Motorsports Ministries News Feed

20th Annual Silent Auction

Editor — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:32:52 +0000

Motorsports Ministries will be conducting its 20th Annual Silent Auction during the 58th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Presented by Fresh From Florida. The date will be March 17-20, 2010. The past auctions have been a great success and a lot of fun. We are once again asking for and collecting items for this year’s auction.

Items desired include team uniform clothing (shirts, jackets, hats, etc.), driver suits and helmets, racing memorabilia, pins, patches, artwork and photography (signed if possible), racing parts of interest, products or services of your company, and any other items that may be of interest to racing fans. This is a great way to clean out and reduce old inventory.

Items may be sent to one of the addresses listed below.

Motorsports Ministries Auction
c/o Andersen Racing, LLC
10101 US Highway 41
Palmetto, FL 34221

Motorsports Ministries Auction
c/o Jerry Howard
4611 Pine Tree Dr.
Del Ray Beach, FL 33445

Please do not send items to Sebring Raceway as in the past these items have been misplaced or lost.
All donations will receive a receipt for tax deduction purposes. Please enclose a list of items sent to aid us in preparing your receipt. Or you may e-mail the list directly to us at jen@motorsportsministries.org.

We hope to see you there and thank you to those who are able to donate to this great event!

Nelson Ledges Chaplain’s Notes - JOHN McGILL and the WORLD

Editor — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:49:05 +0000

The other day we lost an original at eighty nine years. To say John McGill was one of a kind is a vast understatement. Although his picture is in the dictionary as a definition of curmudgeon, he also had a heart for anyone down on his luck. Many a “poor boy” was helped by spending time at John’s home for the wayward otherwise known as the Nelson Ledges Road Course. John had formed the track with Marvin (great name, huh?) Drucker and was the track manager from 1962-2004. Now his son Scott Lane and daughter Kerrie Bartzi run the track.

Epic Stories

Editor — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:20:29 +0000

Have you heard about Susan Boyle? Most of us have. The British singing sensation, whom everyone dismissed upon first glance, stunned the world with her amazing talent. Though her stage presence lacked she soon won us over with her commanding voice.

I love epic stories. Victories like that of Susan's are depicted in John Eldredge's book Waking the Dead. Stories about real people with real problems and how God meets them with real answers. And the stories John highlights are those we can relate to as well, Biblical and personal stories.

Nelson Ledges Chaplain’s Notes - At SPA

Editor — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:01:47 +0000

Back in the day (late 60’s or early 70’s) Sports Illustrated, yes Sports Illustrated, published an article with artist renderings some of the most difficult corners in auto racing. I bought two copies because some of the pictures were back to back and I wanted to put them up on my dorm room walls at Ohio State. Two of the corners, the Masta Kink and Burnenville, were from the original configuration of a Formula One Course I would definitely like to visit, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. The natural beauty of the area looks spectacular. For history, both racing and world, few can match.

OUR STUFF

Editor — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:04:29 +0000

Nelson Ledges Chaplain’s Notes December 2009
It’s that time of year when we think of toys for all the good little girls and boys. And maybe there will be some toys for some not “always good” big girls and boys. I am convinced that most racers like their stuff. Sometimes it is their racecar itself, a thing of beauty and speed. Other times it is their tools, enough that could keep even the most highly strung machine purring like a kitten. Maybe it is trophies they won or the winner’s cap or checkered flag. The photographs of victories, defeats or maybe just being out there competing are a treasure to most. (I think I looked great in my picture in that $ 1,500 borrowed Hankook driver’s suit at the Nelson LeMons race.) For those who are more in the spectator mode it may be models of their favorite races cars or a print of a famous victory. Racers and stuff seem to go together.

Wandering

Editor — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:22:50 +0000

The Performance Racing Industry Show is right around the corner, Dec. 10th to be exact. It is a time when industry personal gather to talk with the many vendors and establish “deals” for the upcoming season. But for some it is a time to wander the isles.

As I am reading through Exodus the Israelites have just left Egypt. We know the story… they would wander for the next 40 years because they would not obey God; really they would not trust Him. Clearly we can see their foolishness; blindly I can not see mine, which brings me to my point.

Off-season is here and there are many giants in the land that must be dealt with. We struggle with our jobs, finances and maybe with our relationships. It is easy to wander the halls of ones mind searching, no dare say I, ignoring the giants. But we have the end of the story written out for us. We know that those who trust upon the Lord will win. We do not have to wander aimlessly but we can journey through the isles God wants us to walk without wandering!

Oh, and slay a few giants along the way!

Meet Samantha!

Editor — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:59:12 +0000

Motorsports Ministries' Office Manager, Jen Chiesa & her husband Tony, are proud parents to Samantha Grace Chiesa! She entered the world wide eyed and screaming on October 2, 2009 at 2:48pm. Samantha is perfectly healthy at 7lbs 12oz and 22 1/4 in long. Tony & Jen are thrilled with their new daughter and are nicely adjusting to parenthood. We are so happy for this new addition to the Motorsports Ministries family!

The Book of Exodus

Editor — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:38:24 +0000

Reading through the book of Exodus it is easy to have the 20/20 hindsight factor in high gear. Moses and Aaron are pleading with Pharaoh to “let My people go” but Pharaoh keeps hardening his heart, or hitting the redline thinking he is in control. Well most of us know the end of the story and how Pharaoh is dealt a huge blow; as a nation and personally.

To a degree, we see the same story replayed daily. No matter how much we implore people to change their ways and seek God’s desire for their lives they just keep trudging along doing it “my way”.
But as Moses and Aaron kept delivering the message so too must we. The outcome IS played out in 20/20, we know the end. And there are those that want to hear, so keeping going out and walking the walk because eventually pharaoh will let His people go!

Her Pinkness

Editor — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:19:03 +0000

Remembering Donna Mae Mims
I don’t remember exactly when I first met Donna Mae. It may have been when she was working on the false grid at Nelson Ledges or maybe when admiring her pink Corvette with the incredible mural of Marilyn Monroe on the hood. Her name sounded familiar since I had been following racing since the nearly 60’s, but it was only later I learned the extent of her accomplishments. Donna started racing in 1958 was the first and only one of three women to win an SCCA National Championship in H Production in 1963 in her pink Austin-Healy Bug eye Sprite in her pink coveralls and helmet. “I just always liked pink,” she said. Donna was an employee of the famous Yenko Chevrolet and worked with Zora Arkus Duntov among others in the development of Chevrolet Racing. She also raced Camaros, MGs, Corvettes, and Corvairs in places such as Sebring, Daytona, and Riverside. For one of her funnier escapades, she drove a Cadillac Limo in the 1972 Cannonball Run with an all girl team.

Nelson Ledges Chaplain’s Notes

Editor — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:28:39 +0000

RECEIVING
It is better to give than to receive. From the time we were children, (a long, long time ago for me) we have had this lesson taught to us again and again. And, it is a good thing. SCCA racing could not exist without the many volunteers who give more than they receive. Most of us owe someone who helped us in the past, a parent, a mentor, a coach, a teacher, or a pastor, who poured into our lives. Many times we can’t pay them back. Ohio State’s great former football coach Woody Hayes always said you can’t pay back but you can pay forward by helping others. Many don’t know of the hours he spent quietly helping the less fortunate.

But sometimes as you get older and you are in a position to be the giver most all of the time, you can become prideful of that fact. You feel that others need you more than you need them. Receiving becomes difficult because it wounds your pride to need others. When you finally receive it is can be very humbling.