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| Eric McClure prepares for a qualifying run at Nashville (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images for NASCAR) |
I always look forward to this event, even though I always feel a little under the gun until I get all my interviews done. These guys are so busy and you never know if something else might come up which might cause your interview to get bumped to another time or canceled. So far, none of them have canceled on me.
I get into the interview. I'm fascinated by each guy's story and I love hearing how each guy attempts to live out his faith in his racing career.
A couple of years ago, I interviewed Eric McClure at the track about his faith and he was quite honest during our conversation, admitting, "I got a little bit caught up recently in what we were doing out here. I wondered why we weren’t running better, and I was worrying about what people think -- what people were writing on the messages boards; what people were writing in the press; and I let it consume me. It really affected the way I performed. It really affected my attitude and morale and I got down and I lost focus on what was most important. The biggest thing my faith is doing now is putting everything in perspective."
Last year, I interviewed 2000 Sprint Cup Champion Bobby Labonte at the track. He was not with a well funded team in 2009 and was really struggling through the notion of not running well. He too was candid about his situation, saying, "Whatever He wants me to do, He’ll lead me. It'll be for the right reasons and it'll be what He wants for me. It's kind of strange to be calm and not worried because that's not my personality. I'm not sure I'm doing it right. It's different for me to not worry, but my wife and I went for a walk in late summer and she told me I had turned 180 degrees from where I usually am. I'm learning to put my thoughts and worries on Him and let it come." I love his "I'm not sure I'm doing it right" admission.
Can't wait to hear some new stories this weekend.
