NASCAR is one of the most popular sports in the United States. It is second only to the NFL in television ratings. The NASCAR season is 10 months long and runs from February through November. The race circuit often moves to a different city each week.
Many drivers and crew members are from the south and grew up in religious households. Moving around so much during the season makes it challenging for them to have a relationship with a local church. Motor Racing Outreach (MRO) helps fill the spiritual gap. Pastors from the organization travel the circuit and arrange worship services that many NASCAR drivers, their families and crew members attend. They take place after the mandatory drivers’ meetings before each race and are held in conference rooms, chapels and sometimes garages.
Motor Racing Outreach
MRO is a nonprofit group founded in 1988 by famed driver Darrell Waltrip, his wife and a few other drivers. It is funded mostly by donations and employs five chaplains who cover the three NASCAR racing series’. Race day services are not the only duty of MRO pastors. They also minister to the hundreds of fans who camp out at race tracks. On occasion, the chaplains plan visits to local hospitals with crew members wearing their race uniforms.
There is also a mobile community center which is a custom-built truck that spreads out into a covered patio. It has a library, bible club and choir, and is usually parked close to the track. Visitors to the center can often see racecars driving by.
The MRO has sometimes been called the glue that holds NASCAR families together. Auto racing is a life and death sport that can put significant stress on relationships. Competing on the circuit is also a transient lifestyle and hard on the families of both drivers and crew members. On top of everything else, NASCAR families experience the same life trials and tribulations other people do.
Pre-Race Invocation
NASACAR is one of only a handful of sports that has a televised invocation before each contest. It is typically given by a minister from a local congregation wherever the circuit is that week. The invocations usually involve the pastor thanking God for the weather, crew, drivers and fans, and praying for a safe race. Sometimes they are brief and even funny. Invocations can also be filled with strong religious messages, depending on the minister in charge. There has been some debate in recent years about whether invocations should continue to be a part of the pre-race activities. One argument is that it is an outdated ritual that may turn off fans that aren’t religious.
NASCAR Driver Deaths
NASCAR is a dangerous sport and there have been a number of drivers injured and killed in accidents over the years. Since the sport began in the 1940s, there have been 68 driver deaths. 1956 was the deadliest year on record with five fatalities. There have been 14 deaths at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Florida, the highest number for any race track. Two drivers who have died at the wheel are:
- Dale Earnhardt
One of the most decorated race car drivers of all time, Earnhardt died from a head injury he sustained in an accident during the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. He was 49. Over the course of his career, Earnhardt achieved 76 NASCAR victories.
- Adam Petty
Adam Petty was the son of Kyle Petty and a fourth generation driver. He died in a practice session in 2000 in Loudon, New Hampshire at the age of 19.
NASCAR is an exciting, but deadly way of life. The time commitment that comes with competing makes it difficult to have a normal family experience and regularly attend church. It is easy to understand how the services organizations like MRO provide can be important to people involved in the sport.
