NASCAR IS LIFE

This last Sunday, on Father's Day, I had the opportunity to go with my brother and dad to our first NASCAR race. It was special because we live so far apart and to do something like this, together, is rare. Also, being Father's Day, it was great to treat my dad to this event. But, I wasn't quite sure what I would find. A couple days before the race, a friend of mine (NASCAR fan) sent me a picture of someone at one of the pre-races, wearing overalls with the belly cut out! What were we going to see? Would the fans have teeth; would they be hooked up to a beer hose; would they have all of their cousin wives with them?

Well, we came to find out that, at least in Michigan, the NASCAR fans are fairly normal. I use normal somewhat loosely, since these are people who like to sit in the hot blazing sun for 3 hours and watch cars go in circles. And the cars are going so fast when they pass you that its more like watching a blurry, large colored blip fly past, about 40 of them in a few seconds. What fun! Ok...Ok...I admit that it was fun. Standing under the grandstands for 2 hours in the pouring rain was not fun; but sitting in the stands, taking in all the sights and sounds of my first NASCAR race - that was fun. And to do it with my brother and dad was priceless. It was also cool that Dale Earnhardt Jr., one of the only racers whose name I knew, won the race. But, the reason it was so cool is that his father had died in a race car, and he won this race on Father's Day. I can get into that. Not sure if any of the 3 of us will now be wearing our Jeff Gordan t-shirts (chose him for the benefit of my one NASCAR fanatic friend), with the sleeves cut off; or buy an RV to travel to all the races...but I may be able to watch more of a race on TV, maybe 15 minutes more, before I fall asleep to take my NASCAR nap!

And, I don't know if it because I'm a pastor, or just someone who analyzes everything, but I had to consider what the NASCAR race has to do with real life. Now, there are some to whom NASCAR is life, meaning that they think about it, talk about it, watch it, and "live or die" on every turn. I can't relate to that, but I do think there are some parallels to real life that we see on the race track.

• Just as the cars go around the track at a blistering speed, and it is hard to keep up with them; so it is with life. We keep going around the track, faster and faster, and the years move on.
• Just as the cars need to periodically go to their pit stop for refueling, a change of tires or minor repairs, so do we. As we race through this life, we need the pauses to recalibrate, refuel and make some adjustments.
• Just as the driver has a crew chief that he stays in contact with, and a pit crew that helps with the pit stops, so we need the same. We need those people in our lives that can see what is going on in the race that we cannot see. We need them to caution us, encourage us, and help us through the race. We need a crew to be there to assist us, support us, and cheer us on. And we need to be a part of a crew for others as well.

NASCAR is something like life; and it is a pretty cool event. But, then again...in the end...
It is a bunch of 200 mph billboards (advertisements) going round and round, in circles, for 3 hours.
I guess I'll keep my belly revealing overalls in the closet...for now.