A rider for Arclight Racing dabs his knee in the grass at Grattan Raceway during a WERA National Endurance race there in 1991. (Larry Lawrence photo)

I don’t know why, but I really enjoy photos of road racers dragging their knee in the grass next to the track. This is one of Arclight Racing’s riders dragging a knee in the green at Grattan in 1991.

Maybe it’s the precision it takes to ride that extreme inside line, letting the knee drag wherever it lands, but for some reason these are very desirable and rare photos.

I’ve never shot Fontana, but I understand there’s a turn there that a lot of riders drag their knees through the grass.

I had a popular photographer tell me once that he was shooting catalog shots for a manufacturer. There were tons of shots with the riders dragging their knees through a turn. One shot had a rider dragging his knee through the grass. The photographer was excited by this variation. The account executive for the ad agency pulled that photo out and said “We can’t use this.” The photographer was puzzled. The ad exec replied that a promotional photo of a rider dragging his knee through the grass might inspire street riders to try that. Hmm, OK??? I guess dragging your knee on the pavement is perfectly acceptable, but should that knee venture over to the edge of the grass… well that’s just too radical!