Talladega Mornings, MMM 11-8-2010
TALLADEGA MORNINGS
Monday Morning Message, November 8, 2010
NASCAR racers are in Texas this weekend but last weekend, I was a rookie spectator at my very first racing event in Talladega, Alabama. Having spent many days watching all kinds of sports, I thought I was prepared for anything. Nothing can really prepare you for the combination of events that take place on the Saturday’s and Sunday’s at the major league auto race tracks. Can you imagine all 32 NFL teams bringing their fans and teams to the same stadium and competing on the same day? That’s what happens at the Sprint and Nationwide races each week. The best part of my preparation was being invited to attend the race with friend Roger and his daughter Jennifer who taught me the ropes. Every rookie should be as lucky as me to have such an intro!
The roar of engines challenge your hearing senses while the threat of major crashes is a constant attention grabber when cars are speeding along at 200 MPH! Over forty cars and their teams move their operations from city to city every week and somehow, each area has fans that adore the drivers who risk their lives to see this week’s checkered flag. Can you imagine over 100,000 people acting in an orderly and polite manner where even in the rush of entering and leaving the stadium, hearing “excuse me” or “pardon me” when getting bumped is NOT uncommon? Fans are however very opinionated and clearly cheer for their favorites for a variety of reasons. A common theme is that anyone too successful is a target for many, while others are considered front runners who cheer for those very same teams.
One of my favorite parts of the day was seeing the pre-race activities. The United States Flag and the soldiers were there of course but no race begins without a prayer. This is not a question of political correctness for the people of NASCAR but it seems to be embedded in their tradition. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a substitution for church on Sundays, but anytime I go to a sporting event and I hear my Savior’s name spoken, it rings a bell of validity that others share with me. It is even better if I hear my Savior’s name and it is not being taken in vain. Last week at Talladega, I only heard it used in a positive way! I could not help but think of how many of us are running our lives on 200 MPH schedules knowing a crash could be imminent and all the time not even starting our daily race with prayer and a reading from the Owners Manual.
Matthew 10:39 (RSV) “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.”
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