God Winks on the Road: How Lori Cutter Became a Chaplain for Racers for Christ

Faith finds its place in the fast lane through the quiet, consistent ministry of racing chaplains. In this heartfelt conversation, Lori Cutter reveals her journey from pit crew member to Racers for Christ chaplain, sharing how divine timing led her to discover her true calling after years in various motorsports roles.

"I never felt 100 percent like the Lord had me exactly where he wanted me," Lori confesses, describing the moment everything changed when a fellow crew member challenged her to consider chaplaincy. Now serving primarily with High Limit Racing alongside her husband Charlie, who works as a track medic, Lori has found her purpose providing spiritual support to drivers, crews, families, and fans.

The chaplain's role extends far beyond the visible prayers before races. From cleaning mud off cars when teams are scrambling to make repairs, to checking on drivers after crashes, to sending birthday cards and cupcakes to traveling teams – these "God winks" create meaningful connections in a community that's constantly on the move. "I'm finding that I'm that mom figure," Lori explains, "that comforting figure they normally would get when they're home."

With only about twenty chaplains covering all dirt tracks nationwide, Racers for Christ faces a significant need for volunteers willing to serve this unique mission field. Lori's story illuminates how racing creates a special kind of family, where text messages from worried mothers asking her to give their kids a hug bridge the distance between home and the track.

Whether you're involved in motorsports or simply curious about how faith intersects with racing culture, this conversation offers a rare glimpse into the spiritual side of speed. Visit TeamRFC.org to learn how you can support this ministry or explore becoming a chaplain yourself. After all, as Lori reminds us: "God plants you, but he doesn't leave you there."

Transcript

Meeting Lori and Her Racing Background

Speaker 1 0:02

Hello everyone. This is Melinda Russell with the Women's Motorsports Network podcast, and I have a very special friend with me today. Lori and I have known each other. I was thinking about it this morning, Lori. I think it's been since 2018.

Speaker 2 0:20

18 or 19. I'm not even sure. I don't know if we met at PRI.

Speaker 1 0:23

We did. I think it was that.

Speaker 2 0:26

So it's been we were along the way. One of your young gals introduced me to you.

Speaker 1 0:31

Yeah, so it's been five or six years that we've been friends and we've connected in Arizona, where you live in the winter and I did too for a while. We've connected in Iowa when I came to visit for the Knoxville Nationals and we've been to English Creek together and we've had all kinds of fun together and racing brought us together, which is the thing that I love about. That is, we would have never met had it not been for motorsports. So I've made a lot of good friends and you're right at the top of the list of those.

Speaker 2 1:04

I say God's good in that area, right he?

Speaker 1 1:07

really is, and so you've been involved in all kinds of projects and occupations in racing. But we want to concentrate on this podcast, on what you're doing now, because I didn't know a lot about it until you got started in it, and so on Flow Racing, I watch every time you're in the high limit racing area and you're working with Racers for Christ, and so, lori, I want to talk to you first about how did you get involved with Racers for Christ and what have you been doing all summer? Tell me how, how that's been going. And then, um, you know what? What is your role in Racers for Christ?

Speaker 2 1:53

just tell me all about it. You're asking a lot of questions there. I am, I am oh my gosh, I don't even know where to start. Well, I guess, first of all, yes, you're right, I've been involved in racing my entire life, from all kinds of aspects, from being a journalist with National Speed Sport News to being on pit crews, to being in the marketing and helping sponsorships, I mean, just a plethora of stuff. But you know, I never felt 100 percent like the Lord had me exactly where he wanted me.

Speaker 1 2:26

Yeah.

Speaker 2 2:28

So, yeah, and last year actually, where was it? It was a 2024. We were in Arizona getting ready to pack up and head back to Iowa for our whatever called six months back in Iowa, six months in Arizona and my husband, charlie you know, charlie, he's a, he's a medic and he's been very blessed to serve in several roles at different racetracks. The plan was we were coming back from Arizona to head back, to get settled back in Iowa and where he was on the fire rescue team at Knoxville Raceway for many years. And that was his plan. He knew exactly. And then, not on top of that, he also was already serving at a couple of NASCAR tracks and IndyCar tracks. So Charlie knew, without a doubt, his flying days were over, he was retired, because you hit that magic age. He figured out how to do life and where God had him, but I was coming back going. I don't know what I'm going to do. Nothing's working.

Speaker 1 3:34

I know. Let's back up just a minute. He flew for Delta for a long time.

Speaker 2 3:39

Yeah, it was originally Northwest Airlines he started in 1979. And so he ended his career in 2021, when he hit the magic age of 65. You can't fly on your birthday, by the way, and they did merge with Delta, I don't know 15, 20 years ago. So he ended his career there, but he had already been doing medic work. Yes, so that was just a natural way back when, when we got married, to get involved in the racing aspect.

Speaker 1 4:06

Right.

Speaker 2 4:07

So again, he knows what he's doing. Yeah, lori's going. Okay, well, I can go back and try to find a crew to pit for, cause I love getting, I love playing in the mud. Yeah, that's just what I knew. I grew up that way. You know, my brother taught me how to be the best pit crew gal out there and, um, I loved it, but, um, don't mess with the mechanical stuff. Just, you know, getting all the mud off the car and doing the stuff as far as tear offs on the helmet and running after lineups and all that kind of stuff, that was my gig and so that was the thing. I was coming back to knoxville and I was like, oh, I'm not sure where I'm going to fit in, and I was really feeling angst that I knew got out of purpose, didn't know what it was Right.

Speaker 1 4:54

Right.

Speaker 2 4:56

Um, so fast forward. We're out in um Salinas, missouri, uh, salinas High Bank Nationals, in May of 2024. I was actually helping Tanner Holmes out that weekend and his sister, because they just needed extra help, and I said, hey, I could come out. Charlie's going to be there working with High Limit as the medic and hey, I'm coming anyways.

Speaker 1 5:23

Right, you're going to be there anyway, yeah.

Speaker 2 5:26

So that's kind of how I found out more about Racers for Christ.

Speaker 1 5:31

Okay.

Speaker 2 5:32

A gentleman that I had met at Chili Bowl that cruised for Sammy Sundell at Chili Bowl, didn't know it, he was a chaplain for Racers for Christ.

Speaker 1 5:44

Okay, bowl, didn't know it.

Speaker 2 5:45

He was a chaplain for Racers for Christ and he happened to be at the High Limit Race that night as a chaplain, not a crew guy. So Jackson Whitaker I forever am grateful for him because he basically gave me a challenge about looking into Racers for Christ and coming alongside and becoming a chaplain. And it was after conversations just that started actually at Chili Bowl, just talking about life and our purpose and where God has us and are we really living out that plan. And then it just continued when we ran into each other in May of 2024.

Speaker 1 6:19

Yeah, and you know, those are not coincidences.

Speaker 2 6:23

No, they're not, they're God winks. They're God winks.

Speaker 1 6:25

They're God winks. That's what you and I call them, for sure.

Speaker 2 6:28

Yeah. So he just left me with that challenge and I felt so convicted I went home and that that year the very first three races of Knoxville season got rained out. So I literally went into the Racersers for Christ website. When you come become a chaplain, it's there's homework to do. They make you do these modules of training before you can even apply to be a chaplain okay so because of those rain outs, I literally just sat in front of the computer for hours.

Speaker 2 7:03

um, because I had couple of free nights and just took a chunk each night. And you know, within those three weeks I completed all my training and the next thing I was getting an application. They do a background check and then what?

Speaker 1 7:19

are some of the things that they teach you in those modules. What are some things that they're looking for?

Speaker 2 7:25

Well, basically that as a chaplain we have lots of responsibilities. That, yeah, most people see us in the role of doing driver prayer, for instance at a track, and also doing the invocation, opening ceremony prayers, and a lot of people think that's all we do. But in those training modules we also learn about how to come alongside and disciple somebody, just to be there to love on them. We say that we provide the spiritual, emotional and practical needs. So sometimes I could be walking by a team and see that they are working on a motor and they're trying to get back out on the track in a very quick time and there's nobody to take the mud off the car. Well, guess what Lori does? She grabs a mud scraper and I go to work and I've done that.

Speaker 1 8:19

Okay, so that meets that practical need you know.

Finding Purpose with Racers for Christ

Speaker 2 8:21

So again, those are the kinds of things that meets that practical need you know. So again, those are the kinds of things and then it talks about you know how do you respond in in a crash environment, and it walks us through training like that, training just about. You know confidentiality and what we're allowed to share and not to share. We're under HIPAA guidelines and you know we can even perform. We can even perform funerals and some chaplains are ordained that they also are certified to do weddings.

Speaker 1 8:53

Okay.

Speaker 2 8:54

Yeah.

Speaker 1 8:54

That'd be kind of fun, wouldn't it?

Speaker 2 8:56

I've done a funeral service and it was an honor for a young guy I grew up with in Arizona racing midgets. It was his father. They just called me out of the blue last year and said you know we don't want a big thing for him. He didn't really want anything, but can you just come and pray over our family and our guests? And I mean, what an honor to be called.

Speaker 1 9:20

Absolutely, that's a huge honor. So Knoxville gets rained out like a lot of tracks did.

Speaker 2 9:26

they rained out here in kalamazoo too you know, and so you applied to become a chaplain and every module I did, I felt I just got that confirmation back. I mean, I really I prayed through the process and I really felt like this is where I really feel, instead of helping one team out.

Speaker 1 9:49

Yeah.

Speaker 2 9:50

Where do I go? Wherever God decides to put me, at any racetrack. And now I'm finding, because of flow, racing like this weekend I'm not at. I had to take a weekend off to get some things done back here in Iowa before we head out for the rest of the high limit season and get our stuff to Arizona before their season's over, so I'll be online on full. Now there's things that happen at the track and there might be a chaplain there that's not familiar with the teams or our process and something goes down. I reach out, I send them a note, I call them and I say hey or say there's a driver that gets you know, looks like he might be banged up. I have all the wives and girlfriends, moms, text you know phone. So I start texting them and saying hey, it's Lori, I just want you know.

Speaker 1 10:42

I'm praying for you, you know start texting them and saying, hey, it's lori, I just want you know I'm praying for you.

Speaker 2 10:46

You know we have a staff or we have somebody on on site and then I also remind them, especially if it's high limit. You know that charlie's there as a medic and he, whatever happened, he's in good hands right, right and that is so reassuring and so because you know they're traveling.

Speaker 1 11:03

So let's go back a minute. We kind of skipped over the fact that you're you're both working with high limit racing.

Speaker 2 11:10

Majority. Majority yeah I mean obviously their season closes in October.

Speaker 1 11:14

We have other things that we're doing, Right, but that's kind of the primary thing you've been doing this year, and so the, the relationships, is what you've built at those tracks and without that they wouldn't be comfortable reaching out to you and asking for prayer, because that's a very personal kind of a lot of people would not do that, even if they knew you well. And from what I know about you, lori, when you told me you were going to volunteer with Racers for Christ, I knew you were where God wanted you to be, because through all of our conversations in the last several years and you and I both trying to find out where do we fit and what is our role and what should we be doing.

Speaker 1 12:02

This is where you belong. This is where you belong, and so the fact that now, even if you're not on site, yeah, you can reach out because you've built those relationships. They've given you their phone numbers correct. You're a friend, yes, more than you're just. You're not just a chaplain for racers for Christ, you're their friend.

Speaker 2 12:23

Yeah, I'm the person that can fill that gap too. Mom and dad and wife or girlfriend can't be there.

Speaker 1 12:33

You know it's the feet on the street, yeah. And when they're traveling, how lonely that is if something goes wrong, yeah.

Speaker 2 12:41

Yeah.

Speaker 2 12:41

I mean now, this year has been really, really fun because we started off at Chili Bowl, so that was a week long um serving there. Um, I got to work in the staging lanes for seven days and go pray with drivers and then go chase down drivers, cause we do after we call post-crash um checkups. So usually 15 minutes or after we'll go check on the driver and make sure they're still okay, or the family If it's. If it looks like it's a really bad, then I make sure I'm at nearby the crash scene looking for a crew or family that's there to just be there with them. Right, so there's there.

Speaker 2 13:22

Sometimes the timing is immediate, sometimes it's later. Yeah, and then I also this year before we went on the road full time after nationals served weekly at Saturday nights at Knoxville Raceway as well, alongside their two track chaplains, and then Sundays we would drive up to Houston, which was a five and a half hour drive every Sunday morning to work up there as well. So it wasn't just High Limit, yeah, and we even saw a couple of World of Outlaw shows came in to the area that their chaplain reached out and said hey, you're already there, why don't you cover for me? Which?

Speaker 2 13:57

is an incredible blessing to be able to help. We're all in the same thing. We all are there to share love. Yeah. Doesn't matter what logo we have on our shirt.

Speaker 1 14:07

Right and the. And the fact that other chaplains reach out to you and say, hey, could you fill in for me, Shows the credibility that you have with them. You know I wanted to mention that since Chili Bowl you've served almost 911 hours, and four hundred and sixty nine of those is high limit alone.

Speaker 2 14:28

Right.

Speaker 1 14:28

And then, of course, Knoxville, and and you mentioned Houston, and then you also did a couple of tracks in Arizona. So so you're, you're spreading the love and the message you know what's so great about God's world?

The Role of a Racing Chaplain

Speaker 2 14:44

I don't know if you ever thought about it. It's like, yeah, you might be in Arizona, which this happened to me. I'm praying that a driver's meeting A lot of the tracks there. There's two tracks that I serve at. One is Central Arizona Speedway, which mainly runs I call them adult classes, you know, the sprint cars and the IMT modified those kinds of things. But then we go over to Adobe Mountain Speedway, which is up in Glendale and that's more of a micro outlaw cart track, right. So I've got youngsters right seven, eight, nine year olds that I'm ministering to and you do that different. But then I'm out. Where was I? I was in California or somewhere recently, on the swing and also in Knoxville, obviously for nationals and these young kids from Adobe come by and say, hey, remember me. So God plants you, but he doesn't leave you there. No, he'll put those people back in your path again.

Speaker 1 15:46

Yeah.

Speaker 2 15:47

Yeah.

Speaker 1 15:49

No, this is who you are, Lori. This is right where you're supposed to be. What have been, what's been some of the most rewarding about the position you've had and this is volunteer, correct.

Speaker 2 16:04

Yeah, yeah. So Racers for Christ started 50 years ago. It's a non-profit um 501c3. People can make donations to the ministry. That bless us all. And um, yeah, and 50 years ago and to this day, I would say close to 80 percent of the chaplains that we have and we have under 400 chaplains us-wide, under around 80, and so it's a good number that minister to drag racing. Only 20 of us are trying to cover dirt across the whole us. And they don't do we're in need of chaplains?

Speaker 2 16:46

They don't do asphalt tracks, it's just dirt. No, no, I mean no Circle track. They even have an organization called Rotters for Christ For people who love car shows. Okay, you have chaplains there. They have chaplains at the drag strip. Okay, I'm just saying in general dirt because, right, yes, even like where you are in Kalamazoo, I don't know if you have a track chaplain there, but we're finding there's other ministries out in the racing world that are smaller, still effective, yes, and we want to come alongside them as well and support them.

Speaker 2 17:23

I think in February I was in Volusia helping with the UMP Modifieds, and so yeah, so do they contact you.

Speaker 1 17:36

How did you end up in Volusia? You know, do they contact you.

Speaker 2 17:42

February is, you know, daytona 500. It's also Charlie and I's anniversary, so we'd like to try to, and when we got married we went on a Disney cruise out of Florida. So we always like to go to Florida in February for our anniversary. It's something we've just been doing and if we can mix racing with it, obviously it makes sense. Well, he, through MedStarstar, where he works as a medic. They were needed in ocala, florida, to support some of the usac races okay which is follows right after volusia yeah um, and then the gentleman that is the minister for the world of outlaws.

Speaker 2 18:26

Through racing with Jesus, Chris, he and I stay in touch and I just say, hey, we're going to be in Florida. Do you need any help? Oh, by the way, yes, so you know a lot of it's just knowing where we're going. I reach out to the chaplains that I know are going to be in that area or the series. Okay, and say, hey, I'm going to be there. Do you have somebody covering? If not, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 18:53

So that's kind of and Lori, why don't we hear more about this? Because you know there's not a chaplain at Kalamazoo or Galesburg or anywhere that I go. Yeah, and you know those are small short track short tracks, but even at that, as much as we're involved in racing, naturally, I knew about it, but a lot of people don't even know that this is out there or that they could reach out for someone or that they could become a chaplain.

Speaker 1 19:25

You know, let's say you become a chaplain in the Kalamazoo area and you cover Kalamazoo on Friday night and Galesburg on Saturday or Berlin on Saturday. So you know, why do you think we don't know more about it? We need to get the word out that there's a need.

Speaker 2 19:43

Absolutely, and I'm not sure why. Why we don't know. I mean, I knew about racists, for christ. Probably the time I met you in 2018, I actually was headed to pri from phoenix, flying out to indianapolis, and, um, we were on the airplane. I actually was bringing Taylor cool out there, which you've met. She'd never been to PRI and you know she has some sponsors that she wanted to go meet in person and I'm like come with me, I'll get you plugged in. So, lo and behold, we're at the airport and a gentleman shows up with an RFC shirt on. Okay, we chit chat a little bit. Well, I happened to be Eddie Boyer, who's, I guess, our GM or CEO. We're run by a board because we're a non-profit, but Eddie's the face everybody sees. I had met Eddie at a racetrack, but he mainly serves the drag racing world, because that's the responsibility. That's where most of our funding comes from. It's from donors that are involved in drag racing.

Speaker 1 20:46

Okay.

Speaker 2 20:46

Okay. So anyways, Eddie and I and Taylor were chatting. Well, the next thing you know we're sitting on the airplane, he walks up and he goes. Excuse me, I'm sitting in that middle seat, so we had a captive.

Speaker 1 20:58

Yeah.

Speaker 2 20:59

Three hour flight and we learned all about racers for Christ Okay.

Speaker 2 21:03

But I still you know here's the thing, and we learned all about racism, okay, but I still you know, here's the thing I still left saying when, when my friend jackson, back in missouri last year, said to me, lori, I think you should look at this, I think this is a good fit for you, I said to him when he walked away from me was, yeah, but they won't let women be chaplains. And he, he turned around and said what did you say? And I told him I said, well, women can't be chaplains because in a church I grew up with, women couldn't hold that kind of a position. And he sat me straight. Now there's few of us, yeah, and especially in the dirt side. There's very, very, very few of us, yeah, and especially in the dirt side. There's very, very, very few of us, maybe me and two others. Um, okay, back to your question.

Supporting Drivers and Families on the Road

Speaker 2 21:55

I've been blessed with flow racing and the relationship there that I have built with tony laporta. That's our. You know track mc for everywhere we go with high limit and chase rodman. You know that track MC for everywhere we go with High Limit and Chase Rodman. You know that I travel with right. I get to know those guys. I've asked can we have a couple extra seconds? Here and there, in certain markets that we're racing in where we desperately need chaplains, will you give me an opportunity to say, hey, we desperately need chaplains Will you give me an opportunity to say hey, if you love race and you love Jesus, we need you.

Speaker 1 22:31

And they've allowed that a couple times a season.

Speaker 2 22:35

That's good, so that those opportunities, and you know me and I become very, I guess, out there on social media, at least on Facebook very. I guess, out there on social media, at least on Facebook, that's the only thing I can keep up with.

Speaker 1 22:47

Right.

Speaker 2 22:50

Sharing stories about how God's working, and I keep tagging Racers for Christ or the other organizations I support. Yeah, because that's the only way we're going to get the word out and the stories.

Speaker 1 23:00

I mean you've shared a couple. You know stories with me about a driver or the mom or the girlfriend or different things, and you know there's some amazing stories of what these families are doing. I'm thinking about Danny, his family. You know, and they talk about it on flow. You know they took the year off, they're traveling, they're doing all this themselves, though it's just that family the mom, dad and him.

Speaker 2 23:29

Yeah, you're talking about Danny Sams, right? Yeah, danny Sams, danny Sams III.

Speaker 1 23:35

And so when I watch Flow Racing now, who do you think I'm cheering for? Because I've heard what they're, and then they talked about it too a few weeks ago, about this family and how they've had, they've struggled with different things, and just to know that you can be of some comfort there to them or help them out or be a friendly smile, yeah, um, there's. There's just so much to it. It's not just the prayer at the beginning of the race and that's what people see.

Speaker 2 24:06

Yeah, but they don't see the behind the scenes yes, so one of the things that actually charlie and I decided we wanted to do, because this is what how we are gifted, because everybody has spiritual gifts, right, and ours isn't giving gifts back physical things. So we we decided at the beginning of this season I would try to get all the drivers wives, girlfriend, moms that are there Most every race phone numbers, birthdays and all the drivers birthdays.

Speaker 1 24:42

Yeah.

Speaker 2 24:42

So what we do, at least for the regular touring guys and gal gals that are traveling families they get a birthday card and they get cupcakes and might little be a bag of goodie snacks, whatever. Just to say, hey, we know life's hard on the road, right you? We're here for you, yeah, you guys are our friends. And just just to lift them up again.

Speaker 1 25:10

Yeah. You mentioned Danny Sims and his family.

Speaker 2 25:19

Well, I'm wearing red today for a reason. Yeah, ok, so today is what they call Red Friday in the military, and it stands for remember everyone deployed.

Speaker 1 25:29

Okay so.

Speaker 2 25:32

RFC. When they were formed back like I said, it was over 50 years ago they decided that they would honor the military by having Friday night all of us in red. So wherever we're ministering throughout the United States, most of the time you will see the chaplain on a Friday in a red shirt.

Speaker 2 25:51

Every other day we're in royal blue. That's their color, but we honor them and you know we're sitting in a situation right now. Danny's girlfriend, who runs the merchandise trailer at Every Race, is getting within within a very short time. We don't know exactly. It's getting shorter, we know.

Speaker 1 26:11

Yeah.

Speaker 2 26:15

So she's, you know, this young, delightful, just smiles, everything. Fans love her, we love her. Fans love her. Um, we love her. Yeah, and so it's. It's great that flow allows us again to be present in the moment, to bring awareness to our military, to our vets and even our first responders, on those fridays that we race right.

Speaker 1 26:39

Yeah, laurie, this has really blessed you in a lot of ways, and I think this think well, the thing that you don't say because of who you are is that, even without talking to those people, I know what a blessing you are to them, and I get a blessing back you know, I get.

Speaker 1 27:01

I know that I know you do, yeah, but and you share about that, but you don't share how important this is to you and and all the things you know. Yes, you give them a birthday card and cupcakes, but you do a lot more as far as your words and everything. And those are the things that I think we forget to do on a regular basis is tell the people we care about how we feel. You know this has been a hard week. You know we lost a prominent person in the United States was shot and we just wonder what the world is going to. And yet you know we go to. I often think and it's scary to think about it and thank goodness it hasn't happened, but I often think about going to a racetrack where there's a lot of people, anything, anything.

Speaker 1 27:57

And anything could happen. Anything can happen.

Speaker 2 28:00

I actually I have a life verse that I think brings us all back, and it's Ephesians 2.10. And it says for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God has prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. So isn't that kind of cool, is that even before we're born, God says I'm going to make you this beautiful human being, I'm going to put you out there in the world, but I've equipped you and I've given you a dream and I've given you a gift.

Speaker 1 28:39

Yeah, and.

Speaker 2 28:39

I was. You can go through all life not knowing what that gift is and not walking in it, and when you find it it's like oh my god, it's so, jesus, thank you so.

Speaker 1 28:51

So you and I have traveled down that path really a lot together in the last several years, because the thing that I was thinking about is that all of the things that you've done, been exposed to been a part of and myself as well has brought us to where we are today and has prepared us to be a chaplain for Racers, for Christ, to do what I do sharing stories about women in motorsports, women in motorsports and if I look back on my life which I can do easier than you know remembering all the things you've done, I I have an accounting background, I have a newspaper background, I have a lot of things that led me to have the talents, I guess, to now do a podcast and share women in motorsports. And if you'd have asked me this 20 years ago, I'd have said what? You're crazy, I didn't even. You know well, yeah, 20 years ago my son was racing.

Speaker 2 29:58

Yeah.

Speaker 1 29:59

But, but prior to that, you know, I that would have never been on my radar.

Speaker 2 30:04

Right.

Speaker 1 30:04

And, but God knew.

Speaker 2 30:06

Absolutely, and I have seen you walk and work in that, melinda. You are a blessing to so many people.

Speaker 1 30:13

Well as as you are, and I think that's why we were kind of like kindred spirits, because we have a lot of the same um same desires for racing and and and how we're involved.

Speaker 2 30:28

Yeah, I mean you, you are almost a chaplain. In a different way, you're a disciple. You are discipling these women that you and I know when you first started with a lot of the younger women that you're trying to exposure to and I know you've branched out and that's awesome. Yeah, quite frankly, I don't know how you cover as many as you do well, you know, it's interesting too, the people that cross your path, isn't it?

Building Relationships and Trust at Tracks

Speaker 1 30:52

so you're, you were telling me you, the guy sat in the between you on the plane, and different things. So I I had a woman reach out to me and offered to be on my podcast and, um, you know, I'm careful about who, and so I researched her and I thought, you know, she's not involved in motorsports, but she'd be a good interview, especially for women. You know, where are we? What's our role, all All these things. And so I just interviewed her and I think her show, her podcast, just dropped, like a few days ago. Eileen is her first name and her last name is Noye, I think it's N-O-Y-E.

Speaker 1 31:39

A wonderful podcast for women. Doesn't matter if you're in motorsports.

Speaker 2 31:43

Yeah right.

Speaker 1 31:46

women, yeah, doesn't matter. If you're a motorsports yeah right, that's the next day I interviewed a 10 year old girl very, very mature and grown up for 10 and at the end, you know, I usually ask is there anything that we I haven't shared that you'd like to share? And she said I wouldn't be here without God. He leads the way and I was blown away. And so you know he's there and he's getting the message out more and more by putting these people in our path Right.

Speaker 2 32:17

Absolutely yeah.

Speaker 1 32:19

Yeah.

Speaker 2 32:20

I think you know, like you asked me, what are some of the the greatest, I guess, blessings, and doing what I'm doing, it's it's like you're at a track and next thing you know, your phone goes off and it's a text from a mom or a wife right, that's watching. And, um, either I've come across the camera or something, or they've seen charlie roll out on a, on a red or whatever. I get these messages like I'm so grateful you're there, you know, or hey, I can't be there. Would you please go give my kid a big hug, because I know he's struggling tonight yeah so I walk over and I go.

Speaker 2 32:59

This is from your mom yeah, you know and it's not just the drivers, it's the crew guys. We take sure it's even the officials yeah yeah, or the flow guys. Yeah, they're everybody they're our family and yeah, yeah, it's like you know, like last week was kind of a big week. We had three nights at port royal with a high limit and it was their fair and there was a lot of people everywhere and I was standing and staging and working at hot laps. We fist bump all the drivers.

Speaker 2 33:32

It's that one last time that literally we can make eye-to-eye contact in a relaxed environment before they're in their office yeah for the night, you know, and just say, hey, we're praying for you, hey, have a great run, whatever that fist bump, you know, it's basically an encouraging fist bump. I got done with that and there was a gentleman that just standing at the back of the stage and he turned around and he said, hey, you're, you're that lady on flow. And I said, well, I'm right here, lady on flow. And I said, well, I'm right here, he goes. Well, normally I'm not right here.

Speaker 2 34:11

He says I have to rely on on flow racing to watch my racing because he says I'm actually going through cancer treatment. And you know, he just continued to say he goes. When you pray at opening ceremony he goes. I can feel God in your words right to me, and so I spend actually a lot of time most nights before, like next week, I know I'm going to be in Lawrence Burgundy and I'm already asking the Lord me, give me what you want those fans to hear, right?

Speaker 2 34:50

my audience is not just the people at the racetrack. My audience are those that are watching online, because sometimes it's thousands more than what are in the ballpark or the racetrack right well, and you would never.

Speaker 1 35:01

You don't know who's getting affected by those.

Speaker 2 35:04

I don't know who's getting affected by those prayers, I don't know. He just like, was so encouraging and said thank you, I love your prayers. And that night well, actually that three days I had four different people come up to me and one was actually one of the really well-known crew chiefs, a father who is an 81-year old pastor in the nearby area and he again can't travel because he's got a church he's still pastoring at and he doesn't. He said I quite frankly don't like to travel that much anymore. Again he says when you're up there praying, I know my kids covered, I know that somebody is out there with them that's going to share God's love because they don't get a chance to come to church.

Speaker 2 35:52

And it may be a very small window, melinda, but it's the constant dripping. It's the blessing for me and Charlie is we've been able to be consistent with a series and even going back to Knoxville I was able to be consistent out there and he was at some point, week after week after week. The relationship building, the trust, yeah, and I think, as a woman chaplain, I'm finding that I'm that mom figure, I'm like I'm that comforting figure that they normally would get when they're home.

Speaker 1 36:27

Yeah.

Speaker 2 36:29

And maybe I have a different effect. I don't know, but it's how God works.

Speaker 1 36:36

And if you put all the people at the racetrack in a circle, the women are going to still be few and far between. Yeah, okay, especially in the sprint car world. Yeah, there's not a bunch of women out there driving, right, there's not a bunch of women out there driving, and so you know. And so the fact that there's a woman that kind of has a position where people can get to know her and people can rely that she's going to be there and all those things, is comforting like a mom, like a family member. Yeah, yeah, absolutely so.

Speaker 2 37:11

I'm loving it.

Speaker 1 37:13

I know you are, I know you are, I know you are.

Speaker 2 37:15

I'm loving it, but I'm like you said before. It's my first time in so many years that I've been involved. Without a doubt, confirmation after confirmation is exactly where God had prepared me for. It just took too long.

Speaker 1 37:31

I think, yeah Well, it's never our timing, it's always his timing, isn't that absolutely. And you know, charlie too, because you couldn't do this if you weren't doing it together. No, that would be so, so hard that's correct and we are so grateful.

Speaker 2 37:48

Currently, right, right now, you know, charlie's actually a contract through med start dirt track rescue team, which is out of south dakota, uh-huh. So he is since, um, since august, traveling the whole series from california to pa and in between and back and forth in in a? Um, it's like a dually pickup truck that's fitted for fire equipment, so he's also like providing fire rescue. Yeah, along with the track obviously has their own fire crew at each place. We go, yeah, but yeah, and so he's out bouncing, literally, we, we bounced down the road. Yeah, but you know, here we bounce down the road.

Speaker 1 38:34

Yeah, but you know, here's the other thing about Charlie. He went to school for two years, I want to say After he retired. He retired because he was too old to drive an airplane and so he had the like EMT medic kind of background a little bit a little bit.

Speaker 2 38:55

Anyway, he had been a paramedic back in the 70s right, so he went back to school.

Speaker 1 39:01

Now, at 65, I'm not sure I would want to go back to school, but he did that and he worked really hard to to get those you know, accreditation degrees etc. So that he could do this. And now the two of you are out on that road. This is what you were meant to do yeah, I firmly believe and remember.

Speaker 2 39:24

You came in to visit the rv that day in the rv park and they're like where's charlie? And I'm like, well, he dropped me off with this big old rv, left me in a mobile home park in Arizona.

Speaker 1 39:36

Yeah.

Speaker 2 39:37

Own a little place there, which is great, and he went back to Iowa to finish his two years of school. I mean, he came back and forth, but it wasn't frequent enough.

Speaker 1 39:46

Right.

Speaker 2 39:47

We need to work, but again, and it was short term. It was short term but you knew the goal and it was short term.

Speaker 1 39:51

It was short term.

Speaker 2 39:53

But again, the way he operates and the gift God gave him was, if he's going to be of service, he's going to be the best of the best. Yeah, and he takes pride in that Right, which is also comforting to these drivers and the families, and even the series or the track, wherever he ends up. Yeah, is that they know they've got a professional on hand that's going to deliver? Yeah, and and so, yeah, you know it's, he gets to them. You know if there's a red, there's a crash, he's on the track first. I'm back waiting.

Speaker 1 40:27

Yeah.

Speaker 2 40:28

You know, so he takes care of them. There I do the follow-up. It's a team. And then there's sometimes where you know the guy's okay, when Charlie's talking to him or the gal. I go back, you know, do my post-crash check and it's like you don't look so well.

Speaker 1 40:48

Yeah, well, because sometimes the adrenaline takes over and then when you sit back or you start to think about what could have been right, what, and then everything kind of falls apart.

Speaker 2 40:58

Yeah so then it's. There's been a few times. We get the. I usually try to leave my business card if it's someone I don't know. A lot of the regulars have my phone number and I just say if they, if things change, let me know and we'll make sure we get someone over the chair to you to reanalyze you, you know.

Speaker 1 41:16

Right, lori, I'm so proud of you. Thank you, you know, I, just like I said, when you told me this is what you were going to do, I was just like, yep, that's where she needs to be, that's exactly who she is. And so I'm glad to tell your story a little bit.

Serving Together: Lori and Charlie's Ministry

Speaker 2 41:32

Thank you. You know and, like you said, you know the organization. We are all volunteers. Those hours that you read off are real hours. Those also do include the time I need to travel, whether it's by car or have to fly to a race. We can include those hours. You know, at the end of the year they'll send out certificates and thank us for our time, but we don't get paid, right? Our hotel bill alone is eight thousand dollars that you know coming out of our pocket, right, you know he totally.

Speaker 1 42:09

is there a way that people could donate or help?

Speaker 2 42:12

Yeah, I mean, if people so. Again because of the nonprofits you know, folks can get a tax donation write-off and there's actually a QR code I've put out on my Facebook, we'll put it out on the.

Speaker 2 42:27

We'll put it in the show notes, if you want to put it out there, right so you can go to teamrfcorg, region five, because all my personal funding comes out of region five and there's a place on there to say donate, and then in the there's a note section that says optional. You just put in for laurie cutter. If you're working with any chaplain, though, you know, find out what region they're in and you can send in a gift, um, in that honor, or you know, a lot of times we just make general fund of donations to raisers in christ and that general fund is used to buy the bibles that we hand out. We have paperback bibles, a full bible we take to the track and have with us.

Speaker 1 43:10

That we can give so do they, do they have any kind of like ongoing fundraiser or it's just donations? I mean, do they sell that's?

Speaker 2 43:21

merchandise online, you can purchase twice a year they do, they have a golf tournament. That's a fundraiser and I'm not sure. I think that's in the early fall Be on the website and then yeah, I think that's in the early fall. Be on the website and then, yeah, and then we just finished actually an online auction where people just donate items and you can go on for a period of a week and be part of the online silent auction and do that too. Okay, yeah, but most of it's, you know, donations through sponsorships.

Speaker 1 43:51

Yeah.

Speaker 2 43:52

Okay, yeah, so again at the end of the day. You know we'd sponsorships. Yeah, Okay, yeah, so. So again at the end of the day. You know we'd be doing this anyways, I know you would.

Speaker 1 44:00

I mean, we are doing this anyways.

Speaker 2 44:02

It's just, we've decided that we would allocate a small portion of our family budget to make sure I can stay on the road with Charlie.

Speaker 1 44:11

Yeah.

Speaker 2 44:12

Yeah, I mean he gets a small salary per race that he works. It helps Sure, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 44:22

Anything that we missed or that we should have talked about, Lori? I mean, we could have talked about a lot more.

Speaker 2 44:28

I mean, I'm just looking over my list of things that and I sent you a document. If you want to share that online too, is I will. It has my code on it, but it also lists what does the chaplain do we have. I have my roles listed there. Yeah, because we even do hospital visits, you know, prayerfully. We don't need to do those often, but it could be a family member that's having surgery in the middle of the week that a chaplain will go.

Speaker 1 44:54

Yeah, Take care of. Yeah, we'll share that as well in the show notes so that they they have that and I just encourage anybody that's listening. You know, if you really want to help in a way that's tangible to racers when they're traveling and on the road, this is a great organization. I mean, I know we hear you know, oh, when you donate to such and such, it all goes to the whoever and doesn't help the racers. In this case it's.

Speaker 2 45:25

It's helping the people on the track and you physically see it, yes, and we're so blessed by it right and then if anybody's listening that, you know, just feels a tug at their heart like, hey, I think I'd like to look into this. I just encourage them to go again to team rfcorg and look at up. There's a link there. What does a chaplain do? And yeah, they can even just start the process if they feel led right um I I whatever motorsports you're involved in, there's a place to get plugged in, including those that love car shows yeah, yeah, absolutely there's.

Speaker 1 46:02

There's a need, that's for sure, and every day that goes by, the need, I think, is larger. So we need to need to do that. Well, laurie, you know I love you, you're of my, you're one of my best race friends ever, so we just don't get a chance to get.

Speaker 1 46:17

We don't we don't get to hang out as much as we used to. But, um, I can see you, you just can't see me because I'm on flow racing and watch high limit all the time now and I and I've tried to make sure that I'm always on so that I can see you give the prayer, and then Charlie's usually standing right back behind you somewhere, somewhere, yeah, so I usually get to see him too, and you know, I see you, you just can't see me.

Speaker 2 46:43

But oh, it's nice to know it always. It always warms my heart when I get a text from someone ahead of time saying I'm watching tonight. Yeah, because you know.

Speaker 1 46:54

I want those prayers to be. There's a bug flying around my face.

Speaker 2 46:56

I want those prayers to you know be heartfelt, come from God.

Speaker 1 47:01

Yeah.

Speaker 2 47:02

And when I know yeah, yeah. I mean, there's moms I've prayed for and just just different things like that, and and wives and stuff, cause I know their guys are out and they're struggling, so those prayers get a little personal.

Speaker 1 47:19

Yeah, that's okay. That's what it's all about, for sure.

Prayer and Final Thoughts

Speaker 2 47:23

Well, Lori before we leave, I would love to just close in a prayer with us Absolutely.

Speaker 1 47:29

Let's do it, are you?

Speaker 2 47:30

done.

Speaker 1 47:31

I'm done. I think so.

Speaker 2 47:33

Yeah, okay, oh, jesus, we just come to you right now, lord, and I just I'm so grateful for the opportunity that you've given me to even meet Melinda years ago, and I just asked for a special blessing and a calling on her life as she continues to reach out to women across the United States and even into Canada and wherever else, these women that she finds. Lord, god, just give her those pathways, continue to bless her and all her work, because we need to get the word out and just make the world know about all these young ladies throughout the world, know about all these young ladies throughout you know the world, basically, and we are grateful for what Melinda's doing to expose them. God and Lord, yeah, it's a great honor to be here today with her, my friend, and yeah, it's Friday, yeah, and we just want to lift up our military, god. We want to lift up all those that are already deployed, lord, and just strengthen them and refresh them wherever they're serving, keep them safe and, lord, just bring them back home safely. God, that's what we really pray for and we just pray for an awakening in this country, lord, god, that's what we really pray for and we just pray for an awakening in this country, lord, that we just find you, find love, and just come alongside of each other. If we all could just find somebody to lift up each day, that would just be so great. God and Lord, yeah, we also want to lift up those that are getting ready to go, that have their bags packed, their orders coming in, that are going to protect our country. Lord, we know you'll keep them safe, god.

Speaker 2 49:19

So tonight, lord, friday night, racing probably everywhere in the US, in Canada, in Australia and everywhere. There's just places I've never heard of that has racing, but, lord, you know they are. I just ask that you will keep those tracks safe. We keep our drivers incredibly safe each and every time they go out on the track and they come back in. Lord, just be with the crews and give them the wisdoms that they need to get those cars set up correctly. God and again, we just thank you, lord, for the opportunity to even gather at a racetrack and have fun and just be great sportsmen and go out there and compete, and that all comes from you, jesus. We give you thanks and glory In Jesus' name, amen.

Speaker 1 50:03

Amen.

Speaker 2 50:04

I'm sorry, I'm crying, guys Beautiful.

Speaker 1 50:07

I get it really much. It's heartfelt. It's heartfelt, that's for sure. Yeah, nothing wrong with that. Okay, it's heartfelt, that's for sure. Yeah, nothing wrong with that. Okay, lori, you hang on and we'll all get with you as soon as I end the recording.

Speaker 2 50:17

Good night everyone, God bless.