Matthew 10:32—"Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven."
Race day is finally here, and it’s the time of the week NASCAR fans from around the country have been waiting for.
After all the pre-race shows have ended, it’s time to get ready for the driver introductions and the National Anthem; usually sung by some pop music superstar.
Now before the drivers get the command to start their 850 horsepower fuel-thirsty engines and begin the three-plus hours that it takes to run a typical race, there is still one more order of business.
Sandwiched between all of the hoopla is the public prayer asking a higher power to watch over the drivers, teams, and the fans as well.
With as dangerous as this sport is, the R&D team, which already does a fantastic job of keeping the sport as safe as it possibly can, could always use some extra help in a territory that is far from their area of expertise.
NASCAR believe it or not, is the only sport that utilizes public prayer and televises it before each race; asking for that extra hand of protection upon the drivers, fans, and those involved with the sport.
With the high speeds these cars race at, along with the close side by side racing that produces extreme amounts of unpredictable human error, it’s no wonder NASCAR chooses to seek the assistance from a source which is way beyond the advances of our own modern technology.
As thorough as the R&D team is, there are still those areas that can be overlooked except by the One who can foresee beyond our wild imagination.
Its been eight years, 320 races, and roughly 6,192,000 miles since NASCAR has had to bury one of its own because of a major tragedy.
These unfortunate events usually leave fans wondering, “Why him?” NASCAR racing has to be one of the most dangerous sports that any athlete can compete in.
Its safety record is pretty impressive, especially when comparing it to your every day normal commute.
Here in Southern California alone, with speeds at least three times slower than what the average race is run, at least one person dies each day from an automobile related accident. Safety has always taken top priority in NASCAR.
Just this season alone, NASCAR has seen some of the most spectacular, breathtaking, and scariest wrecks, resulting in some pretty incredible highlight material.
It all started at the season opening Daytona 500, when NASCAR rookie Joey Logano was dumped by fellow rookie driver Scott Speed. The wreck sent Logano slamming headfirst into the inside wall.
Logano would find himself in a bigger dilemma when the series visited Dover in late September.
After Logano checked up, it was Tony Stewart who bumped him from behind, sending him for a wild ride, rolling seven times before coming to a stop on the bottom apron.
It was a month earlier in August when one of the hardest hits took place at Watkins Glen, and it all happened very quickly when Kasey Kahne who got loose entering turn nine, knocking Sam Hornish Jr. into the turn-nine wall.
Hornish then ricocheted into Jeff Gordon, who never knew what hit him because of how fast the accident happened.
Carl Edwards and Ryan Newman have to be two of the most consecrated drivers when it comes to divine intervention so far this season.
The explosiveness as well as the intense magnitude of these two accidents alone, which happened at Talladega Superspeedway, was enough to send a chill down the spine of the many fans who witnessed them.
And just as instantaneous as the accidents happened, an immediate call to the higher power that his assistance was once again needed in the form of many prayers that were sent up to the heavens.
Hebrews 5:7—"When He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear."
The front line known as NASCAR safety cannot always be won by man alone, and there are times when it takes divine intervention to lend that helping hand.
It’s because of this divine intervention that some of our drivers were given a second chance and lived to race another day.
