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Kneeling (left to right) Bobby Marshall, Shane Carson. Standing
(left to right) Rick Nichols, Dub May, Bobby Allen, Steve
Kinser, Ted Johnson, Danny Smith, Johnny Beaber, Rick Ferkel,
Sammy Swindell, Lee Osborne, and Don Mack.
Costa: How did your passion for Sprint Cars and Midgets come about?
Marderness:
It was mainly through my
parents. My parents really enjoyed the races. We went Friday
nights, Saturday nights and Sunday’s. That was our main
thing that we did together. We would take a picnic lunch
along, and we had a nice family outing.
Costa: How long have you been shooting the sport?
Marderness:
I began doing a lot of
shooting with ‘super-8’ film - in the ‘60’s and early
70’s. Then in about ’76, I switched to stills. But when I
was a kid, I had a Brownie camera, and I took it along to the
races and took pictures.
Costa: You go way back my friend. For example, you have some famous
pictures from the first ever World of Outlaws banquet. What
was that first banquet like?
Marderness:
Well the first one was a
nice sit down dinner believe it or not. It wasn’t
rough-and-tumble like one would probably think. Everybody was
dressed real well and it was really well run. I have pictures
of people at tables together and a lot of great memories from
the first banquet.
Costa: You were taking amazing photos before all the new technology hit
the streets…
Marderness:
I wasn’t too good at
it in the beginning. I’ll tell you, Mike Arthur helped me a
lot in the beginning. I got to know him when I was traveling
around, and saw him every now and then. Mike really helped me
with the technology part of it.
Costa: Who were some of your favorite drivers to photograph?
Marderness:
Well, my favorite driver
was Tommy Hinershitz. Unfortunately, I only have one shot of
him. I just really admired him. Back in about ’87, I had the
opportunity to sit down with him for about 2-hours. To me,
that was one of the biggest thing’s to happen to me in my
life. Shane Carson was fun to photograph, and we’re real
good friends. You can’t beat Steve Kinser. Jan Opperman and
Toby Tobias were fantastic too shoot too. There are just too
many to mention; I have a bunch of favorites.
Costa: What’s your favorite picture that you’ve taken?
Marderness:
Oh, I don’t know if I
have a favorite. I have a candid of Opperman that I took in
’77, with his brother’s hat on, and he’s winking.
There’s just so many that I enjoy. The first picture from
the Outlaw banquet, with all the drivers in it, is very
special. Another picture that I find special is the picture
that was published in Open Wheel #1. It had the top-3
finishers from the ’79 season; Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell,
Rick Ferkel, and Ted Johnson in the background.
Costa:
Who staged that picture?
Marderness:
I did. I asked them to
do it, and they were so willing, because they were just
getting the Outlaws going, and any PR that they could get,
they were happy to help in any way.
’79 World of Outlaws top-3.
(L-R) Champion, Steve Kinser, (2nd) Sammy Swindell,
(3rd) Rick Ferkel. In the background is Ted
Johnson.
Costa: You and well known writer John Sawyer, sure hit a lot of races
together…
Marderness:
Yes we did travel a lot
together. We went to wherever we felt that we wanted to go,
and wherever the races that we thought would be interesting.
John and I met at East Bay Raceway in ’77. He saw that I was
taking photographs, and asked if I would be willing to
contribute some photos for his stories. That’s how we got to
know each other, and we’re still very good friends today.
Costa:
I’ve heard stories about you two. You both sacrificed a lot
of sleep in those early years…
Marderness:
(laughs) Yes we did. In early March for instance, Sawyer and I
would catch a flight out early on a Friday, and catch the
Friday and Saturday Outlaw shows at Devil’s Bowl, or
wherever they might be. If it was a Sunday race, we would
catch the ‘red-eye’ back, and get in at 3-or-4 in the
morning, and then go to work; we did a lot of that.
Costa: Just like a driver having to make adjustments from winged to
non-wing racing, do you have to do the same taking pictures?
Marderness:
Oh yeah, I do. If
you’re shooting non-wing cars for a while, then all of a
sudden you’re shooting winged cars, sometimes you will cut
off the top of the wing, because you didn’t make the
adjustment for the wing at the top. Then when I shoot non-wing
cars, the car may be too far forward and things like that. You
have to really keep thinking.
Costa:
Any advice for the aspiring motorsports photographer’s out
there?
Marderness:
You need a real good
flash, and I also would
suggest a real good lens. I don’t think a real expensive
camera is as important as the lens, and the flash. Nowadays,
because of insurance reasons at some of these tracks, you can
only get so close to the action, so you will need a good flash
and lens, to carry the picture.
Costa:
What tracks did you really enjoy shooting at?
Marderness:
East Bay was a real nice
track to shoot at. You could get fairly close there, and it
was safe. I loved shooting Eldora in the ‘70’s. Terre
Haute is probably my favorite ½-mile track; they really put
on a show there. Gas City would be another one; it is the
ultimate photographers delight. The way they motor in there
coming into turn-3 is just amazing!
“The Dude” in deep thought
at the ’91 Knoxville Nationals
Costa: So what’s on the horizon for you, Gene?
Marderness:
I photograph for two
Sprint Car clubs. One is the Tampa
Bay Area Racing Association (TBARA) and the other is a new
club, which Don Rehm started in 2008, called the Checkered
Flag Sprint Series (CFSS). I knew a lot of the people from
years ago. They’ve got a good mix of drivers; they’re a
real fun group.
Costa:
Your sacrifices and dedication are not overlooked. Thank you
for everything that you’ve done for our sport…
Marderness:
Thank you, I really
appreciate that. But there’s other guys, who have done more
than me, and also go to a lot more races today than I do.
Photographers, Mike Arthur, Ken Coles, and Dennis Krieger,
just to name a few, have helped me so much along the way. I
just love this sport, and the people involved in it are
fantastic.
Catch a bunch more of
“Genes’ Gems” at: http://www.stevehardin.com/marderness.htm
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