Ministry gets some on road to recovery

Joe Burris

Sunday, July 9, 2000 | 2:14 a.m.

LOUDON, N.H. - They travel from town to town for 10 months a year, engulfed in a passion that could take their lives as quickly as it fulfills them.

Sometimes, that thought hits home in the worst way. A 19-year-old fourth generation NASCAR driver dies in a practice crash. A 30-year-old, four-circuit rookie of the year perishes in a crash in the same area of the same racetrack.

One would figure the most difficult thing for fellow drivers to do would be to get in their cars moments later, lapping that same track at the same speeds.

Yet those are times, the drivers say, when they are most grateful to be a cohesive community of faith, when they are fortunate someone stepped forward in 1987 and began Motor Racing Outreach.

"This is a dangerous sport, and there's always the possibility of a tragedy, and those of us who have strong faith have to help those that don't," said Darrell Waltrip, one of the board members and founders of MRO, a wide-ranging ministry that travels with drivers throughout the series.

The ministry has been instrumental in helping drivers cope with the recent tragedies in NASCAR at New Hampshire International Speedway. On Friday, four-circuit rookie of the year Kenny Irwin, 30, died from injuries suffered in a crash along Turn 3, the same turn where 19-year-old Adam Petty was killed May 12.

"MRO is there for those who ask, 'Why? Why did that happen? How did that happen to such a nice man young like Adam? How could that happen to Kenny Irwin?' Somebody has to be there to answer those questions," said Waltrip. "Somebody has to be there for those families."

He said the organization has brought more camaraderie among drivers and crew members, in part because of its outreach in most facets of drivers' lives. Dale Jarrett agreed.

"There's a lot of drivers who have that faith that helps them, and it's the only way to get through something like this," he said. "I think that things over the last few years have brought a lot of the guys closer to God and certainly the ministry we have has helped a lot of people."

Ministry plays a part in other sports, but it is often on an individual or team-by-team basis. And while NASCAR is deeply rooted in the Bible Belt, Waltrip said MRO also has chaplains in Formula One, and the Indy Racing League.

"You have to realize something; we're not like other sports, where we see the other competitors once or twice a year," said Waltrip. "We're racing against each other every week. We're together five days a week every week.

"We have to have everything with us. We have to have our own ministry of travel because we don't have opportunity to go to church at home. So, MRO is our ministry, it's our church.

"We have church services and Bible studies. They have counselors to help with marital problems, advisers to help with financial problems. They do weddings. They do funerals. It offers day care and activities for children. Whatever has to be done, that's our ministry.

"We call this a family sport, and most people relate that to the grandstands, being able to bring their kids and their wives. But we're talking about in here. When one of us falls, someone is there to pick him up."

Waltrip said MRO was begun in 1987 by Max Helton, a California minister who approached him, racers Lake Speed and Bobby Hillin, and their wives. The group had begun a private ministry of their own after being dissatisfied with the behavior of unordained preachers who were conducting informal services.

The MRO chaplain for Sunday's New England 300 is Dale Beaver, who has served NASCAR for about a year. He said while many drivers do ask why, and some suffer a crisis of faith, during racing tragedies, others use it as an opportunity to conduct a personal examination, reminded that the tragedy could happen to them.

"They ask, 'What am I doing that really matters?' " he said. "There are guys who might get mad at God, and we respect that. But for a large part of them, it is an opportunity to re-prioritize. A lot of them look at their lives and say, 'What if I went right now?' "

Waltrip said the ministry has particularly served younger drivers, who ofter don't consider the probabilities of tragedy in their sport.

"It's just like getting sick . . . if there aren't doctors around, you might die. Or you might not get well," said Waltrip. "That's the thing about our ministry. You might get to the point where you need to talk about it; that's why we are here."