Nascar Driver’s Spiritual Struggle
By JTA
Wrapped in tefillin and standing before the Western Wall, race-car driver Jon Denning said he found inspiration he had never known on any track.
“I’ve never been a very spiritual person, but here I have had many spiritual experiences,” said Denning, 20. “I’m definitely coming back here for my entire life.”
As a Jew from Springfield, N.J., Denning is an anomaly in the world of Nascar, a sport based in the American South. He speaks openly about soldiering through antisemitic barbs, calls to accept Jesus and even what he describes as discrimination within the Nascar organization.
In Israel for 10 days on a Birthright Israel tour, Denning says he has acquired a sense of pride in learning more about Israel and Jewish history.
“After spending time with soldiers and talking with people on street, to be honest I’m jealous of how much respect they have for where they come from,” he said. “They have inspired me to stay strong to my Jewish roots.”
Denning, who attended a Conservative synagogue while growing up, said that moving to Virginia to train and race was a culture shock. Suddenly he was thrust from the more liberal Northeast suburbs to working mostly with Southern Baptists who were ardent about their religion.
“People, even those I was working with and tightly associated with, kept trying to force Jesus on me,” Denning said.
The proselytizing comes amid an atmosphere on the racing circuit that Denning describes as rife with racism and bigotry.
“People would curse Jews and put down minorities,” he said. “Their putting down people, including my people, made me want to come on this trip.”
Nascar official Andrew Giangola said that the organization had no knowledge of any misconduct among its drivers and is trying to make the sport more multicultural.
Toward that end, Nascar, which is dominated by white male drivers, recently instituted a diversity program that encourages acceptance of minorities and women into the upper leagues of the sport.
Denning says he applied for the program three times but was turned down after being told in official letters that the minorities program applied only to women, Hispanics and blacks.
Giangola, who is Nascar’s director of business communications and is involved in communications for the multicultural program, said that Nascar is “fully committed” to diversifying.
“Nascar is a mainstream American sport, and we want to look more like all of America,” he said. “Diversity is our top corporate priority.” According to Giangola, the minority program has brought in 21 new drivers.
Denning, who competes in the lower-echelon Whelen All-American Series, believes that the Nascar establishment is in no rush to embrace a Jewish racer in one of the upper leagues.
He started 15 races and finished in the top five three times and in the top 10 seven times. He finished 498th among 5,000 drivers in last year’s standings. Denning says he is uncertain about his future in racing and thus has begun an internship on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
He says his first trip to Israel has given him new momentum.
“It’s definitely the emotional lift I’ve needed,” he said.
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How come evertime a jewish guy does something, he is Jewish its special, if he is not a Doctor, or an accountant. Get over it, get out there earn a living. quotes from my father, a member of the Bielsky Brigade ww2. Those old guys still around insulting each other in Yiddish. They did not cry about the Goyem. I hope you win many races. G Albert
Imagine what it would be like for a Southern white male working at the NY Mercantile Exchange. When in Rome (Georgia)...
Hello Forward, Obama wants CHANGE.. The White House was always called The White House...........
If yo get out of the big citys and their suburbs this is still a redneck nation, with all the hate and fear that goes with that. we see that here in Los Angeles, go out to Riverside or San Bernadino and peaople just can not understand why you don't accept J C.
The Drive for Diversity program in NASCAR treats religion in the standard way governments and other bodies do -- considering gender and ethnicity, not religion (which a person can choose and change). Andrew Giangola Director of Business and Multicultural Communications NASCAR The only jewish person to come alone in years in NASCAR and the director of the diversity programs suggest that he changes or can change his religion to fit in. What a comment. That comment goes against the whole idea of the diversity program in racing.
If Mr. Giangola really wants to make NASCAR more diversified, then NASCAR should do away with the invocations to Jesus before every race (I'm even more appalled that none of the sponsors complained or pulled out).
Mr. Dennning like all of us cannot have Jesus forced upon him, freely accepted or nothing. He admitted, unlike most people, he wasn't real strong in his religion but held to his roots. When your base is on what you grow up with that is where you lean toward. Let us all try study, prayer, and an open mind. Like the parable of the sower. I did find it nice to see a driver at least mention his strugle. Racing seems to carry the beer drinking, get topless, loud, religion on a tee shirt only atmosphere. Go see how many attend services at the track and ask who loves Jesus ans see the noumber difference. I am extremely proud we have freedom of religion in America. God however wants it his way only and is our struggle to seek it out.