Short Track Photographs by Jake Mendel. Text by Darius Himes Published by Powerhouse Books, 2009.
Passion, drive and mud fill the pages of Jake Mendel's book
Short Track, published by powerHouse Books. In the 77 black and white photographs determination and the ghost of Dale Earnhardt show their faces. This is not a surprise, but gives credence to the authenticity of the fans, drivers and wrench turners pictured. Racing is their life, not a recreation.
NASCAR is the American juggernaut of stock car racing – Mendel brings forth the attitude and roots of the racing series. Short tracks are where racing found these roots. The attitude comes from guys who spend every spare dollar on parts, tires and gas to race. Guys who always have dirt under their fingernails. Guys who put it all on the line each time they climb into their car. Guys who go by names like "Sheepherder."
Short Track, by Jake Mendel. Published by Powerhouse Books, 2009.
Short Track, by Jake Mendel. Published by Powerhouse Books, 2009.
The beauty of the book is that Mendel takes us to the home work areas (which are usually outside) and into the infield, where most fans do not go. Best of all we get an in car camera, something which is rarely seen. The spreads on pages 52, 53 and 54, 55 take the reader into a passenger seat that does not exist, right in front of the wire covering the area formerly known as the windshield. For the race fan who can't be in the car, it is the best substitute. It is always the best angle.
Mendel occasionally strays from his natural eye to the predictable image, which is the weakness of the book. His action pictures of the racing lack from not having enough of a lens. He gives us what is normally expected of a photographer going to such a venue.
Short Track, by Jake Mendel. Published by Powerhouse Books, 2009.
Thanks to Thomas Palmer’s separations, the duotone images come to life on the page. Kiki Bauer's type treatment is clever with the page numbers in an outline Helvetica typeface, however her use of the bold italic for Darius Himes' funny and insightful essay is a bit hard on the eyes. Sometimes a rational typeface needs to stay rational.
Short Track succeeds when it takes me back to the times when my father and I would go to the races together and get wrapped in action on track. A faceless driver balances his car on the knife edge of success or failure, depending on the corner. Those drivers are given a face in this book. The culture of the short track is painted in respectful tones of black, white and gray.
—Tom Leininger
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