EMD pace shots

I'm actually in the need for advice here. I recently just started the pan technique. Here is the first shot that I would want critque on. I tried submitting it to railpictures.net and they keep denying it as it's un-sharp, yet when I compare it to similar shots in their database, I think this is relatively in focus.

I took this on my friend's 40D, 320iso at 1/40th shutter at F14 pacing at 65MPH while manually focusing it. Sigma 17-70mm 2.8 was used.

I suspect that they won't take #2, no matter what you do with it, but you might be able to save #1 which is pretty good.

Sometimes selecting just the most important thing, like just the front of the car, & sharpening that a bit more is the way to go. One benefit is that it puts more attention on the train instead of the background. Another is that you get a smaller file size.

I like the Polygonal Lasso Tool for that, feathered about 20px & used at a distance just around the outside of the important parts after resizing for the web.

Selection illustration:
https://photography-on-the.net …hp?p=6232485&po​stcount=57