Today’s Post by Joe Farace
If you ever find yourself in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I suggest you make the short trip to Los Ranchos and visit the Unser Racing Museum.
Unlike a lot of car collections, the Unser Museum is actually a museum and uses modern technologies to educate and immerse visitors in the world of motorsports. While there you can take a guided tour and learn about the Unser family history from the early days of racing from Pikes Peak and Indianapolis, including a racing simulator and interactive kiosks with details on many of the cars on display.
The museum staff is friendly and knowledgeable and I had a great time talking with them about the histories of the different cars. And on display they are featuring state-of-the-art lighting creating a dramatic environment but photographers may find they need to shoot at higher than normal ISO settings.
How I made the above shot: After some experimentation I ending up using ISO 6400 on the Canon EOS Rebel T3 I had with me to make the above photograph. Lens was EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS set at 18mm with an exposure of 1/80 sec at f/7.1 and ISO 6400.
One of the treats of my visit was to actually get a chance to meet and talk with Al Unser Sr. (below) who was working in the museum that day. The car that he won his last Indy 500 race is just behind us.
The museum was expanded to include an annex that contains more racing history, cars, and memorabilia. The annex contains fully restored vehicles including Indy 500 pace cars along with some rare race cars. There’s also a trophy room filled with thousands of unique items, a library spanning the history of racing, original artwork, and lots more!
PS. And if you’re visiting Albuquerque, please drop by The Frontier for delicious and affordable Mexican food. Not a sponsored comment, just my experience.
- The Unser Racing Museum is located at 1776 Montaño Road NW Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM 87107. 505-341-1776
- Admission: Adults $10, Seniors & Military $6, Kids under 16 are free
- The Unser Racing Museum is a Blue Star Museum. They offer free admission to active-duty military personnel and their families, including National Guard and Reserve, from Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 18, 2019 through Labor Day, Monday, September 2, 2019.