Stop and smell the race car

Photo courtesy of: jameswlietz

By Zack Klapman

Race cars move really fast.

Wait, that came out wrong.

When you watch a race on TV, or live, we don’t really get to appreciate the beauty and nuances that they provide; the difference from street cars. TV cameras are far away, spectators are cordoned off miles away behind safety barriers and fences and other visual obstructions. But even if your eyeball was on the rumble strip, you wouldn’t be able to take in everything these cars offer. Being able to slow things down gives you a new appreciation for race cars. That’s why I’m such a big fan of slow motion videos like this one.

That’s why I wanted to post this picture, to slow things down, to let you look over this Krohn Racing 458, running hard during this year’s 12 Hours of Sebring. Frozen, we see the massive fireball exiting its screaming V8, the modified bodywork that (in my opinion) only enhances the 458’s natural character. The lime-green paint, lit up by fire and flash, looks surprisingly glossy after hours of running hard. Rather than focusing on the team’s position, the running order, the flag marshals, watching speed differentials and trying to ignore Breitling ads, we get to stop and admire the individual car, separating it -for a moment- from the larger organism that is the race.

Of course, pictures have no sound (Thanks for nothing, NASA!). But that’s what this video is for.