People don’t always listen to the spiritual promptings of family and friends. But if their idols told them to follow Christ, they may just be inclined to listen up.
The Daytona 500, a famous NASCAR car racing event in Florida, is set for Feb. 26. Millions of fans love NASCAR—and they root for specific drivers.
With so many eyes on the Daytona race, E3Partners didn’t want to miss out on an opportunity to make Christ’s name known, especially since a number of drivers are followers of Christ.
Out of a drive to unite Christian drivers and their fans, E3 helped form an event for the 2012 Daytona 500. E3’s John Humphries explains, “Really ‘I Am Second,’ which is an initiative of E3Partners’ ministry, has partnered with these drivers. The events themselves are called ‘Finish a Winner.'”
The event will take place at Ocean Walk Shoppes on Daytona Beach.
“It’s about a two-hour event that features five to six—and even more—of the current NASCAR drivers coming together, sharing their faith, and then meeting the public and signing autographs,” says Humphries. “There are bands that are also involved. It’s a really neat outreach event.”
Scheduled to attend the “Finish a Winner” event are multiple favorite NASCAR drivers. A new “I Am Second” driver film will be shown as well that features, among others, Trevor Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell, Justin Allgaier, Blake Koch and David Starr.
Bayne was the winner of last year’s Daytona 500 race. He was the youngest winner in the race’s history, coming in first when he was barely 20 years old.
But Bayne has more going for him than that. He is also a devoted follower of the God of the universe. Through “I Am Second,” he has already been able to share his passion for Christ via video and will share in public at the “Finish a Winner” event.
“Trevor [Bayne] has really taken it seriously to go ahead and share his faith when he has opportunities,” says Humphries, who adds that multiple drivers are excited for the event—so much so, in fact, that they plan to duplicate it. “The drivers have also determined that they will be doing similar events at other races around the country—not every race, but when they can.”
