Motorsports Ministries

This past weekend I attended the 12 Hours of Sebring in Sebring, Florida. This historic race pitted the best sportscar in the world. What a great time I had. But the highlight of the weekend was meeting some wonderful people who are involved in motorsports.

I attended the chapel service of Motorsports Ministries on Friday morning. Motorsports Ministries is "an organization conceived, developed and operated to provide for the spiritual and emotional needs of the people involved in professional and amateur automobile racing.

At the chapel service, I met Richard Anderson who is the executive director of MM. He shared from his heart about God's comfort in his life during this past few months as he has faced cancer. Rich is still facing surgery coming up in April. His message rang true because he is experiencing God's blessing day by day right now.

Also pictured above is Chris. Chris and I met at the service and she quickly became my guide and help to understanding the world of IMSA, International Motor Sports Association.

I'm sure God lead me to these people to open the world of American Le Mans Series racing to me.

Motorsports Ministries is working hard to be a beacon of help and support for the motorsports family.

I hope to meet Rich and Chris again and continue my relationship with Motorsports Ministries.

In the Blink of an Eye

'In the Blink of an Eye' is Michael Waltrip's recently released autobiographical book. I starting reading it two days ago and couldn't put it down until I finished it last night. The story moves quickly from his early years in Owensboro, Kentucky to his eventual successes in NASCAR's highest levels. You will want to read this before the 2011 Daytona 500 where Waltrip will once again race in the NAPA #15 on the 10th anniversary of the death of Dale Earnhardt in that race.

This is more than a recounting of the events in Waltrip's life. In the Blink of an Eye is the story of faith in his life. Waltrip doesn't tell us details of how faith came to him or what led to his strong faith. But we can see how his faith helped him face the difficulties in his life including the death of his father, his long winless years in NASCAR, the death of his mentor, Dale Earnhardt, and the break-up of his marriage.

Michael Waltrip and his brother Darrell are both big names in NASCAR. However, we have had very little insight into their complicated relationship. Waltrip makes us read between the lines to see exactly how their brother-brother relationship has developed.

In the Blink of an Eye is almost as much about Dale Earnhardt as it is about Waltrip. Earnhardt was both a friend and a hero to Waltrip. Waltrip was just beginning to fulfill his lifelong dream of driving for Earnhardt's racing team when Earnhardt was killed.

Waltrip carries guilt from many of the events in his life including the death of Earnhardt. He uses his faith to process these events and come to grips with the events.

I recommend this enjoyable book. It will give you insight into the world of NASCAR as well as the Waltrip family. Michael's humor is evident throughout the story and you will feel like you are listening to him talk on Inside NASCAR.