Nascar at Prayer

[Stephen Fox]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J74y88YuSJ8


My Dad's first cousin Max Helton was onetime chaplain to Nascar

But he never prayed down Sonoco like this.

Amen.

[Tom Butler]

I have to admit that I chuckled when he thanked God for his "smokin' hot wife," and then ended the prayer with "boogedy, boogedy, boogedy, Amen.

Then I got to thinking. I certainly can thank God for my smokin' hot wife in my private prayer time, but I don't think she'd be pleased at me praying that prayer in our church, and certainly not at a NASCAR race.

I thought it was cute, but I was also a little disturbed by it

[William Thornton]

Sure, you can make a joke out of prayer in any sport. He did a good job of it.

[Jim]

I don’t presume to make a judgment about the man’s sincerity or his competency, but he made a mockery of his faith. Disgusting! The worst part of it is the fact that he presents to non-believers in the name of Jesus an exercise to entertain and induce snickering, like that of those drivers being “blessed” by this man of God…or of the devil. Who knows?

[Ed Pettibone]

[Neil Heath]

I knew Ed would find a different take on it. But first he had to see what you guys said, so he could disagree.

That man is a true racing fan, and apparently thinks God is too. Hep him, Lord! Thank you, Jesus!

As for me, I just wanted to see his smokin hot wife on the screen.

[Ed Pettibone]

[Ed Pettibone]

[Jim]

[Ed Pettibone]

Jim Wrote "I didn't know people worship NASCAR"

Ed: So, you really don't know much about NASCAR.

[Jim]

[Neil Heath]

My daughter caught the fact that the reference to his wife is lifted from a movie: "Talladega Nights". You can see the entire table grace scene on YouTube. It's scandalously irreverent in every way.

I saw the pastor's wife tonight when one of the TV entertainment shows did a story on "the prayer". And may I say that he had to be copying a movie line, or suffering from some degree of visual impairment, or maybe my idea of "smokin' hot" and his idea of that are radically different.

[Ed Pettibone]

[Jim]

[Ed Pettibone]

Jim Wrote "I didn't know people worship NASCAR"

Ed: So, you really don't know much about NASCAR. [/quote][/quote]

Jim: Well...let's just say I know as much about NASCAR as you do about prayer. Since you think I'm ignorant about one of the subjects in this matter, let's be fair and allow you to be ignorant about the other. And remember the scripture in Matthew 6, Jesus speaking: And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners and in the NASCAR pit-rows, they have received their reward in full. One supposes that is in the land of contemporary carburetion forever.

ED: And Jim if you had read closely in this thread you would know I am no true fan of NASCAR any more. I have not been a fan so called production car racing since the only non stock part they could add was reenforced sat mounts, a bucket racing seat and seat belt. That was in the day when Marshal Tegue would get 6 new Hudson Hornets for his dealership, tear down the the engines and transmissions of all 6, weigh and measure every part with a micrometer to select the closest matches for two which he used to install in the least perfect bodies for racing the other four engines and transmissions went back into cars for sale by the dealership. Every part was stock. To day the general appearance is the only similarity to what you or I can buy at a dealers show room. I drove one of his MTs nearly worn out cars at a track in the Columbus Ga. area until the Army threatened to court Marshall me for risking my neck, in which they had a considerable investment . They could risk my neck, but I couldn't. Until they stopped me I was making as much on a Saturday night, than I made all month in the army. And Jim I have not said you are ignorant about either NASCAR or prayer.[/quote]
I go back to the dirt tracks in incredibly small towns (Junction City, Ky.), though I didn’t drive the things but was aware of the amazing amount of dust and dirt people would absorb both driving and watching. My hat’s off to you. Perhaps the greatest traffic jam of the decade happened in rural north Kentucky a few days ago when the first NASCAR race was staged. The track is at the intersection of I-71 and U.S 35, six and four lanes, respectively. The track people messed up and ticket-holders were stuck for hours and hours and still did not get into the track. The gate was 100,000 but they didn’t all get in, a scandal for the track but who cares when there’s that much money to be made? I surf over to a race during commercials but don’t watch for long. The operators encourage the bumping that goes on, knowing that spectators (at least many of them) are just there for the carnage. Shades of Dale Earnhardt! My aunt and uncle took me to the Cleveland air-races in 1939 (I was nine) and I saw one of the planes go down and even remember the dead pilot’s name – Chet Arthur. Racing around those pylons furnished a lot of excitement for a nine-year-old. Actually, I'm quite ignorant about both prayer and NASCAR.[/quote]


Ed: On small dirt tracks Midgets and sprint cars are much more fun than "stock" cars. BTW I think my first air show was also in about 1939 and I was six a couple guys where working on a worlds endurance record and would refuel by a hose dropped to a speeding tanker truck traveling on the runway.

My eldest son got turned off on racing on his first trip to the time trials at Indy ( age 9 or 10) one of the drivers hit the wall on the 1st turn right in front of us and rolled back down the track into the infield. I said "watch him climb out" but he did not climb out, the ambulance was there about the time the car stopped rolling and an EMT cut the drivers seat-belt off and they loaded him in the ambulance for a trip to the infield hospital which at Indy has a couple state of the art operating rooms. About a half hour latter a chopper landed near the hospital and and the PA announcer said they where taking the driver to Methodist Hospital which is on the north side of downtown Indy. A couple hours latter they announced that he had died. A strange twist a few says latter the local head lines said Driver died before the Crash. It turns out he had suffered a ruptured aortic aneurism which caused the the crash. I dis agree with the idea that fans go to see accidents but like most if their is an accident I am disappointed if it is somewhere else on the track not so that I can see the gore and pain but simply to critique what happened. I have seen some pretty horrific crashes and when a drive climbs out of the car and hops into the ambulance for a mandatory check up the fans always cheer. the Speed Way Baptist Church (CBF ) the last I knew, which is almost a mile west make good money allowing fans to park each weekend in May for the time trials and On race day, the last Sunday in May. BTW the Indianapolis Speedway is really in the town of Speedway Indiana which is now pare of the Marion county UniGov consortia, including any city or town that is in whole or in part in Marion County.

[Mrs Haruo]

So what's this "Boogedy boogedy boogedy?" He speaking in tongues or run out of commercial plugs?

[Ed Pettibone]

[Big Daddy Weaver]

[Ed Pettibone]

Ed; Thanks Aaron.

[rfuss]

[Stephen Fox]

For finding the origins of Boogedy Boogedy for us. And the Talladega Nights reference was instructive as well.

In 93 or so Vicki Covington whose family was voted out of Southside Baptist Church in Birmingham where Truett once preached; Covington for a while a regular columnist for Oxford American Magazine had a great column on the death of Davey Allison and the remarks of my Dad's first Cousin Max Helton at the funeral.

I wish I could find the column.