SPEEDWAY, Ind. — During the month of May, just imagine how many photos are taken in Speedway of the drivers, of the track, of the town.
We're talking tens of thousands.
But behind one of those camera lenses is a Speedway native who's a trained and talented artist.
And much of his artwork pays tribute, like a love letter, to his beloved hometown.
By their very nature, some places are just more photogenic than others: stunning spots like the Grand Canyon or the Eiffel Tower.
These are iconic images everyone wants to capture.
For Hoosier Nicholas Andrew, that place is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Art is his talent.
IMS, his muse.
"Yeah, it's kind of like an Eiffel Tower to me where it's just like, it's incredibly big," Andrew said. "It's full of history, and it looks cool in a photograph."
PHOTOS: The Nicholas Andrew Company
His photographs look really cool, especially considering he captures them all with an iPhone.
Plus, his best work actually comes on a bad weather day for racing.
"When I see a puddle and a dark cloud or something like that, then I get real excited because I know that photo's gonna turn out well," Andrew said. "And a reflection that just brings the photo a whole new life."
From photos to paintings to graphic design, Andrew's work gets a ton of attention from race fans.
But his inspiration is more than the track — it's the town of Speedway itself.
"I love the buildings. I love the old architecture. Just walking around is great. It's beautiful," Andrew said. "It draws me back every year, especially around May, you know, for obvious reasons."
Andrew grew up in Speedway, and he can't get enough of the place and its people, so each piece of art is like a love letter to his hometown.
"Especially when I take a photo or do a drawing and then the town reacts to it," Andrew said. "It's like, OK they got the letter, and now, they're writing me back to tell me, 'hey, we love it.'"
Those replies even come from town leaders, who spotted his work on Facebook and chose a curated collection for Speedway's municipal building.
"First off, they're beautiful." Grant Kleinhenz said. "They're very stunning, they're clean, they're clear, and he does some amazing effects with them that really even enhance their beauty even more. I was like, well, we want to decorate town hall here, so we bought several of these and have now displayed them. There's a lot of Sparkplug pride here."
There's so much pride for the talented hometown kid, that Andrew's designs raise money for Speedway charities, businesses ask to partner on projects, and he's set to create the logo for the town's 100th year.
For Andrew, that's pretty special.
The racing capital of the world, which is such an international icon, is finding its heart with art from a local.
Check out Andrew's latest artwork and photography on his Facebook page.