The couple posing for the camera, IMHO, gets in the way, in fact marring an otherwise wonderful take on the theme

This was intentional, to block the glare (and flare) from the direct sun and create a sillouette effect. Sorry that it does not appeal to you, but I appreciate any feedback.

hard to see without a high res

I tried to post it with high res and I guess it didnt work.

Without a bigger photo, we really can't see the image properly,. You seem to have uploaded a small image, if you have a higher resolution image it would be great if you could upload it.
Go to;
My Stuff
my contest entries
find this entry and click on ;
edit entry
Upload a larger photo
tick;
Also save full resolution image.
Your image doesn't need to be enormous, anything between 2.5mg and 3.5mg is plenty big enough.
Good luck

looks like you have a great spot for watching the races... the cars don't look very sharp in the pic and the guys head in the foreground is a bit distracting...always have obstacles like that when shooting from the stands.. a great angle though..and i am sure you had lots of fun at the event and the photo brings back lots of memories thanks for sharing

are the clips really "linking" though?

link

1.
one of the rings or separate pieces of which a chain is composed.
2.
anything serving to connect one part or thing with another; a bond or tie: The locket was a link with the past.

I don't get why the cowboy is there. I think the photo would great with the clips by themselves.

nice colors. great visual interest..

If it weren't so dark, it would have been a great picture, but then again just my opinion.

Thanks Andreas, I would have liked it lighter as well. However because it didn't work as well after a little levels lightening, I just uploaded the original image that's darker but with some cool evening sun highlights. Take a look in High Res.