Spotlight: Tony Stewart at the 2005 Rumble in Ft Wayne

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Tony Stewart is introduced prior to the 2005 Rumble in Ft Wayne as announcer Pat Sullivan whips the crowd into a frenzy (listen to audio).

This is a particular “Indiana Racing Moment” that has stayed with me for quite some time now. I was standing on the track taking photos and recording the sounds of drivers being introduced at the Rumble in Ft Wayne (an indoor midget race). I have a lot of photos of drivers doing the traditional polite little wave to the crowd with the traditional smattering of polite applause. But Tony Stewart is an Indiana racing legend (not to mention a racing legend in general). His presence at the Rumble in Ft Wayne helps to absolutely pack the place with fans.

As announcer Pat Sullivan read through the list of Stewart’s racing career highlights and people figured out who was coming next the crowd got louder and louder until the point when he declared him “the best racing driver of our time!” at which point people really went nuts!! I quickly turned 180 degrees and grabbed this shot. On its own, it’s not the greatest photo ever, but I really like the glare of the spotlight and how you can just make out the crowd and the cars in the background. The addition of the audio is what really captures the “moment”.

Photo by Paul Woods, December 30, 2005.