The NASCAR stars were out in force at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina, Saturday night. Hundreds of fans crowded to the front to see and touch their favorite driver and crew as they were being introduced before the All-Star challenge.

Hollywood stars are known for their dress on Oscar Night. NASCAR stars can be recognized from faraway in their familiar firesuits. All-Star Night is no exception. There is Home Depot orange for Tony Stewart and Interstate Battery green for Bobby Labonte. NAPA blue is Michael Waltrip's color, and Kasey Kahne and Dale, Jr. are always known in their bright red. Their fans can spot them from as far as the eye can see.

Once on the track Saturday night it was as if you were watching a superspeedway race. There was a multiple car crash before the first lap hardly began. Casey Mears lost a transmission causing Jeremy Mayfield to rear end Casey and the chain reaction began taking out eleven cars.

But, All-Stars don't give up. Out came the colorful duct tape, the extra sheet metal and the crews went to work. Soon many of the seemingly hopeless vehicles were back on the track.

There was minor damage to Michael Waltrip and Kasey Kahne, but they competed near the front the rest of the night. Jeff Gordon's crew went to work on his car that looked like it needed to go immediately to the garage. They somehow brought life back to the #24 Dupont Chevrolet and he finished near the front.

Ryan Newman hung on without pitting for tires when everyone else did, and finished second. And current NASCAR Cup Champion, Matt Kenseth in the DeWalt #17 just kept crowding Ryan until he slipped a tiny bit and Matt was able to get around the #12 Alltel Dodge to win the coveted million dollar prize.

All of the famous drivers had a goal and that was to win the million dollar prize. However, it didn't matter how good each car and driver was there was only one prize. They all worked hard for it but Matt Kenseth was the eventual winner.

The goal in our life is to run toward our heavenly reward. Winning a NASCAR race, especially the All-Star challenge requires purpose and discipline. The Christian life also means hard work, self-denial, and grueling preparation. We cannot observe from the grandstand of life. A couple laps of jogging will not make the finished product.

Just like the testing, qualifying, practicing, and having good pit stops help the Nextel cup driver reach his goal, our spiritual progress depends on the diligent discipline of a prayer life, good Bible study habits and often worshiping our risen Lord.

There can be only one million dollar winner in the Nextel All-Star Challenge, but the eternal imperishable reward of living forever and ever in Heaven can be obtained by all who choose Jesus as their Personal Savior.

Saturday night most of the crews and teams kept driving after the huge wrecks until there was a winner. We, too, push forward through the adversities of life. God will give you the strength to achieve your goal of glorifying God, winning others to Christ and one day living eternally with Him.