New fan favorites will take to the dirt track of the Jackson Speedway Saturday night, and they’ll bring with them active cheering squads.
Local pastors are set to climb into the cockpits of hobby stock race cars for the first time in Jackson for the debut of the Faster Pastor race, a spirited community-building event that is spreading across the racing scene nationwide.
The Faster Pastor race is the centerpiece of the speedway’s special charity night, an effort to fundraise for local charities by donating half of the $10 admission price back to the charity for each new fan it brings in with a special voucher.
“I don’t know of any other track that’s tried what we’re doing,” said Jon McCorkell, speedway promoter. “… A lot of churches and charities are hoping to participate. And for fun, we’re putting some pastors into the hobby stock class.”
Among those expected to participate as of Wednesday night were Jackson pastors Steve DeKok of First Baptist Church, Christopher Drew of First Presbyterian Church and Eric Hullstrom of Salem Lutheran Church; along with Doug Roth of Indian Lake Baptist Church in Worthington; Dan Taylor, a former Our Savior’s Lutheran Church of Jackson pastor now at Bethany Lutheran Church in Spencer, Iowa; Allen Porter of Estherville, Iowa's River Fellowship; and Les Mentor of Fairfax.
“I think it’s just a really neat promotional idea for the community. I’ve never heard of anything like this before,” Hullstrom said. “I know people are coming to the races that don’t normally go, and there are a couple big time racing fans handing out the vouchers. I think I’ll have a pretty big cheering section and the other pastors will too.”
Drew first caught wind of the possibility of the race when he came to give the invocation at the speedway’s opening night this season.
“I was all over it,” he said, imagining how cool it would be to get the chance to be on the track — and then pleasantly surprised to see it become reality.
The avid race fan has been in the Jackson Speedway grandstand every Saturday night but two already this summer, and last weekend ventured down to the dirt surface at the end of the night for a closer look.
“You don’t always see the undulations in the lay of the track, and you get different views from down there,” he said, noting the contrast of cornfields at the tops of turns one and two and concrete walls in turns three and four. “I think all the drivers will be suitably nervous so no one will get into any trouble.”
As for competing against each other, several of the pastors predicted wins — at least jokingly.
“I think it’s just going to be a fun thing,” DeKok said, “and it’ll be good for the community. … I expect to go and have a good time and if I’m able to win, I’m going to go for it.”
“Win or lose, it’s going to be fun,” Hullstrom added.
Each church has designated the proceeds of the fundraising to efforts like its youth group or a special ministry or missions project.
Another one of the charities is the family of Dominick Bruns, the infant son of stock car driver Shawn Bruns who died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. In addition to the vouchers, a $1,000 match has been put up for giving to their cause — providing newborn sleep blankets at hospitals in Redwood and Renville counties — and will be added to the purse of the Dominick Bruns Memorial Race for the stock cars.
“The speedway has done a tremendous thing by having this charity night,” Drew said.
