Through the Lens: McIntyre Imaging’s 2025 Indy 500 Recap

The world sees moments in images after they’re captured. What is not seen is the work, planning, and storytelling behind them.

While more than 350,000 fans fill the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indianapolis 500, a much smaller group works behind the scenes throughout the month of May to document the event in real time to tell the story

I am one of those people and a member of the Boone County Chamber of Commerce.

Please allow me to introduce myself and share some insight into what it takes to capture content at the Indianapolis 500. I am Rick McIntyre, a professional photographer with more than 15 years of experience, owner of McIntyre Imaging, and a Chamber member since last November.

Throughout the year, you may find me working with clients at sporting events, capturing headshots, and producing commercial and digital content for websites, social media, events, and a wide range of other projects. I also have the distinct honor of serving as the photographer or BorgWarner during the Indianapolis 500 and select events throughout the year, documenting and helping market one of the world’s most iconic sporting events and organizations.

The images I capture help bring the story of the Indianapolis 500 to life across BorgWarner’s global marketing and media partner channels, with images featured this year in Forbes, NewsNation, and WTHR.

Capturing the Indianapolis 500 extends far beyond race day. It’s a month-long production requiring adaptability, consistency, and skill, taking me from high-speed on-track photography at over 220 mph to quiet behind-the-scenes moments, executive events, and everything in between to tell the broader story of the event and BorgWarner’s long-standing involvement.

My approach to the month, and every photo shoot, is to arrive with a plan that identifies the key moments to capture. In this case, there are about a dozen moments I have to get exactly right. No retakes. No second chances.

It’s not about following the plan to a tee; spontaneity, collaboration with the BorgWarner team, and my creativity play a critical role in capturing the moments, and having an efficient content delivery process allows me to quickly curate and distribute content, enabling marketing and media teams to publish stories and content near real-time when needed.

As the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words” , I’ll let the images and captions tell the story of the 19 days, 2,500 unique images, and 75+ miles of walking needed to capture content of this year’s Indianapolis 500.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Every year, the past winners in the race are photographed with the BorgWarner trophy by a publication. My role this year was to capture behind-the-scenes and candids. By the way…. The nine drivers in the photo represent 14 Indianapolis 500 wins

FOX Sports Promotional Shoot …..