Season Opener at Caraway Speedway...

This past weekend we headed east for the season opener with the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, NC.

It was an absolutely beautiful day to be outside enjoying God's creation...the mid-80's temperature was as unexpected as it was welcomed compared to the sub artic temperatures we faced this time last year. All I can say is it was a beautiful day to be outside.

Upon arriving at the track we checked in to receive our credentials and headed into the infield. For this event I prepared a letter for each team that included a short devotional for them to read. So after we found our way into the infield we worked our way down the row of haulers making contact with each team and posting the devotional on each team's war wagon (tool box) or hauler. I plan on continuing with these letters throughout the entire season, I hope it allows everybody the opportunity to 'quiet' their day and meditate on God's word for a few moments.

We exchanged pleasantries with a lot of people throughout the day, but we did not find ourselves in a lot of deep conversation. Being that it was the season opener, everyone was very busy during the day getting ready for the race. The reality of there being 31 teams attempting to make the 26 car field just pushed everyone to work that much harder.

Around 4:00 practice started, and all of the teams hit the track for the next hour. The deafening V8's rumbling around the tiny track eliminated any possibility of talking to anyone...so we settled into a couple of folding chairs in the shade and rested a bit. The drivers meeting was scheduled to follow practice, so once the red flag was dropped and all of the cars cleared the track we headed to the building the meeting would be held in. Following the meeting, I closed us in a short prayer.

Qualifying went smoothly, and after qualifying those who made the race lined their cars on the front stretch for a fan autograph session. I typically use the autograph session time to pray with drivers individually prior to the race...and due to the amount of fans at this event I had to wait in line to pray with most!! This is, however, the only fitting time in the schedule to pray individually with them since immediately after the autograph session they buckle into their rides and get rolling.

I was also asked by the Caraway officials to present the invocation prior to the race, so after some hustling back and forth we found our way up to the tower to offer up a prayer prior to the race.

The race wasn't as smooth and clean as they usually are, with a few more cars than normal finding the hook of the wrecker, however we are thankful to God that there were no injuries.

All in all it was a great weekend, and we are excited about our community making their debut appearance in Nashville this weekend!