>> Darrell: People call it cocky or arrogance,
[DARRELL WALTRIP] but you have to be that way to stay on top.
At least, at least in that moment that's what you think
[RACING FOR SECOND]
>> Trevor: Racing takes so much focus.
[TREVOR BAYNE] There's no wandering of your mind about,
you know, oh, did I forget my laundry in the washing machine or whatever?
>> Michael: Your brain is going faster
[MICHAEL McDOWELL] than those wheels are.
One mistake in our sport can cost you the race.
>> Darrell: And the car is like a beast.
>> Aric: The car is 3,600 pounds.
>> Darrell: It wants to go one way.
>> Aric: Eight hundred horsepower.
>> Darrell: And you want to go the other.
[ARIC ALMIROLA] >> Aric: The best way that I describe it is,
if you put your car on cruise control going 80 on the interstate,
but leave your car on cruise control at 80
and come up to one of those exit ramps that circles around
and see if you can make it off the exit ramp
while still going 80, right?
[DAVID STARR] >> David: The intensity
builds and gets higher.
>> Michael: You're at 200 miles an hour.
>> Trevor: Getting hotter in the car.
>> Aric: The tires slipping and sliding around.
>> Michael: Inches apart. >> Aric: Like driving a snowy road.
>> Darrell: Forty-three cars in a wad.
>> Aric: Gripping the wheel a little tighter.
>> Darrell: Winds blowing around. >> Michael: It is loud, it is rough.
>> Trevor: Screaming.
>> Aric: Squeezing your butt cheeks a little bit.
>> Darrell: Somebody is bumping you and you saying,
"Whoa, whoa, don't do that."
>> Michael: As you get so many years into it, you start to,
you know, you hear the lies, no, it's never going to happen.
You just don't have it.
>> Darrell: Fans hated me because of my arrogance.
>> Michael: You were scraping to get by and racing wasn't going well.
>> Darrell: Richard Petty used to say about me,
so that boy might win a lot of races, he may make a lot of money,
but he'll never be NASCAR's most popular driver.
>> Aric: When I had success at the racetrack, I was so excited.
But by Tuesday or Wednesday of that next week, it was gone.
>> Darrell: They threw beer cans and chicken bones at me.
I'd say, "Yeah, bringing it on, you know, it's not bothering me."
Well, in fact, it did bother me a lot.
>> Aric: I was constantly chasing happiness and it was always eluding me.
And if I did find it, it was short term.
[JOE GIBBS] >> Joe: I kind of found in life,
the hardest things for us to handle is real adversity or real success.
Those two things get us.
>> David: I met a man named Norman Miller.
He was involved in NASCAR racing with Joe Gibbs.
>> Aric: I was with Trevor Bayne, and he said, "Hey, man,
we're having, you know, our Bible study this afternoon, why don't you come?"
>> Darrell: I met a minister, Dr. Cortez Cooper.
>> Trevor: I'm talking with my friend, Michael McDowell, in his motorhome.
>> David: You know, I was just talking to him about,
you know, the tough times and things weren't really going my way.
And Norman, out of the blue, just asked me how my personal relationship was with Christ.
And it kind of caught me off guard.
>> Darrell: Do you do believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and your Savior?
And I said, "Well, I just don't know if I'm ready for that or not."
>> David: I said, "Norman,
you know, I've been going to church ever since I was a little boy."
But he said, "No, I mean,
you know, how is your relationship with Jesus, with God?
Do you have a strong relationship?"
>> Joe: In church, the pastor there explained to me
that there was a loving God who had created this world,
He looked down and knit me together in my mother's womb,
He made me special and different, and He loved me.
And He had a real desire to be my Lord and personal Savior.
>> Aric: At this Bible study, you know, these guys
were not the most successful guys of our sport.
And yet, I was blown away at the amount of joy
and love that just filled this room
of drivers that honestly weren't that successful.
>> Trevor: We're talking about reading books and studying.
And finally, I'm just like, "Man, you know, I'm kind of tired to read
and I don't know if that's right or wrong or what,
but I'm tired of trying to learn who God is.
I'm tired of trying to see what everybody else's take on God is.
I'm just ready to know Him."
>> Joe: I knew and felt that there was somebody who really loved me
and wanted a personal relationship with me.
>> Trevor: I want to experience His power in some way
and Him just say, "This is who I am."
>> Darrell: On July 9th, hot, no air conditioning, sweating,
crying in the hallway, on my knees.
Dr. Cooper, Stevie, and I prayed
that the Lord would come into my life and He did.
>> David: We prayed and I asked Jesus to be my personal Savior.
>> Aric: To come into my life every day, not just the days that I needed Him,
not just when it was convenient, but every day.
>> Darrell: People think you get saved. You make a deal with the Lord.
Okay, now I'm going to win a lot of races 'cause I'm saved.
I'm a Christian, I'm a good guy, and so now I'm going to win a lot of races.
It doesn't work that way.
Your challenge, your walk, the journey just begins.
>> Michael: You know, as men and as,
you know, fathers and husbands and leaders, we want to control everything.
We want to control all the circumstances but, you know, we learn more and more.
I've learned more and more that
I really don't have control of much of anything.
And God is in, you know, the mix, even when it seems like it's falling apart.
>> Trevor: I started realizing that it's not about performance,
it's just kind of removing your veil.
>> David: You know, I asked Him, "Hey, Lord, give me some guidance.
It's in your hands, you know the end result, you know the challenges I'm facing."
>> Darrell: I didn't win as many races, but people started to see a change in me.
in that selfishness, that arrogance, that rudeness,
that in your face attitude I had started to soften,
and that was that was important to me.
>> Aric: I try to make my life about serving others now.
I don't always get it right.
I still am selfish at times,
but I catch myself now where I didn't before.
[Aric Almirola became the first person of Cuban descent to win a NASCAR race.]
>> David: I have a personal relationship with Christ.
I learn more from Him.
He makes me a better person, a better competitor,
and better husband, and makes me a better father.
[David is a six-time winner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.]
[He competes in all three pro touring series.]
>> Michael: I always get this question, "Now that you won the Daytona 500,
you know, how has your life changed?"
I said, my career maybe changed, but my career is just what I do.
It's not who I am, it's not what defines me.
Being a follower of Christ is what defines me.
[Michael displayed a career-long story of perseverance with a first career win]
[at the legendary Daytona 500.]
[Trevor Bayne, Michael's friend, also stunned the sports world at the Daytona 500]
[as the youngest winner in NASCAR history.]
>> Darrell: It's hard for an athlete, it's hard for a movie star,
it's hard for anybody to put somebody above them.
But this guy over here, Jesus Christ, He's looking down on us.
He wants to share His love with you,
and He just asked you to share it with Him.
["Ole DW" won over fans as a three-time Premier Series Champion.]
[And an endearing TV commentator.]
[To be one of the sports all-time greats.]
>> Joe: I'm one of those very average people
that God has allowed to enjoy
some of the most exciting things in life.
[Joe is 5x Cup Series champion owner, and a 3x Super Bowl champion coach.]
[He is the only person inducted into both the NASCAR and pro football Hall of Fame.]
>> Joe: I'm Joe Gibbs.
>> Michael: My name is Michael McDowell.
>> Trevor: My name is Trevor Bayne. >> David: My name is David Starr.
>> Aric: My name is Aric Almirola. >> I'm Darrell Waltrip.
And in this race, I finish second.
[I Am Second]