Joe Gibbs, a NASCAR team owner, challenges 5,000 race fans to follow Christ. He was speaking before the Grand National Series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord.

The presentation included rollicking country music by Steve Ivey and his band, which helped attract a larger crowd to hear a pep talk from NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs and a motivational sermon from evangelist Ken Smith.

Smith challenged the gathered fans to commit their lives to Christ, and more than a dozen children, youth, and adults responded. Other members of the audience applauded while fans, clad in the colors of their favorite race team, made their way through the crowd to stand before the stage.

Afterward, participants enjoyed lunch boxes prepared by volunteers from Cabarrus and Stanley associations, then settled into grandstand seats for the All Pro Bumper to Bumper 300.

"Super Saturday" is the brainchild of Charles Nicholson, a retired medical doctor, avid aviator, devoted NASCAR fan and member of First Baptist Church in Concord. Nicholson shared his dream with Randy Wadford, director of missions for Cabarrus Association and coordinator of Cabarrus Raceway Ministries, which provides a free breakfast and leads worship for 400 or more racing fans prior to Sunday races at the Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Nicholson and Wadford met with Baptist State Convention officials Milton Hollifield, executive leader of the Mission Growth Evangelism group, and Nelson Searcy, leader of the Evangelism/Church Growth team. The event ultimately became a partnership between the BSC, Cabarrus Raceway Ministries, and Racing Fan Outreach (RFO), a division of Motor Racing Outreach (MRO).

MRO is a 10-year-old organization founded by Max Helton that now encompasses a number of staff chaplains and is active within the racing community. Persons involved in the sport are away from home most weekends during NASCAR's 10-month season, and many look to MRO as a surrogate "church on the road." The organization focuses on drivers, crew members, owners, and their families, many of whom travel to each race and camp in motorhomes in a reserved part of the infield.

Thousands of race fans turn speedway lots into camper cities.

Racing "insiders" are not the only persons in need of ministry, however. Upward of 100,000 racing fans stream to each race, and many of them are unchurched. RFO was begun three years ago with the urging and support of NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs, Interstate Batteries Chief Executive Officer Norm Miller, and several other businessmen. RFO is led by Dennis McGowan, a member of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte.

McGowan coordinates outreach programs to racing fans by working with local parachurch and church groups, including chapters of Raceway Ministries, which is coordinated by the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board.

Super Saturday events were held on a stage that folds out from RFO's custom tractor-trailer rig and includes both sound and lights. Publicity and ticket sales were handled through the BSC's Evangelism/Church Growth team. Local coordination and most of the necessary labor was provided by Wadford, the DOM, and volunteers from Cabarrus Association, with some assistance from members of Stanly Association.

The cooperative effort paid off handsomely as the inaugural event exceeded expectations, according to BSC's Searcy. More than 3,200 tickets were sold through churches, and 2,000-plus additional persons stopped by to enjoy the program. Doug Stafford, executive vice-president for Events at Lowe's Motor Speedway, was also pleased, and has extended to N.C. Baptists an invitation for a return engagement in October 2000.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first of a two-part series.)