Rain, pestilence, blowed-up jet dryer trucks … it was a seriously weird Daytona 500. Then again, when is a three hour high speed traffic jam NOT weird? Don’t answer that; it was strictly rhetorical. Besides, any time I have questions about stock car racing (a pretty rare occurrence), I go straight to the source: The Weavinator. For damn near two weeks, my esteemed colleague has roamed the Daytona Speedway, camera in hand, backpack in place, blissful grin on his face. I haven’t seen him this happy since Eastern Carolina Barbecue was declared its own food group. Still, all road trips must come to an end, so after Mother Nature took a whiz on Sunday’s race, Weaver and the gang pointed their own vehicles North and came the hell on home. Some decompression is still needed, but I’m happy to report our old friends is back to speaking in complete sentences (though he does keep thanking the boys back in the shop). We here at Lenslinger Racing are glad the fellas made it back safely, though there’s little time for a victory lap. You see…

I’m jetting West.

Only for a couple of days, mind you, and not alone. Very soon, reporter Shannon Smith and I will fly to Los Angeles to work the American Idol red carpet. I know what you’re thinking: “Again? Haven’t you suffered enough covering that overwrought juggernaut?” Well… no. Yes. No. Truth is, I enjoy my backstage pass, for there’s no better way to witness the pangs of adulation than to spend some time inside the soul-warping vortex that is American Idol. Just ask Clay Aiken, Fantasia, Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler and Scotty McCreery. They’ve all passed through my glass on the way to stardom and just trailing in their wake can wreck your perspective. This time it’s a lovely young lady named Chelsea Sorrell who’s made it into the Top 24 and later this week we’ll be in Hollywood to see if she makes the Top 12…

So yeah, even lifer photogs need their diversions. Weaver’s got grown men driving in circles, I got delusional ingenues channeling Whitney Houston. Don’t judge us!