Revving Reverends Take to the Wheel of Stock Cars

c. 2005 Religion News Service AMHERST, Ohio _ The Rev. Jason Russ of Church of the Open Door in Elyria was closing in on the leader in a stock car race here at the Lorain County Speedway west of Cleveland. The owner of the car he was driving had encouraged him to be aggressive and […]

c. 2005 Religion News Service

AMHERST, Ohio _ The Rev. Jason Russ of Church of the Open Door in Elyria was closing in on the leader in a stock car race here at the Lorain County Speedway west of Cleveland.

The owner of the car he was driving had encouraged him to be aggressive and not be afraid to bump into another car on the way to the winner’s circle. Russ was only inches behind, with the pedal almost to the floor, and he wanted “like crazy” to get around the other driver.


But he pulled back from the car driven by the Rev. Greg Ball of the nearby Church on the North Coast in Lorain. “All I could see was his wife and children. There’s no way I’m bumping him,” Russ recalled thinking.

Ball finished first. Russ finished second. Welcome to the world of muscle-car Christianity.

You may have heard of muscular Christianity, the idea of athletes using their prowess on the field to promote their faith.

In the latest mix of sports and religion, speed tracks around the country have started racing area clergy against one another in charity events. The “Faster Pastor” contests, as they are commonly called, bring church members to the track and offer their speed angels new opportunities for evangelism.

The Lorain County race was a one-night deal. But at Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, some two dozen clergy competed throughout the summer. Winners of earlier races met Sept. 3 for the championship round of the Faster Pastor series.

“Pastor Glenn Coblentz would take the early lead,” read a fast-paced report from the speedway. “He was hounded by Pastor Doug Wantz lap after lap. Wantz or Coblentz wouldn’t budget. With a daring late-race barrage, Wantz snuck by Coblentz for the lead to take the checkered flag.”

Coblentz and four others followed across the finish line.

What drives these men of the cloth as they balance their need for speed and victory with a faith that teaches them to turn the other cheek, or at least not run another driver into the wall?

“It’s about God. It’s not about me,” said Coblentz, of Longnecker Mennonite Church in Winesburg. “I said, `God, I’m going to go out there and do the best I can. … Win, lose or draw, I give you the glory.”’


A number of tracks in the South, where both NASCAR and religion are king, have found success in recent years with the clergy races. The idea has spread throughout the country, from tracks in Las Vegas to Toledo, as speedway owners found congregations would come out to watch their pastors behind the wheel.

Tina Heil, general manager of the Wayne County Speedway, said she heard of the Faster Pastor races during a national meeting of track promoters. Wayne County scheduled the series and quickly found more than enough clergy willing to race at up to 85 mph in mini-stock cars.

Attendance doubled to about 300 adults _ kids are free _ on the pastor-racing nights. Churches that sell tickets to their members keep half the proceeds.

The track also collects food for area charities on the pastor race nights, with separate collection bins for each of the participating clergy. Pole position is determined by which pastor collects the most food. So far, the track has collected more than 3,000 food items, Heil said.

Both track officials and the pastors see the races as a way of reaching a wider audience.

Coblentz said participating in the race is a way to show the world that Christians like to have fun.


“If we can share our faith in the process, that’s awesome,” he said.

Sports has engendered mixed feelings among many religious folks. Evangelists say America’s love of sports offers them a platform to urge consideration of a higher playing field, but some critics worry religion is being courted cynically by an industry whose drug abuse, high injury rates and winning-at-all-costs attitude betrays the foundations of the faith being exalted.

Timothy Chandler, professor of sports studies at Kent State University, said more and more religious groups are using sports and high-profile athletes as a way to witness to their faith.

But, in sensitivity to some of the tensions involved, there also has been a movement away from the notion that God is on the winning side and a move toward offering thanks for the safety of all participants.

At the Faster Pastor races, the pre- and post-race prayers of each of the clergy interviewed are similar. “Lord, keep everybody safe and let me do my best and let us all have a good time, too,” was the plea of Wantz, pastor of Chippewa Church of the Brethren in Creston. Russ said he “just prayed for his protection on me and everyone else.”

Not that these pastors wanted to lose. “It’s been very competitive,” Heil said.

Added Coblentz: “I love to win. I’m not going to putz around the track at 5 miles an hour.”

But winning isn’t everything, the pastors said. Fair play and sportsmanship are also important on the track of life.


“It’s not a win at all costs,” Coblentz said. “That’s where people cross the line of being ethical and not ethical.”

Wantz, who had been on a track before, said one time during a race he made a mistake and made a dangerous pass. He slowed down and let the other driver pass. Afterward, he went up to the driver and apologized.

“The competition is basically doing your best. However you finish, that’s kind of secondary,” Wantz said. “I see it more as competing with myself, to learn to be my best.”

Church-related sports programs offer a great environment for individuals to deal with healthy and unhealthy competitive urges, to recognize their weaknesses and refine their approach, Russ said.

“Most men, particularly men, really do struggle with their competitive side,” he said. “There is a way to be competitive that really does honor God and reflect the character of Christ.”

(David Briggs writes about religion for The Cleveland Plain Dealer.)

KRE/PH END BRIGGS

Editors: Check the RNS photo Web site at https://religionnews.com for photos to accompany this story. Search by slug.


Donate to Support Independent Journalism!

Donate Now!