A little religion with their racing

When many people think of NASCAR, they think of moonshine runners turned racers, rowdy fans and "The King."When Billy Mauldin thinks of NASCAR, he thinks of the same things -- but likes to put it all in the context of the "King of Kings."Mauldin heads up the Motor Racing Outreach program, a Christian organization that is not officially associated with NASCAR but has a strong presence at every track on the circuit.Founded by the late Max Helton 20 years ago, MRO helps serve as a de facto church for drivers, crewmembers, media and fans that want to attend worship services while still attending the races."Our affiliation with racing has allowed our organization the chance to do a lot of special things," said Mauldin. "We want to introduce the racing community and fans to Christ, and we've been able to do it."MRO doesn't take an in-your-face approach to religion. In fact, it was drivers and teams who planted the seeds for the organization.While there are plenty of competitors who use the track itself as an altar, others wanted an actual church to be part of their race day routines."About 75 percent of our funding comes from race teams," Mauldin said. "There were drivers who obviously couldn't go to church in their hometowns, and they wondered if there was some way a service could be held at the track. That's where we come in."Mauldin said the first chapel service at the track takes place around 6 a.m. for the media, then vendors have the opportunity to attend at 6:15 a.m.Crewmembers and drivers attend the service that follows the drivers' meeting, and MRO members go down the line of 43 cars prior to each race offering a prayer to each competitor.Aside from church, the group also provides counseling. One of their busiest times came following the death of Dale Earnhardt in the 2001 Daytona 500."That had such an impact on so many people we had to send people to race shops, businesses and homes," Mauldin said. "And when that race was over everyone had gone except for the drivers of the haulers and motor coaches, and we were there for them as well. A lot of times we depend on churches in the area to work with us in situations like that."Mauldin also said fans might be surprised as some of the drivers who take an active interest in MRO."A lot of these guys do things behind the scenes that you never hear about," he said. "Kyle Busch, who people seem to either love or hate, is really growing up and does some really good things. And Tony Stewart -- you might think of him as a bad boy but he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.""The death of Dale or Adam (Petty) -- those things are the hardest parts of our job. But those are the times people need us the most, and we want to be there for them."(Contact Scott Adamson of the Anderson Independent-Mail in Anderson, S.C., at adamsons(at)independentmail.com.)