Charlotte Motor Speedway’s p.r. department asked me to photograph the press conference today in which Governor Beverly Perdue made stock car racing North Carolina’s official sport. The governor told the story of how a group of fourth- and fifth-grade students from Lake Norman Elementary School and Mt. Mourne IB School in Iredell County originated the bill and spent a year getting it passed. Other attendees included NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees Ned Jarrett and Bobby Allison, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver David Ragan, and CMS President and General Manager Marcus Smith.

Here are some of the photographs I took for the speedway.