ARREL JACKSON Jr . didn ’ t set out to become a photographer , but he ’ s grateful that ’ s where his drag racing path took him . His father , Darrel Jackson Sr ., raced a ’ 78 Cutlass Supreme in IHRA Hot Rod when Jackson Jr . was growing up . The youngest sibling of three sisters , Jackson Jr . made race car noises as a young child , and as soon as he was old enough to hold a wrench , he was out in the

garage helping his dad work on the car or going racing with him at local tracks like Maryland International Raceway .

Jackson Sr . stopped racing when his son was in middle school , but Jackson Jr . kept going to the track to hang out with his buddies who raced . He would also take videos from the wall , and longtime friend and photographer Anthony Pinder approached him about shooting some races for him . Jackson started shooting for Pinder in 2018 before eventually buying his own camera and branching out to start JRC Photos . He primarily photographs events at MIR , though he ’ s also traveled up and down the East Coast .

“ Because I ’ m in Maryland most of the time , I mainly focused on Northeast Outlaw Pro Mods because that ’ s what I watched growing up ,” says Jackson , who lives outside Washington D . C . “ Then PDRA opened up their arms to me when I was 25 . I started shooting their events then and it hasn ’ t stopped .”

Jackson , 29 , strives to improve his work every time he heads to an event . Whether he ’ s studying his own photos for areas to improve or bouncing ideas off fellow photographers , he ’ s always trying to produce better photos .

“ When I started , it was mainly about trying to nail the basics ,” Jackson says . “ I ’ m a perfectionist to an extent . I always try to get everything sharp as I can . I just want everything to be clean and clear so you know what ’ s going on in the picture .”

Jackson says he grew up watching VHS tapes , DVDs , and later YouTube videos from races that he couldn ’ t attend . He also followed the work of veteran photographers like Roger Richards and John Fore III before he realized he would one day share the wall with them .

“ I looked at their photos growing up because I knew there were certain races I couldn ’ t get to and that ’ s what I used to visualize being there ,” Jackson says . “ The media team , especially since working with the PDRA , has made me realize how important it is to the racers . Whether you ’ re a photographer or videographer or journalist , you tell the story of the racers .”

Since there are no race wins , world records , or championships in the world of drag racing photography , Jackson has his own defined goals . One of them , getting photos published in this magazine , happened earlier this year . He hopes to have his work published even more in the future , all while growing his JRC Photos brand .

“ Nobody knew who I was four or five years ago ,” says Jackson , who thanked his father for getting him started in racing , as well as his mother , his sister , and his girlfriend for their support of his photographic endeavors . “ After working side by side with some of the best people in the business , I can say that I can walk through the staging lanes and people know who I am when they see me . I just want to continue to do that and just grow as a person while doing that .” – NATE VAN WAGNEN DI

148 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 185