Windy City Raceway Ministries
Mission: To offer the racing community in the Greater Chicago area an opportunity to experience God’s love through guest services, worship and evangelism.
Purpose: To be of service to the race fans at Chicagoland Speedway, to share the love of Christ with the racing community, provide an opportunity for worship and fellowship, and present a local church connection for race fans.
Objective:To leverage the fan outreach program to turn a “contact” into a “connection”.
What is Raceway Ministries?
- The National Fellowship of Raceway Ministries is a national organization of volunteers, who organize and execute fan outreach events at major racing venues in the United States. www.racewayministries.com
What is Windy City Raceway Ministries?
- The local organization that, as a member of NFRM, organizes and executes the fan outreach and guest services at Chicagoland Speedway and other race venues throughout greater Chicago.
Raceway Ministries Partners
- Motor Racing Outreach (MRO)
þ MRO is an organization founded in 1988 by three drivers on the NASCAR circuit to minister in their unusual situation, as racers, and their families, are rarely able to attend "normal" church services.
þ MRO works with para-church organizations like Raceway Ministries to bring fan outreach to the racing venues each weekend.
- IRL Ministries (Indy Racing League)
þ Open wheel racing series with the Indy 500 as its cornerstone event
þ Fall event at Chicagoland Speedway
Focus Motorsports Ministries ( ARCA RE/MAX Stock Car Series)
þ Full bodied Stockcar series with nationwide exposure
þ Companion race at Chicagoland during IRL weekend
- Local Racing Venue
þ In the case of Windy City Raceway Ministries, that venue is Joliet’s Chicagoland Speedway
þ The NASCAR weekend fan attendance is over 100,000 guests.
þ The IRL weekend fan attendance is over 70,000 guests.
Why get involved in Windy City Raceway Ministries?
- WCRM is fully dedicated, and passionately sold out, to the mission of serving the Chicagoland race fan in a Christ-like manner.
Our first event at Chicagoland Speedway in July 2003, attracted 35 volunteers from 6 different churches, who enthusiastically served all weekend.
At the Track activities included:
þ Guest Service Ambassadors
þ Track Information
þ Chicagoland Speedway Lost & Found
þ Chapel Services
þ Concerts
þ Kids’ activities
þ Transportation Services
þ Connection information about local churches
- Highlights of the first two weekend events include:
þ The Chicagoland Speedway provided a 30x40ft tent, generator, signing and fixtures for WCRM.
þ Over 11,000 Driver testimony cards were distributed
þ Over1,900 names collected via raffle, which included:
- 400 people that wanted to be added to a WCRM email distribution list
- 86 people wanted information on a local church in their area
- Almost 100 people joined us for our WCRM Chapel Service on Sunday morning during the NASCAR weekend
- Future Windy City Raceway Ministries Services
þ Expanded Chicagoland Speedway guest service responsibilities
þ Fan trauma pastoral care (several WCRM Volunteers are now formally trained)
þ Campground host, including fan transportation services and kids activities
þ Chapel services in multiple locations
þ Track worker pastoral care
þ Evangelism Concerts with Driver/Crew testimonies
þ Building a logistical network to move a person who may make a contact at a trackside outreach event, to a connection with a church in their local area.
Growth Opportunities
To be able to leverage the power of the local church, both here in Chicagoland and nationally, to train, equip, and mobilize volunteers to minister to the 75 million NASCAR fans in the United States.