NASCAR SPIRITUALITY

There has been ...several, actually many who claim a particular sport or physical activity gives spiritual insight and personal growth. From surfing to cross training, from golf to long distance running, and from martial arts to fishing, they all have been said to have a spirituality that can make your personal faith even more meaningful in a very special way. In NASCAR, we like fast cars, hot women, cold beer, and slow dancing. So you wouldn't think that there was anything spiritual about sitting on a couch or in the stands watching cars go round and round and round and round. But I dare guess there's just as much as is claimed by proponents of other sports.

Who among us hasn't spiritually ran out of gas? Who hasn't run into a spiritual wall at full speed? Who hasn't been let down by their spiritual pit crew? Who hasn't had their spiritual engine lose a cylinder? Or who hasn't had it blow up altogether? Everyone knows how hard it is to get a spiritual victory. It takes time, training, knowledge, commitment, experience and generous support. Seems a lot like a spiritual journey to me.

Granted, I'm talking about sitting on your ass watching drivers who are also sitting on their asses in cars that they complain are too loose or too tight all through the race. Only on rare occasions is the car just the way they want it to be. Mainly because they would then have no excuse for losing the race. The best possible scenario is to win the race with at least 10 things wrong with your car. The fete' is even more impressive if you come from the back of the field after being two laps down as the result of spinning out because of a blown tire, or a gentle nudge from one of your competitors, that caused enough damage to ruin the aerodynamics and overall handling. If there isn't some spiritual insight gained from seeing someone win against so many odds, I'm pretty sure you're just watching for only the wrecks and crashes, especially  "the big one."

Some stereotype spirituality as being calm, quiet, ascetic,  peaceful, introspective, inspirational and far more ethereal than physical. That's all well and good, but I don't think it's that exclusive. I'm one who believes there is a spiritual aspect to all things including evil. Some would argue that some things just aren't that spiritual. And I agree. A landfill doesn't seem that inspirational. Whereas a beautiful sunset makes us stop if only for a moment to take it in. But to have a more complete understanding, it might better be that the sun was setting over a landfill, or something similar.

You might well ask then, "Are you saying that NASCAR spirituality is like a sunset over a landfill?" Yeah, pretty much. It is noise, ill feelings, combativeness, stretching the rules, taking advantage, blocking progress, swearing, malingering, sand bagging, revenge, physical discussions (fights), and temper tantrums as much as it is encouragement, commitment, caring, sharing, endurance, patience, team work, communication, dealing with the unexpected and some faith in life. And like other parts of life, a little luck always helps and never hurts.

For several years NASCAR was growing in relative obscurity. Once the Daytona track was built it began to create interest outside of the southern motherland and eventually the races became to be regularly broadcasted on television. Winston (cigarettes) was the sponsor for mainly years until it was choked out by general well being. But the Confederate flag remained until just recently. The commercial possibilities grew from auto related products to such sponsors as Viagra and Liberty University. I have to be honest, it was mostly redneck and cracker drivers for many years then it expanded to white drivers from other areas of the country. Finally, a female joined the lineup along with other non-white drivers. Some of which rose up through NASCA's diversity program. Other changes like racing at tracks throughout the country both oval and road courses, extremely improved safety, strict regulations, athletic pit crews and continual changes in car dynamics allowed for fans to follow their favorite drivers for many years. I can't say that all of the changes went smoothly but eventually, the contrast between the old and new was quite vivid. I don't think there's any need to point out the spiritual applications.

NASCAR does not race on Easter and Mother's Day. For years, even the hardest living driver knew not to mess with faith or mom. It's strong God, Family and Country ethic is fueled by countless local stock car tracks that offer prayer for safety on the track and in life, the national anthem, close racing with the usual histrionics; good tasting food; loud country music; an announcer you can't hear very well; a lot of dirt, brake dust and exhaust fumes; questionable restrooms; lots of different smells; and of course souvenirs, t-shirts and race photos. But most of all, whether at the smallest track or the biggest track, there's an shared ethos that is distinct even though much is what you would find in many other sports.   


In high school senior English, we were to write a paper about our future. I wrote that I planned to participate in the spectator sport of auto racing. Brian Stallard, the teacher, was somewhat incensed.  Apparently, such was not a legitimate career choice. I don't think he quite understood. There was a driver in every fan and a fan in every driver. But only a few gladiators got to compete in the biggest arenas in the fastest cars. And I had already seen Jimmie Clark, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart and other famous drivers in person and had seen them race at Watkins Glen which over the years has hosted a variety of racing, including NASCAR. To this day, "Watkins" has been one of my spiritual homes. Auto racing obviously wasn't commonly seen as spiritually meaningful, actually quite the opposite. But some of our spirituality has to be defined in the context of where and how we live, whether you're a gearhead or not.



BONUS PIC

CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES, NASCAR