About: David Allio
As a veteran motorsports photographer, David Allio instinctively looks ahead to capture the legendary people and that breathtaking moment in motor sports photography. The national-award winning photo journalist has been focusing on the challenging subject of racing from fender-banging stock cars to 300-mph dragsters for over 40 years. Allio has provided images as the lead photographer to 10 major race tracks, a greater number of racing series, countless publications, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and is chief photographer for the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Kentucky Speedway.
Allio has been the official chief track photographer for the Las Vegas Motor Speedway since late season 2003. In 2011, he was assigned to a similar position at Kentucky Speedway. His primary duties at these tracks owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. include professional photography from selected major events, plus selection and management of a staff of contract automotive photographers.
Allio officially began his career as a professional stock car racing photographer in 1974. He learned how-to become a racing photographer by filming auto racing at a time when many of today’s legends were honing their skills on the same legendary short tracks across the nation. His car and candid photography archives contain images of all of the top 50 NASCAR Cup Series winners, including many from their early days before becoming champions and legends in speed sports.
As an automotive photographer for hire, Allio built a professional reputation and expanded his auto racing photography techniques from experience at nearly 300 different race tracks to include stock cars, sprint cars, and motorcycles in short track oval racing; sports cars and motorcycles on road courses; quarter-mile drag racing; off-road racing; arena motorcycles and monster trucks; and stock cars and open wheel cars on superspeedways around the world. He was a NASCAR contract photographer for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, and the RJR sports marketing photographer for NASCAR Winston West, NASCAR Winston Racing Series, NASCAR Winston Modified Tour, AMA Camel Supercross, AMA Camel Pro, USHRA Camel Mud and Monster Series, IHRA and NHRA Winston Drag Racing, and the IMSA Camel GT Series.
Allio’s racing photographs have appeared in every major motor sports and mainstream sports publication in the world. His historic images frequently appear in books. Some of those history books have required revision because the text did not match the historic evidence recorded in his photography.
Since 1978, this recognized media member of both Nikon and Canon Professional Services has also conducted workshops and provided tutorials on motor sport photography and car photography methods. In a career that extends into a fifth decade, this winner of multiple AARWBA awards for motor sports photographic excellence has competition proven credentials as one of the best motorcycle and automobile photographers in the United States and beyond. He has also been a member of the Eastern Motorsports Press Association (EMPA) and the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA).
