They Almost Won the Indianapolis 500: Second Place Finishers

ByZach Dobson May 24, 2023May 24, 2023

I went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum this spring, and seeing as the Indy 500 is this weekend, now is a great time to share the photos!

The winner of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race gets their name and likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy. The second place finisher gets nothing (well, some money, I suppose). Until now.

The exhibit Second is currently running at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. It features some of the cars and stories of second place drivers who never went on to win the famed race.

I was hired to photograph the exhibit for the museum for promotional and archival purposes. Here are some of my photos…

Second exhibit at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum

Car detail at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum — The cars in the foreground are Indy 500 winners on permanent display. The yellow #32 car on the left is the winner of the first race in 1911.

Car detail at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Michael Andretti.

Car detail at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Billy Vukovich

This Sunday, I’ll be at the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 documenting the experience as a spectator. So keep an eye on the blog and my social media to see the photos!

If you want to see more amazing cars like the ones from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Muesum, check out these posts from the Dream Cars exhibit at Newfields and a trip to the car show Carmel Artomobilia.

documentary | PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS | winter

Moody Photos of Night Snow

ByZach Dobson February 19, 2021February 17, 2025

Twenty years into photography, it’s rare to find a subject I haven’t already photographed in some capacity. Enter Night Snow. Whenever possible, I get outside when it’s snowing those big, fat beautiful flakes, but I had never tried it at night. First, it required me to do something I absolutely hate: take a tripod. I’m…

Bottleworks Development by Hendricks Commercial Properties, including a West Elm hotel designed by Ratio Architects. In partnership with Pivot Marketing. Images by Zach Dobson.

architecture | commercial | construction

Bottleworks District

ByZach Dobson May 6, 2019May 6, 2019

Bottleworks District is a massive development underway in downtown Indianapolis. This past weekend I took a tour of the property with Hendricks and their marketing partner Pivot. In 1931 Coca-Cola built a state-of-the-art bottling facility in Indy. It’s an amazing example of Art Deco architecture. Unfortunately, the property was used primarily as bus storage for…

documentary | events | outdoors

Christkindlmarkt

ByZach Dobson November 21, 2017November 23, 2019

This past weekend was the grand opening of the Carmel Christkindlmarkt. I stopped by on Sunday evening to check out the scene. It’s a beautiful setup with the Palladium in the background. The iceskating is affordable, and there are special deals on Wednesday and Thursday, so be sure to check out the website for details:…

architecture | sports

New Butler Esports Park in Indianapolis

ByZach Dobson October 26, 2022January 19, 2023

Photographing the new Butler Esports Park was my second photoshoot this year in esports. It’s been great learning about this new frontier in sports and technology. Both photoshoots have been for the architect of the new arenas, Populous. Their attention to detail is incredible and I’ve enjoyed showing it off in the photos. It’s also…

personal legend project

Personal Legend Project: Kurt Braunohler

ByZach Dobson September 16, 2016

Kurt Braunohler, Comedian The first time I photographed comedian Kurt Braunohler was at RIOT Comedy Festival in Los Angeles in 2014. At that RIOT show, his joy and enthusiasm for performing was immediately evident and there was a great connection with the crowd. That’s exactly the sort of thing I’m looking to document with this series. So when I…

outdoors

Turkey Run

ByZach Dobson September 5, 2017August 7, 2019

Driving though northern and central Indiana, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the entire state is flat farmland or forests. Turkey Run State Park is not something you’d expect to encounter. The sandstone gorges created by Sugar Creek make for great climbing and exploring. The park was on our summer bucket list, so when the…