Last Sunday when Circleville Raceway Park suddenly went quiet those who weren't trackside were drawn there. Not like rubberneckers at a traffic accident, macabrely interested in someone else's pain and suffering but as racers wanting to know who, what, why and how the victims are responding. And for many, to start praying.

I was about 100 feet away when the crash happened, talking with John Gearhart. The sound of the impact drew both our attentions and I was able to visually locate the scene before all the pieces had settled. As drivers, crew and officials ran to respond I could catch glimpses of the two karts with one driver partially ejected from her kart and not making any attempt to move. This, for a seasoned racer, is the most disturbing image he or she can possibly see. Regardless of injuries sustained, if the driver is conscious, even groggily, there is some movement in the cockpit - either trying to get out or just trying to figure out where they are. My conditioned response to such a scene is a quick, pleading prayer that it not be as bad as it looks. John felt the same way and said as much - "looks like a prayer or two are in order".

As details of the crash filtered through the paddock, it sounded like it was as bad as it looked - one driver still unconscious and both suspected of having internal injuries. When word got around that Grant Medical Center's Med Flight helicopter was summoned the anxiety level and, for praying folks, prayer level went up a notch or two.

But our loving Father does allow Himself to be influenced by our prayers and he graced our little fraternity Sunday afternoon as we headed home with heavy hearts. By later that night word was out that our collective prayers were answered. Both drivers had faired much better than we all suspected they would in the moments, minutes and hours after the accident. No internal injuries and no broken bones were found in either driver and although they both suffered head injuries, both were expected to make full recoveries.

The Power of Prayer - "proven under extreme racing conditions".