The top end, the big end, the stripe, the shutdown area. Whatever you call it, the part of a drag strip just past the finish line is easily the busiest part of the racetrack. With engines shutting down, parachutes deploying, and drivers trying to get themselves stopped, it makes for a great and dangerous photo location. Parachutes can shift and gather up people, equipment, or gear. Exploding cars can spray hot parts and oil all over the place. Crashing cars can jump the very barriers that the shooters are standing behind and leave them exposed to big injury. Thankfully the photographers and drivers all made it out OK from Famoso despite some scary times involving a couple of AA/FA competitors late in the race.
These photos were all shot from the shutdown area and we dig the because anytime you get to see cars like these with the parachutes out it means that they have gone really fast and that they’re really trucking hard across the finish line. Famoso is pretty long and it basically just kinds of goes out into the nothingness. Between the dragsters, funny cars, altereds, and other vehicles shown here, there’s something for everyone!
Click the images to expand them and then scroll through to see ’em all with your arrow keys
