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Monday, March 31, 2008
By JOHNNY BUCK - Bulletin Staff Writer
T. Taylor Warren, a longtime racing photographer and Martinsville resident, was honored Sunday during pre-race ceremonies of the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Warren, 83, received the H. Clay Earles Award, given in honor of the Martinsville Speedway founder to recognize individuals who have made an impact on the sport of NASCAR through their life’s work.
“T. Taylor probably paved the way for the majority of photographers that are covering this sport today. He was a pioneer going back to the earliest days of the sport,” said Clay Campbell, president of the speedway and grandson of Earles. “He’s been around it so long, and a lot of guys that are in it today have T. Taylor to thank.”
During post-race ceremonies in Victory Lane, track officials had Warren pose with winner Denny Hamlin so the moment could be commemorated on film, something the photographer has done countless times in his career.
Warren covered his first race in 1948, a midget-car event held in Milwaukee, Wis. Since that time, he’s become a fixture at racetracks across the country, well known for his timely shots of on-track action as well as pit-road scenes.
Warren has photographed all 50 runnings of the Daytona 500, and he has been the official photographer for Goody’s Headache Powders for 31 years, dating back to the product’s first association with NASCAR.
Though many of his peers have long since retired, Warren said the friendships he has created keep him coming to the races, a change from the beginning of his career, when he attended races in order to sell pictures and make a living.
“Well in your early days you had to keep coming back. If you shot one (event) you had to bring (the photos) back next race to peddle them,” he said on Saturday. “Now it’s the people that I meet and my friends that I know at the track.”
Warren was working at Martinsville Speedway over the weekend, something he’s done at virtually every race since 1952. As usual, he was clad in a photojournalist’s vest loaded with equipment that has become a virtual trademark of the legendary photographer.
Warren said Martinsville probably is his favorite race to shoot.
“I prefer the shorter tracks to the great big ones, because you can get to more locations and get a variety of shots at the shorter tracks,” he explained.
During pre-race ceremonies, Warren also received the Doug Agee Award, given annually at the speedway to a person or persons who most embodies the value and spirit of Agee, a pioneer of racing promotions. He was a longtime employee of Goody’s.
Karen Parker, business development and partnerships director at the Martinsville Speedway, also received the Doug Agee Award.
Though Warren is perhaps best known for a 1959 finish-line photo that helped decide the winner of the first Daytona 500, he was hesitant to claim one picture as the best of his career.
“I always say the next one that I shoot,” he answered when asked about his favorite photo. “I’m always looking for the next one I shoot to be a great one.”
Warren gave no indication he has retirement plans.
“You pace yourself,” he said. “You do what you can and let the rest of it go. (But) you try to do as much as you can; you don’t ignore things. You just keep going.”
When asked which is greater — his love of racing or his love of photography — Warren said it’s the art form he prefers.
“I guess it would be like an artist painting something,” he said. “I can do it with a camera, and triumph over chemistry and optics and all.
“I’ve had an enjoyable life,” he said.
Bulletin sports writer Drew Eary contributed to this story.
http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/...e.cfm?ID=13191
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