CHRR Photo Contest

Veteran Photographers Win Awards in Leslie Lovett Memorial Contest

Photos by Marc Gewertz and Dave Kommel

Roy Robinson, Lions Drag Strip's track photographer in the mid-1960s, has won the 2017 Leslie Lovett Memorial Photo Contest for a parachute shot of the Adams, Rasmussen & Stewart slingshot in the shutdown area of the famed Wilmington, California, facility.

Staged in conjunction with the annual NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion at Famoso Raceway, drag racing's most prestigious art show honors the memory of Lovett, the late National Dragster photographer, with action and static images at least 25 years old. Coincidentally, pictured dragster driver Rick Stewart served as this reunion's grand marshal and proudly posed with the Lions image during Sunday's awards ceremony.

Dave Wallace Jr. (left) and former driver and NHRA starter, Rick Stewart, with Roy Robinson’s winning photo.  (Marc Gewertz photo)

Robinson was not aware that his winning print would be entered into competition, let alone lead the voting by a panel of veteran writers, editors and photographers. Roy and fellow photographer Don Hale, who manages their joint film archive, intended the print as a surprise for the grand marshal, asking contest coordinator Dave Wallace Jr. to personally deliver the gift to Stewart. Wallace delayed that gift presentation for the duration of contest judging, displaying the photo alongside other entries in tribute to a local hero who lived and worked in Bakersfield before retiring to Texas. When the ballots were counted, Robinson and Stewart came out on top.

Veteran freelancer Doug Adams finished a close second for capturing the Hemi engine that broke free from Jimmy Nix's blown-over fueler during the 1992 NHRA Winternationals.

Doug Adams (left) with his second-place photo and Dave Wallace.   (Marc Gewertz photo)

The third-place trophy and ribbon went to one of the popular contest's youngest-ever participants, 47-year-old Marc Gewertz, Les Lovett's successor as National Dragster's current lead photographer. Gewertz was 22 when he captured rare side-by-side fireballs ignited by Eddie Hill and Clayton Harris at the 1992 NHRA Mile-High Nationals.

Wallace with third-place winner, Marc Gewertz.  (Dave Kommel photo)

Trophies, ribbons and prime display space in Famoso Raceway's midway are supplied annually by the staff of NHRA's Wally Parks Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California.