WHEN Andrew Fisher first indulged his love of motor racing he thought he would proclaim his faith with a discreet Christian fish logo on his back windscreen.
But when his wife, Annie, challenged him to brand his V8 super-ute Christian, out went the usual sponsors for tyres, motor oil and automotive parts.
The Bible Society of NSW stepped into the breach with distinctive red livery that advertises its multimillion-dollar marketing campaign coming to Sydney next September. It was a bold gamble because Fisher's ute now has all-Christian sponsors, which has limited the money he can raise to fund his racing.
"When my wife said, 'why don't you put Jesus on your side,' it was like saying, 'Why not put freak on your forehead?' " he says."Some people said to me, 'Are you mad?', and other people respected me for my decision. Little did I know at the time, but there was a blog going all last year on the internet debating if Jesus should be allowed on the side of a motor car, then could Allah. They concluded that 'Yeah, it was all right.' "
On October 10 Fisher will take his personal commitment a step further when he brings Jesus to the mountain - Mount Panorama. He makes his debut in the V8 Supercar series at Bathurst in Daisy, the ex-Paul Morris supercar painted black with the Jesus logo. From the early days of a $1000 sponsors sticker on his side door, he's now running a $280,000 race team and "Jesus car ministry".
Does Jesus have a place in sport, let alone motor racing? "Bathurst is the most prominent race circuit in the country," Fisher says. "And the V8 Supercars is the country's premier category. We're just taking motor racing to the next level. This is the perfect place to participate as a professional race team, as well as present the name of Jesus to an audience that wouldn't normally see it."
The sponsorship is part of a strategy to use Fisher's profile in the sport to connect with motor-racing fans, especially teens.
Last year Fisher won rookie of the year and finished fourth in the ute championship. He tours schools showing off his V8 ute and introduces the topic of personal courage by recounting the story of his ill daughter, Lily, who was born without a left ventricle of the heart.
Lily has had 23 procedures and three open-heart surgeries and a life expectancy of 17 years unless she has a heart transplant. Fisher expects to speak to 30,000 students across Australia this year. Lily's story gives him a powerful message and the race car the street credibility to reach out to students who might otherwise be deaf to his message of religious salvation.
Martin Johnson, the communications manager for the Bible Society of NSW, said the sponsorship gave the society the ability to assist churches give religious education classes in an exciting way and would give its "Jesus All About Life" campaign added vitality. "The car is a moving billboard," Johnson says. "Millions of people watch on television and go to the race track and that's their church and here we are taking the message of the Bible into their church."
WHAT IT WILL TAKE TO TRANSFORM OLYMPIC PARK INTO A RACE TRACK
* It could take up to two months to erect the circuit and 4 weeks to take it down * Laying a 3.5km circuit with barriers on both sides of the road and a pit entry/exit * Using 7 km of concrete barriers * Each barrier 4 metres long, weighing 4 tonnes. * 7 km equals 1750 barriers or 7000 tonne of concrete. * A standard semi-trailer carries 25 tonne. To move 7000 tonne would require 280 vehicle movements onto the site. * Each block has a 3.75 metre steel catch fence with pin attached, totalling 1750 steel fabrications. * Between 1 and 4 km of temporary fencing would be needed to fence off areas from general access and ensure safety/privacy. * 2 km of temporary fencing equals 35 tonne of fence and concrete footings, a further 2 truck movements. * This is a total of 303 loaded semi trailer movements onto site (and 303 empty movements from site). * Everything is repeated in reverse at the end of the event as the street circuit is dismantled. - Source: Estimates by the Australian Racing Drivers Club, operators of the Eastern Creek Raceway.