1on1: Billy Mauldin Jr.

Motor Racing Outreach was founded by Max Helton in 1988 to serve as a ministry for NASCAR drivers and teams who cannot attend regular church services on Sundays. The program proved to be so successful that affiliated programs now serve many forms of motorsports.

In addition, MRO provides activities and meeting places for spouses and children of the racing community at each track on the circuit.

Billy Mauldin Jr., current president and CEO of Motor Racing Outreach, stopped by at Atlanta Motor Speedway to answer a few questions about MRO and how he got involved in the ministry.

Q: How does one get the calling to work at a ministry where the congregation is literally on the move every weekend?

Mauldin: For me, it was a series of relationships. I was working at a church in Charlotte, and one of the kids in the youth group I was working with, their parents worked in racing. And it was through that I was introduced to Max Helton and Motor Racing Outreach. I began as a volunteer. And after volunteering and working for about five years, I had the opportunity to become part of this program full time in 1999 and have been with it ever since.

So it's like a lot of things in life. It was through relationships. Of course, I personally have the heart for people and do whatever I can to help them. This provided that as well.

Q: It's unusual in that unlike a typical church, your ministry and the congregation move from place to place each Sunday. How does that affect your work?

Mauldin: The church is mobile, obviously, traveling from track to track. But how we look at it is we build community by being a hub of activities and relationships. [At Atlanta], we had a fall festival where we can bring the parents and kids together. And when we do that, that's when the community and unity begins to take place. Where we meet together to have chapel is irrelevant. It's where we all want to be together.

Q: This sport's season is so long -- 40 weeks -- and the teams are on the road so much. How much does MRO help families stay together under difficult circumstances.

Mauldin: The sport is so emotional. You have such highs and such lows. One day can be a great day for you and the next can be a tough day. When you have those emotional swings, back and forth like that, to be able to have something like this here that enables your family to be with you, it helps you to keep everything in perspective.

Everybody has a bad day. If I have a bad day, at home, there's my three kids waiting for me at the door. It kind of brings everything back into perspective. It doesn't mean you're still not frustrated or disappointed or whatever. But being able to have your family with you and others that you care about, it helps you to cope with things. (Continued)