Can You Imagine

CAN YOU IMAGINE STARTING the football season with the Super Bowl? No way! Right? But every February the NASCAR season begins with its most important race. Called the “Super Bowl of stock-car racing,” the Daytona 500 kicks off the year in grand style.

For 20 years, NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt tried to win the Daytona 500. But a cut tire, an empty gas tank, a missing lug nut, and a myriad of other mishaps had kept him out of the winner’s circle. And although he’d won 30 races on the Daytona International Speedway, he’d never walked away with NASCAR’s top prize . . . until the 1998 race.

That year Earnhardt led for 107 laps, including the last 60, to take the title. He passed teammate Mike Skinner on lap 140 and led a pack of the leaders to a quick pit stop on lap 175 when a caution flag went up. Earnhardt made it out of the pits first. When the caution flag went down, only 12 laps remained. That’s when Jeremy Mayfield, Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gordon, and Bobby Labonte pushed Earnhardt to the brink.

First Mayfield and Wallace filled Earnhardt’s rearview mirror for five laps. Then Gordon, the 1997 Daytona winner, pushed his way into third. A dropped cylinder forced Gordon out, and Labonte took his place. When a caution flag appeared with one lap to go, Earnhardt gunned his No. 3 Chevrolet to the line. He edged Labonte for the victory, and Mayfield settled for third.

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POINT Dale Earnhardt never gave up the hope of winning the Daytona 500. Although he suffered 20 years of defeat in NASCAR’s biggest race, he stayed determined. And his average speed of 172.712 mph was the third fastest of all time.

The Lord wants us to keep going during difficult times too. We’ll definitely suffer setbacks as Christians. But by persevering, we’ll develop character and become more like Christ.

GOAL! Which feels better: winning something without trying or tasting victory after lots of hard work and practice? Hard-fought victories feel great because you know your effort was rewarded. God will help you persevere during difficult times if you ask him to.