which is round five of the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Circuit of The Americas on May 17, 2013 in Austin, Texas.
More racing in PhotoBlog:
Jonathan Ferrey / Getty Images
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, gets out of her car after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 17 in Daytona Beach, Fla.
She waited about two hours as 37 fellow drivers tried to take her spot. Only four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon even came close to knocking her off.
-- By Mark Long, Associated Press
Jonathan Ferrey / Getty Images
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 16.
Andy Clark / Reuters
Dressed as a princess, Jennifer Knoepfel stands in the pits waiting for the next race during the Saturday night stock car races at Agassiz Speedway in Agassiz, British Columbia on July 7. Jennifer wore the long gown and tiara as part of her duties presenting the trophies to the winners of the night's competition.
Andy Clark / Reuters
Late model sportsman stock cars compete in the premier race of the night at Agassiz Speedway in Agassiz, B.C. on Aug. 11. From spring until autumn every two or three weeks competitors and spectators gather on Saturday nights to watch or take part in the races for prize money, points and local honours at the 42 year old race track.
Andy Clark / Reuters
Fast food and tools come together in the pit area of Agassiz Speedway during Saturday night racing on July 7. Local racing teams set up their equipment around the grassy edges of the infield pits to work on their cars between races.
Built in 1970, the Agassiz Speedway is a quarter mile oval track nestled in the side of the Agassiz Mountain about 90 minutes east of Vancouver, B.C. Owned and operated by the non-profit Kent Raceway Society, the track hosts about 12 races a season beginning in April and running through October.
Vancouver-based photographer Andy Clark spent his Saturday nights photographing life around the speedway.
Clark wrote on the Reuters blog: I have always enjoyed car racing. I spent, though a few said mis-spent, some of my formative teenage youth on darkened summer highways north of Toronto in the late 1960s, riding in muscle cars and drag racing until either the wee hours of the morning or the cops chased us away. Read more
The images in this blog post were shot this summer and made available to NBC News today.
Andy Clark / Reuters
Rookie race driver Chelsey O'Reilly,14, sports her good luck pink fingernails while waiting to take part in qualifying in the Streets stock car category at Agassiz Speedway on July 7.
Andy Clark / Reuters
A stock car that has spun out is rammed by two other competitors during the Saturday night races at Agassiz Speedway on July 7.
Andy Clark / Reuters
Kelly Moto sits in his street stock car as he is towed into the pits during the Saturday night races at Agassiz Speedway on July 21. Moto's race night was over early after his car suffered a major mechanical breakdown during qualifying.
Andy Clark / Reuters
A member of a stock car pit crew takes a break while the car was on the track qualifying during the Agassiz Speedway Saturday night stock races on July 21.
Andy Clark / Reuters
Driver Troy Globe stands with the trophy girl after winning a sprint race during the Saturday night stock car races at Agassiz Speedway on July 21.
Andy Clark / Reuters
Margaret O'Reilly talks with Cameron Jones, as her daughter Chelsey uses her mobile phone, at Agassiz Speedway during the Saturday night stock car races on Aug. 11. Both Chelsey and Cameron compete in the races and hang out together when not on the track.
Josep Lago / AFP - Getty Images
Racing team crews try to extinguish a fire in the Williams racing pit stand at the Circuit de Catalunya on May 13 in Montmelo, Spain, after the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix.
"It's a wonderful day for me and the team. An unforgettable race," said Maldonado, who was hoisted onto the shoulders of Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen before being doused in champagne on his first visit to the podium. "It was a tough race, with the strategy and a couple of laps we were struggling. But the car was so competitive from the first lap."
Maldonado's victory provided icing on the cake for Frank Williams as the team celebrated its longtime team principal's 70th birthday this weekend. Williams' celebration speech, however, was cut short after a fire broke out in the team's garage after the race. No injuries were reported.
-- Reported by the Associated Press
Peter J Fox / Getty Images Contributor
A fire breaks out at the back of the Williams team garage after they celebrated winning the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix.
Josep Lago / AFP - Getty Images
Crews try to extinguish the fire.
Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP - Getty Images
Racing team crews use a fire hose to try to extinguish the fire.
Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP - Getty Images
Crews carry the front end of a car.
Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP - Getty Images
Williams' Brazilian driver Bruno Sena's car is damaged by the fire.
Carsten Rehder / EPA
A man competes in a ride-on mower race in Aukrug-Homfeld, Germany, April 14. Around a dozen teams compete with their modified ride-on mowers with up to 120 horsepower and top speeds of more than 60 mph.
What good is a lawn mower if it's buried behind the tangle of garden tools, the dog's outgrown crate, the exer-cycle with the missing seat, and all the other accumulations that the seasons change from storage to wreckage, from thriftiness to plain mess?
But if that mower seems useless, what if, like fanatics from England, Australia, and 45 of our own states, you remove the grass-cutting blades so that you can race your machine, thereby turning "a weekend chore into a competitive sport"? To paraphrase a few of the racers' spouses: "Only a man could come up with something like this."
-- Michael J. Rosen on Mower Racing World Championships, 2camels.com
Interested in firing up your own mower? Check out The United States Lawn Mower Racing Association.
Carsten Rehder / Zuma Press
Carsten Rehder / EPA
Seeing a 12,000 pound truck powered by a 1,500 horsepower engine fly this high through the air is worth putting on your bucket list. Grave Digger's freestyle performance was the closing act at Monster Jam on Saturday, and it brought the house down.
Jim Seida / msnbc.com
Spectators cheer Grave Digger, a monster truck piloted by driver Charlie Pauken, soars though the air on its way to winning the freestyle competition at the USHRA Monster Jam in the Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Wash. on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012.
Watch Grave Digger in action at Monster Jam in San Antonio in 2008.
Chris O'meara/AP
IndyCar drivers Tony Kanaan, left, of Brazil, Scott Dixon, of New Zealand, third from left, and Dario Franchitti, of Scotland, right, carry the coffin of fellow driver Dan Wheldon after funeral services Saturday, Oct 22, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Wheldon was killed Oct. 16, in a fiery 15-car crash at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
AP reports:
Of all the indelible moments from Dan Wheldon's public memorial service — fellow IndyCar drivers Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan serving as pallbearers, his father carrying his racing helmet and country music star Wynonna Judd singing two gripping songs — the heart-wrenching letter from his wife cut deepest.
Susie Wheldon's letter to Dan left few eyes dry in the First Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg.
Read the full story here.
Isaac Brekken / AP
Dario Franchitti (back to camera) returns to the pit row following tribute laps in honor of Dan Wheldon, who was killed earlier in a crash during the IndyCar Series' Las Vegas Indy 300 auto race on October 16 in Las Vegas.
Tom Pennington / Getty Images
Team members line the pitlane as the drivers complete five memorial laps to honor Dan Wheldon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 16.
Robert Laberge / Getty Images
A fan waves a sign after Dan Wheldon died of injuries after a fifteen car crash during the Las Vegas Indy 300 on October 16.
Tom Pennington / Getty Images
Dario Franchitti surrounds himself with crew members and wife, Ashley Judd, after Dan Wheldon was killed on October 16.
Nick Laham / Getty Images, file
Dan Wheldon waves to photographers during the 95th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Trophy Presentation at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30, 2011 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The AP reports:
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon, who died on Sunday after his car became ensnared in a fiery 15-car pileup, came to the United States from England in 1999 and became one of IndyCar's biggest and most popular stars.
In his honor, drivers, many sobbing openly, took part in a five-lap salute around the Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval as thousands of fans stood and cheered from the grandstand.
"One minute you're joking around at driver intros and the next, Dan's gone," said Dario Franchitti, whose wife, actress Ashley Judd, had to bring him a box of tissues. "I lost, we lost, a good friend. Everybody in the IndyCar series considered him a friend. He was such a good guy. He was a charmer." Read the full story.
Robert Laberge / Getty Images
The car of Dan Wheldon of England driver of the #77 Bowers & Wilkins Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara Honda, left, flies in the air during the Las Vegas Indy 300 part of the IZOD IndyCar World Championships presented by Honda on Oct. 16, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nev.
According to AP:
"IndyCar is very sad to announce that Dan Wheldon has passed away from unsurvivable injuries," IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today. IndyCar, its drivers and owners, have decided to end the race. In honor of Dan Wheldon, the drivers have decided to do a five-lap salute to in his honor."
Three other drivers, including championship contender Will Power, were hurt in the pileup.
Read more here.
Matthew Lloyd
Competitors run to their Mowers in a Le Mans style start at the 12 hour Lawn Mower Endurance Race on September 24, in Billingshurst, England. First started in 1973 as a motorsport that would be accessible to as many as possible, there is little commercialism or sponsorship, no cash prizes and no modifying of engines. The trophies are donated from various sources with famous names such as Sir Stirling Moss found engraved on the plaques from previous races.
Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images
Competitors in action during a qualifying heat for the 12 hour Lawn Mower Endurance Race on September 24, 2011 in Billingshurst, England.
Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images
Grass flies up in the air as competitors in action during a qualifying heat for the 12 hour Lawn Mower Endurance Race on September 24 in Billingshurst, England.
Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images
Competitors race in the 12 hour Lawn Mower Endurance Race on September 24 in Billingshurst, England
Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images
Repairs are made to a competitors mower in the pit lane during the 12 hour Lawn Mower Endurance Race on September 24, in Billingshurst, England.
Srdjan Suki / EPA
Brazilian Formula One driver Felipe Massa of Scuderia Ferrari in action during the second training session at the Italian Formula One circuit in Monza, Italy, 09 September 2011. The Grand Prix of Italy will take place on 11 September 2011.
Check out this interactive map of the circuit.
Nigel Roddis / Reuters
Ferrari Formula One driver Fernando Alonso of Spain has a pit stop during the British F1 Grand Prix at Silverstone, central England, July 11.
Clive Mason / Getty Images
Fernando Alonso of Spain and Ferrari drives on his way to winning the British Formula One Grand Prix at the Silverstone Circuit on July 10, in Northampton, England.
Nigel Roddis / Reuters
Ferrari Formula One driver Fernando Alonso of Spain celebrates winning the British F1 Grand Prix at Silverstone, central England, July 11.
Paul Gilham / Getty Images
Fernando Alonso of Spain and Ferrari celebrates on the podium after winning the British Formula One Grand Prix at the Silverstone Circuit on July 11.
It's been a tough season for Ferrari this year, and even though Alonso's been driving well, this was his first win of the season. Read the full story here.
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