The Trinity
We will take a break in our study for one week. Rev. Dan is sharing with us some of his thoughts with us this week. We will get back to our study of the last words of Christ next week.
Don and I get a lot of questions about the relationship between the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit and what they do. I recently read a daily devotion written by Ryan Dinunzio a former professional soccer player that I wanted to summarize and share with you. It should make it easier for all of us to understand the roles they play. He called it the NASCAR Trinity and related very nicely the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to the Spotter, Crew Chief and Pit crew.
What is the role of the crew chief? He oversee’s all the changes to the car – before, during and after the race. To be successful, the driver and crew chief have to have a good relationship and be able to communicate well with each other. The driver tells the crew chief what the car is doing, how it is handling, and what he thinks is wrong. In turn, the crew chief tells the driver what can and cannot be changed. Look at Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham or Jimmy Johnson and Chad Knaus and how well they work (or worked) together – they both have multiple championships to prove this.
For us as believers, to be successful we need to have a good relationship with our crew chief – Jesus Christ.
John 15:4; Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
This means that we need to read God’s word and pray daily, and we must be humble enough to give up control. During life’s challenges, it is critical that we give Jesus control. This doesn’t mean that we have to sit around all day and read the Bible and pray, Jimmy and Chad don’t talk continuously during the race, but at certain points during the race they do. As we go through each day, make sure you are talking to your crew chief.
Now let’s talk about the pit crew. We know what they do. They jump over the wall and make changes to the car during the race. They can be big or small; changing parts, tires, making adjustments, banging out dented sheet metal, or putting fuel in the car. Whatever it is, they are there to help bring your car to a good finish.
In our lives, this role is played by the Holy Spirit. He is the guy that goes over the wall. He goes under your hood, makes adjustments, fixes problems, straightens out your lives and fills your tank. But we have to be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to do this under the crew chiefs directions – in other words, we need to give up control again. It is crucial for us to take time out daily to let the Holy Spirit work on us. When we disregard the crew chiefs instructions and don’t make the necessary pit stops, we usually don’t reach the finish line. By listening, we finish, and sometimes can even make it to Victory Lane!
Romans 8:10-11; And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
If we abide in Christ and let the Holy Spirit over the wall, we will reach victory lane!
Now that the car is set, tires are changed and we have a full tank of gas, what’s next? When the drivers drive, they make split second decisions – only seeing who is in front of them or in their mirrors. You cannot see the whole track at once. You need to rely on your spotters to give you more information on what is ahead, behind, next to you and possibly the best line to take. They have a view of the big picture – not the narrow view that the driver is focused on. The driver has to put his full faith and trust in the spotter that what he says is true. We communicate with our crew chief, when to pit, how to drive etc., but we also have to pay attention to the spotter. The spotter may have to drive you past a major wreck, through a line you cannot see, or help you to pass slower cars.
Proverbs 15:31; If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise.
Does this remind you of anyone? How about God. While we pray, read the Bible, are being changed by the Holy Spirit, we also need to stop talking and start listening to hear God’s voice as he takes us around life’s race track.
God bless, and have a great week!
THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD
NOT AN ENVIOUS POSITION- As good as Saturday was Sunday was bad. Under the bright spring sunshine Bobby Santos proved the Icebreaker performance was no fluke as he set his second consecutive track record in the Mystic Missile. With the beauty of Saturday hope for Sunday held out despite the forecast. Stafford Motor Speedway found themselves between a beautiful day and a bad forecast. I do not envy the decision Mark Arute had to make at the end of the day Saturday. With a perfect day in the books and the doubt created by Meteorologists who seem to be wrong more than they are right the decision was a difficult one. This type of decision proves that we cannot please everyone every time. Making the most of what they had to deal with we will be back at Stafford next week to finish Sizzler Weekend.
They will kick off the weekend Friday night with three extra distance features for the SKLite, Limited Late Models and Dare Stocks. Then on Saturday the Late Models and SKMods will join the Whelen Modified Tour for the completion of the “Greatest Race in the History of Spring”. Please make your plans now to be there next Saturday. And if the weather doesn’t cooperate we will see you Sunday.
A LITTLE DIRT FROM REV. DAN- I got a chance to go to Lebanon Valley and spend some time with Finish Line Chaplain Ed Harkins for their opening night show. Ed arranged for me to take a ride in the pace truck – first time I have been around a dirt track – it was a pretty awesome ride with the dirt modifieds following you on the high banks. We watched Kenny Tremont pick up his 115th win in his ride – which just so happens to be numbered 115 from high atop the speedway in the tower. I had a great time, but didn’t go just for the fun. I needed to talk with Ed and continue to build a relationship with him as we work together with Finish Line Chaplains to minister to the Super Dirt Racing Series for The World Racing Group. Ed does a fantastic job as chaplain – keep him and us in your prayers as we minister to the drivers, families and officials from this series.
IMHO (In My Humble Opinion),
-Anyone know how to transfer pictures I took in the RAW mode into regular format? I have all these pictures that I took at Motorsports 2010 and I can’t open them. That is what I get for fooling with the shooting mode setting on my Nikon D80.
-Speaking of Motorsports 2010, I think it was a welcome homecoming to come back to PA. The convention center was extremely convenient to travel to and was a great facility. If you go there you really get a sense of the variety our sport offers. I actually got to shake the hand of one of my racing heroes- Bobby Allison.
-Please continue to lift up Conner Bobik, the 4 year old battling an inoperable brain tumor.
-While you are at it, keep Larry Mattingly in your prayers. He has had some toes removed because of diabetes.
-It was amazing to walk through the pits at Bedford Friday night and see a virtual who’s who of Dirt Late model racing. 66 lates was a record for Bedford.
-Any one want to buy a racetrack? Jennerstown, the finest facility in Western PA is for sale. Rumored price is 1.5 million.
-Thank you to Bill and Debbie Reed, chaplains for the Lucas Oil Dirt series chaplains for the Bible. May God bless your traveling as Dirt Racing Outreach.
-I think that time trials do not belong in dirt racing! When 66 latemodels qualify on a dirt track the track is junk and freight train racing ensues. Friday’s Lucas Race at Bedford was a prime example of this. After all, don’t you want the races to be exciting and have the fans speak positively about the series when the race is over? I was disappointed that the season had to begin this way at a track I really love to attend.
-Having said all that…I can’t wait until this Friday and the regular races at Bedford.
-After all the blustering after the Daytona 500 about how the track didn’t need to be repaved, it has been announced that the track will be repaved after the July race. I hope that the racing will be better for the 500 in 2011.
-While I was at Bedford, 2 yes 2 latemodels won the same race at Dog Hollow.
Contact me at revbill87@comcast.net, 724-832-6436, or at 703 Green Street, Greensburg, PA 15601.
Be a witness for our Lord with the ministry decals and apparel. See them at the Show Your Faith Apparel Store at www.rwjm.com. Send us your prayer and counseling needs no matter what part of our racing family you are in, or give us a call. Until next time, remember that God loves you, we love you and
Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing. GOD BLESS.
Mail reaches us at Racing with Jesus Ministries, PO Box 586, Tolland, CT 06084. Check our weekly printed pages in “Area Auto Racing News”, the East Coast’s largest weekly racing paper” Check our home page www.rwjm.com for past articles. Drop us a note and share your input and thoughts. Please remember, we can only do what we do because of your prayerful financial support.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
May God always Bless you, everyday in everyway. Rev. Don
CHECKERED CHEERS
***WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES***
May 1
BILL & KATHY COTROFELD- The couple who haul and display the Featherlite Show Trailer have their 34th.
RON & SUE CORNELL- AARN and Maine based “Racin’ Paper” columnists from Westport, MA have their 33rd anniversary.
May 3
WOODY & ELAINE FEBRIELLO- This former NASCAR Modified team owner and wife from Waterbury, CT share their 38th anniversary.
May 4
PHIL & CONNIE RONDEAU- This Baltic, CT Cup/Mod/LM driver and wife have shared 18 years together.
GARY & TINA DANKO- This Connecticut tracks announcer, radio show host and wife share their 9th.
***HAPPY BIRTHDAYS***
April 28
KIRK BRYANT- Thomasville, NC LMSC driver.
MARK GEER- Waterford Speedbowl former Chief Tech. Inspector.
JUDY MARTIN- Concord, NC NSC photographer.
NATHAN DIAS- Son of Westport, MA Seekonk ProStock driver Tony and wife Elizabeth is 14.
April 29
CHAD LITTLE- Spokane, WA lawyer and now Whelen Modified Tour Director for NASCAR.
JIM LOWREY, JR.- NH SuperModified driver.
DAVE FAIR- Oaks, CA SCCA driver.
BRUCE THOMPSON- Newtown, PA Len’s dad.
MARK MOCKOVAC- Husband of Claremont Speedway Modified driver Audrey Stevens and the Media Coordinator for the TVMS from Danbury, CT
BOB MORRIS- Auburn, ME racing columnist.
JOHN SZERENCITS III- Whitehall, PA brother of AARN subscription sales rep. Don.
LINDA & NICOLE BRUNO- The wife and daughter of Jim, from Absecon, NJ both celebrate today.
DAVE JONES- Driver of the #76 sprint car at Lernerville and other West Pennsylvania tracks and a member of the “old guy race team”.
April 30
CHRISTIAN JAWORECKI- Younger son of JAWS reaches his 10th.
MICHAEL WALTRIP- NAPA’s NSC driver/team owner for Toyota’s entry into cup racing.
ANDY HILLENBURG- Indianapolis, IN NNS/ARCA/Sprint driver.
JASON MANAFORT- Plainville, CT former NASCAR KNPSE driver.
FRANK KIMMEL- Clarksville, IN ARCA Series driver.
JEFF KAUFMAN- Red Bank, NJ Modified owner/driver.
CHRIS GRADY- Son of Lebanon Valley Speedway photographer John.
JACKIE HENDRICKSON- Wife of Lawrenceville, NJ Modified driver Wade.
DAN SERRANO- The grandson of Rusty Farrar, who is also the mother of Kathy Van Norde, wife of Wall Truck Division driver Bruce, has favorite drivers we must mention including the Hoffman brothers, Jimmy Blewett and Darren McCaughey and a writer for www.newjerseydirtracing.com
May 1
JOHNNY SAUTER- NASCAR Sprint Cup/ NNS driver.
May 2
BUZZ CALKINS- Denver, CO IRL driver.
DAVE MEDLER- Auburn, NY Steve Paine and Mark Martin fan.
May 3
TONY HIRSCHMAN- Northampton, PA Whelen Modified Tour five time champion.
WALTER CHARETTE- Linwood, MA Mike Stefanik/Dale Jarrett fan.
DAVE DORNBLASER- 270cc Micro-Sprint driver at Borger’s Speedway and Kutztown Fairgrounds.
CAROL EVONSION- Wife of former Riverside Park Mod driver S.J.Evonsion.
May 4
JACK POSTER- This Pottstown, PA resident helped Jerry Christman with his 358 at Grandview back in the 80’s.
JOHN FORCE- Yorba Linda, CA NHRA Funny Car driver.
BILL PARK- Riverhead Raceway NASCAR Modified driver.
TONY URBINA- Riverhead LM driver.
FRANK MANCINI- Father of Janice Brice, wife of Bill III.
WHITNEY BENDER- Daughter of Colden, NY NASCAR KNPSE driver Tim and wife Kathy is 19.
TROY OADE ESTELLE- The son of Eddie and Lori Estell. Eddie is a crewman on the #119 Street Stock driven by Rob Ormsbee at East Windsor, NJ Speedway. Eddie is also a HUGE Bill Elliott fan and a faithful Wall Township Speedway fan. Troy turned lap 9.
*** NEW BEGINNINGS ***
CHERYL A SULBORSKI-FRASCO- Unexpectedly on April 13 Cherly went home to be with the Lord. Cheryl was the wife of Bill Frasco, co-owner of the #1 Whelen Modified Tour entry with Guy Ronzoni. She was very proud of her step sons Anthony and Aaron for their accomplishments how they have raised their families. She adored her 4 grandchildren and spoiled them at every opportunity. Most of all, she loved her family and friends. She was very proud of Aaron’s military service and felt honored to wear her Army parent pin. Please keep the entire Frasco family and the #1 team in your thoughts and prayers. Cards of sympathy and condolence can be sent to Bill Frasco, 13 Rushbrooke Lane, Shelton, CT 06484.
SHARE YOUR SPECIAL OCCASIONS WITH YOUR RACING FAMILY. SEND THEM TO RACING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES AT PO BOX 586, Tolland, CT, 06084.
Sources: Rev. Don Rivers/RWJM