TRIBUTE : ROGER RICHARDS
vibration , and it works its way out .”
Roger quickly realized he found his new calling . After photographing around 3,000 weddings , Roger started to phase out weddings and portraiture in favor of drag racing events . It was a dramatic switch in subject matter .
“ I don ’ t have to tell a car to smile or anything ,” he says . “ Three thousand weddings ... that ’ s 6,000 mother-in-laws . I don ’ t have to put up with that in drag racing . And I ’ ve never seen a bride do a burnout down the aisle and burst into flames at the altar . This is a lot more interesting . And it ’ s new every time we come . It ’ s the same , but every race is different . Every venue is different .”
The Army veteran eventually started traveling outside the Southeast to cover events . He ’ d often plan road trips with fellow photographers , stopping off at whatever looked interesting or planning detours to visit major attractions . He put tens of thousands of miles on his Mercedes
Sprinter van known as “ MoJo .”
“ I used to fly everywhere to go to the races , then people asked me , ‘ What does Pomona look like ?’ I ’ d say , ‘ Well , it ’ s about a quarter-mile long and it ’ s got stands on each side .’ ‘ What does Epping look like ?’ ‘ Well , it ’ s about a quarter-mile long , stands on each side .’ Everything looked the same . So , I started driving . Now , 15 or 16 years down the road driving , I get to visit all the great places , all the national parks , in between these events .”
Roger was proud of the fact that he was there to witness many of the “ firsts ” in the sport . He ’ d point out that he wasn ’ t there for Kenny Bernstein ’ s first 300-mph pass or other iconic milestones in the sport . But he was there for the first-ever Southeast Gassers Association race when the series was formed by Quain Stott , who Roger met at his first IHRA race when Quain earned his first Pro Mod win . He was there to photograph the first victories of many racers he befriended over the years . Roger was also at the first Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod in Denver and the first World Doorslammer Nationals in Orlando . He relished his role in documenting drag racing history .
“ A lot of people think that I was here when the first car went down the track in fifty-something , but drag racing , except for watching a little bit of Wide World of Sports on TV , didn ’ t exist in my life
until ‘ 99 ,” Roger points out in Simmons ’ video . “ I don ’ t have all that history . All this is new to me . A lot of people talk about the good old days . This is the good old days for me .”
Roger befriended racers , crew chiefs , crew members , team owners , race officials , fellow media members , and the family and friends of racers who looked to Roger for photos and updates from the races . The drag racing community embraced him , just as he embraced it .
“ The cars and the speed and the numbers , that ’ s all impressive . But it ’ s the people that make it ,” Roger says . “ Somebody asked me at one point in time , what ’ s the best part of all this . I said I make more friends than I make pictures . That ’ s the great thing about all this .”
Roger ’ s impact on the drag racing community was obvious as news of his passing spread online . Friends and fans shared favorite memories and photos of Roger . I ’ ve gathered a few of those tributes from fellow media members here . The first comes from Bobby Bennett ’ s tribute on CompetitionPlus . com .
“ I know Heaven gained an awesome angel today ,” Bennett said . “ He will be easy to spot in the chorus . Roger will be the angel with the backward hat and a camera hanging off his shoulder . He ’ ll be spouting terrible puns and even worse , Dad jokes . And his fellow angels will cringe and laugh out of sympathy , but they will love him like we all did down here . Where he ’ s at , there ’ s no more pain or heartbreak . Best of all , there ’ s drag racing and chicken livers every day . Thank you for believing in me when I wasn ’ t worth believing in . It was just you being you .”
“ Fourteen years ago , Roger Richards invited me on the road with him for three weeks to cover pre-season testing in Phoenix and Las Vegas for Competition Plus ,” said Chris Graves , who was a photographer before launching Funny Car Chaos and Nitro Chaos . “ It was an absolute blast as you can imagine ! Roger never had an issue making people laugh . Since then , we became sushi buddies , he was one of the only people Tera would let give her a kiss on the cheek , we made many more memories in the years to come . He was also there for Tera ’ s Funny Car license passes and captured images we will cherish forever .”
“ Lost another friend this morning , this one a surprise ,” said Dave Kommel . “ Spent a lot of time with Roger in various media centers and shooting at dozens of racetracks . He was a good friend with a quirky sense of humor and he was the photo backbone of competitionplus . com . RIP My Friend ! You will be missed !”
Roger would probably blush upon hearing all of the compliments that friends have shared . He took his work seriously , but he never took himself too seriously . He was often the first to arrive at the track ’ s media center and the last to leave . Through his actions and attitude , he reminded everyone around him that this drag racing stuff is supposed to be fun . Rain or shine , early or late , Roger always enjoyed himself and made sure those around him did the same .
“ I don ’ t consider myself the best one out here ,” Roger said . “ There are tons of people out here who can take better pictures and do better than I , but there ’ s not anyone who has more fun than me .
“ I retired in ‘ 92 from the corporate world . I haven ’ t used an alarm clock since 1992 ,” he points out in the CPTV video . “ Not many people can say that . It ’ s been a heck of a career .” DI
52 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 190