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NASCAR® THUNDER
The race is off! Fireworks burst on the horizon as countless spectators roar and overhead six Thunderbirds tear through the dancing clouds. In the foreground, forty-three mighty race cars thunder by as The King himself, Richard Petty, waves the green flag for the start of the 50th Running of the DAYTONA 500®. As I stand at my trackside easel, painting furiously, the electricity and spectacle of the moment is almost overwhelming.
In my Studio Masterwork release of the Great American Race, I have tried to capture the power of the starting moment while paying tribute to the history of this one-of-a-kind NASCAR® event. On Pit Road you’ll find a parade of vintage race cars that once roared along the track, while grandstands overflow with fans of all generations, including a few familiar faces you might discover.
I have always believed that a painting can capture the pageantry and energy of historic events like no other medium, and my goal as I painted NASCAR® THUNDER The 50th Running of the DAYTONA 500® was to document this classic event for race fans everywhere.
- Thomas Kinkade has included fifty N’s in NASCAR® THUNDER The 50th Running of the DAYTONA 500® as a tribute to his love for his wife Nanette.
- Thom was invited and officially licensed by NASCAR® to paint the commemorative portrait of the 50th running of the DAYTONA 500®, and he has included some special friends in this release: is that Thomas and Nanette Kinkade? Whose cars are those on Pit Road? And can you find the famous drivers in the stands?
- As Thom worked feverishly on NASCAR® THUNDER, with specks of paint scattered all over his new shirt, he exclaimed to his brother “I’m into it! Stand aside or I’ll get paint on you, too.”
- By the week’s end Thom had completed several charcoal sketches and three oil sketches of various scenes that grasped the true culture of the DAYTONA 500® while unlocking what makes it such a special place each February. The sketches completed on location were Plein Air versions, which focuses on capturing the light and energy of the event in natural time. Thom frequently uses those versions to generate his Limited Edition Studio Masterworks, which takes hundreds on hours to compete.
- In the fiftieth running of the DAYTONA 500®, Ryan Newman passed Tony Stewart on the last lap to win the most anticipated event in racing history and hoist the gold Harley J. Earl trophy in the air.
- On February 17 2008, Daytona International Speedway hosted the most anticipated event in racing history: The 50th Running of the DAYTONA 500® forty-three cars participated, the twenty-four living DAYTONA 500® Champions served as Grand Marshals. The first DAYTONA 500® was hosted on February 22,1959.
- DAYTONA 500® is known as The Great American Race, and traditionally hosts a sell out crowd. NASCAR® events typically add $100-200 million to local and regional economies and have larger crowds than major baseball, basketball and football sporting events combined! It is televised weekly in more than 150 countries around the world in over thirty different languages.
| Title | NASCAR® THUNDER |
| Published | May 2008 |
| Subject Location | Daytona Beach, Florida |
Image Sizes
24″ x 36″
28″ x 42″
40″ x 60″
In Stock
18" x 27" RE Edition (Signed by Thomas Kinkade, Lightpost Remarque on verso side)
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