WASHINGTON, July 28, 2011—Joe Nelms, pastor of Family Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn., thanked God for his “smokin” hot wife as part of the invocation prior to the Nationwide NASCAR race last Saturday night. The crowd cheered, perhaps in part because people like straight forward honesty, especially in pastors and politicians.
The line about “smokin” hot wives originated as satire of NASCAR and her loyal fans in the movie Talladega Nights. NASCAR, like the whole country, has been in a slump since 2008. Yet, again like the nation, it will find recovery in a return to the roots of what made it successful in the first place.
The history and success of NASCAR is emblematic of
Smuggling a little moonshine and running from federal revenuers added a financial incentive and extra excitement. Neal Thompson’s book Driving with the Devil captures well the story of how “after fighting in World War II, moonshiners transferred their skills to the rough, red-dirt race tracks of Dixie, and a national sport was born.”
Ingenuity, grit, common sense, personal risk, hard work, refusal to give up and the combined hunger and freedom to succeed – that’s what made NASCAR; it’s what made this country and it’s the only way out of the hole we find ourselves in as a nation today.
Like Dale Earnhardt said, “The winner ain't the one with the fastest car it’s the one who refuses to lose.
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