Beyond the checkered flag

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LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Today is Thursday, September 25th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Lindsay Mast.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: pressures at the race track.

This year, the racing film F1 became one of the top grossing movies of the year—raking in a whopping six-hundred million dollars worldwide.

It’s just the latest in a long line of films romanticizing racing culture. Gran Turismo. Ford v. Ferrari. Fast and Furious. Even Cars.

MAST: But reality isn’t always so glamorous. The sport is grueling and dangerous with lots of emotional ups and downs, setbacks and disappointments.

For some racers, these challenges spark a new spiritual curiosity—and open a door for the gospel message. WORLD’s Grace Snell visited one racing competition in Upstate New York. Here’s the story.

AUDIO: [Engines whirring]

GRACE SNELL: The roar of engines fills the air at Spencer Speedway just outside Rochester, New York.

It’s like a sonic surge of adrenaline coursing through the pits.

AUDIO: [Walkie talkie squawking]

An ambulance and firetruck perch just off the track.

Just beside them stand Todd Heft and his 19-year-old son Noah. They’re not EMTs or firefighters.

NOAH HEFT: There’s always an ambulance here. So you have those actual first responders.

But they are first responders of a sort, Noah says.

NOAH HEFT: But I kind of look at us as the spiritual first responders.

Racing is an intense and dangerous sport where accidents can happen in the blink of an eye and agonizing defeats and mechanical breakdowns can easily cause tempers to flare.

NOAH HEFT: We’re the ones that are going to be first in line to go and address that part of the situation.

The Hefts are race chaplains—with a network called Racing With Jesus Ministries. Todd says their mission is to step into the volatility of the racing world with the peace and comfort of the gospel.

TODD HEFT: I feel like I carry the presence of God with me to the race track, and that definitely has a calming effect on people.

Racing is a lot safer than it used to be. But it isn’t safe, per se.

TODD HEFT: When you’re talking about, you know, cars that are driving in excess of, you know, of over 100 miles an hour, it doesn’t take much for things to go bad very quickly.

Todd says he’s only seen a handful of really bad accidents. But when they do happen, they leave lasting emotional scars.

TODD HEFT: Many of these drivers know someone who’s lost their life in a race.

ANNOUNCER: Let’s go racing! It’s the Maynard Troyer classic six here at Spencer Speedway…

Tonight’s race is in honor of one of these drivers, Maynard Troyer.

TODD HEFT: This was, you know, 40 years ago now, but it’s still very fresh in the minds of folks.

Crashes shake people up. They make people think about death and what comes after.

TODD HEFT: The thing that comes with that is the thought of what happens if what happens to me when I’m not here anymore?

Todd says that opens doors to share the gospel.

TODD HEFT: Amidst some of the, you know, the accidents and the incidents, there is realization that that that God is real. You know, especially when, when folks walk away from things and say, I don’t know why God protected me through that.

Tonight, the next round of racers is rolling up to the track entrance.

Todd steps forward and approaches one of the cars.

TODD HEFT: God, I just thank you for Patrick, Lord. I thank You for the night you’ve blessed him with tonight, Lord.

The driver reaches his hand through the window. Todd grasps it firmly.

TODD HEFT: I ask that You would be with Him, that You would guide him. Protect him throughout this race. Keep him safe. In your name we pray, Amen. Alright buddy…

This is a highlight of Todd’s work. Getting to pray with drivers in those nerve-racking minutes before they head out on the track.

People aren’t always receptive when Todd offers to pray for them.

TODD HEFT: Oftentimes, there’ll be drivers who will say, ‘No, thanks, I’m good, usually, generally, they’re very polite about it.

Todd doesn’t take it personally when people turn down his prayers. He just looks for other ways to minister to them—showing an interest in their lives and making a point to remember important birthdays and anniversaries.

Tonight, the competition is steep. Just a millisecond separates the first and second place finishers. It’s a high stress environment that acts as a pressure cooker for people’s emotions.

TODD HEFT: Race cars are not inexpensive to run in any way. So when things happen on track, that’s that’s often a lot of expenses for for people, and people get upset at that very quickly, especially if things have happened between teams in the past.

Part of the chaplain’s role is to help defuse these situations.

TODD HEFT: Sometimes all you have to do is just stand there, not even say a word, not try to physically separate people, but just gently move yourself in between them and just be like, ‘Why don’t we come over here.’

Todd says his work all comes down to building relationships—so that people trust him to step in when things go wrong. It’s hard, slow work and the Hefts don’t always get to see the results of their labor.

But, sometimes, they do get to see hearts change over time. People who have resisted prayer for years suddenly want Todd to pray with them.

TODD HEFT: Suddenly, maybe it’s something that’s happened on track, maybe it’s something that’s happened in their own personal life outside the track, but God’s got that, that tug and that pull on folks.

And that makes it all worthwhile.

AUDIO: [Cars fading into the distance]

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Grace Snell in Williamson, New York.

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