Letter: Race itself was great, but there were offensive moments

Monday, March 9, 1998 | 10:17 a.m.

As usual, we had a wonderful time at the NASCAR race on Feb. 28. This is our third race; we attended the IRL races and the Craftsman Truck Series CarQuest 420K last year. All three times were great -- except for one thing: Each time I have been offended by something that may offend others as well.

At the beginning of each race there was an invocation thanking the Lord for the wonderful weather and asking for the safety of the drivers. A generic prayer is great and I have no problem with that. However, I do have a problem with the statement: "We ask this in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen."

I'm Jewish and I'm sure there are others who may not believe that Jesus is their Lord either, e.g., Muslims. This statement offends me and makes me feel very uncomfortable.

I'm sure that it isn't done intentionally. However, I feel that the words Jesus Christ should be left out when a prayer is given in a public situation where there may be people who have different religious beliefs.

The one problem this track does have is a lack of adequate restrooms. And this was definitely a problem. With the crowd of well over 100,000, there should have been additional portables set up. There was a wait of about 30-45 minutes at some of the ladies restrooms and that's unacceptable. I observed several men who didn't even wait to use the restroom -- and that's even less acceptable.

Sherryl Anctil