NASCAR is coming to church.

First Baptist Church in Rock Hill, most of the time a traditional Southern Baptist flock, will try something Sunday so outlandish, so unorthodox and cool, that it just might work: NASCAR All-Star Sunday.

If you are one of the "unchurched" or "dechurched" who might have fallen off the church wagon somewhere in life's Turn 4 so many years ago, this is your kind of worship.

In the foyer, next to the greeters, look for life-size cut-outs of bad boys Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch and milquetoasts Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin. Nearby, instead of stacks of programs, will be stacks of slicks. Slicks are slang for racing tires, and these slicks were used at February's Daytona 500.

Posters of favorite drivers will be up on the walls, not far from the stained glass. The pastors might wear T-shirts of their favorite drivers. Maybe a ballcap, in the colors of the favorite car with the number right there on the brim.

This Sunday ain't your grandmother's Baptist service.

"We just figured there are so many race fans in this area, and maybe some of those people don't go to church or don't feel comfortable in church, that we'd have a Sunday just for them," said the Rev. Larry Sizemore, one of the First Baptist pastors whose job it is to increase spiritual development and outreach. "Saturday night is the All-Star race in Charlotte. People are all revved up for racing around here for the next week, but there isn't any race Sunday. Race fans have this particular Sunday to come to church if they want -- nothing to compete against. It fits perfectly."

There will be Sunday school classes and two services. The idea came up a couple of years ago from the senior pastor at the church, the Rev. Steve Hogg, who pulls for the 24 car of Jeff Gordon.

No Gordon hat for Hogg on Sunday, though. "Junior nation will get so mad at me, they might miss the message," Hogg quipped.

The message will be this: To get to the destination in life, you gotta race the right way. No bumping, no fender bending, no causing wrecks.

"I'll have a few race analogies in there, especially after Saturday night," Hogg said. "I'm going to the race in Charlotte that night with my son."

And it seems clear that if Sizemore and Hogg bump each other along the back stretch of the altar, no fight will ensue.

All kinds of great stuff will be given away Sunday. A Bobby Labonte driver suit. Helmets worn by racing greats. Richard Petty autographed model cars, tickets for future races and more.

Sounds just like a Sunday at the track, minus the drinkin' and cussin'.

Dress code Sunday? There isn't one. Just make sure your T-shirt covers your belly.

Tip your race cap to Hogg and First Baptist for this idea. Churches that look at people outside the comfort of the pews change worlds. It is easy to preach to the guy in the suit in the front row every Sunday. It is another to seek out those who might need a reason to come to church.

Another great thing about this Sunday is all the stuff, the helmets and tires and more, will be given away to guests as door prizes.

How many times do you get to hear "How Great Thou Art" sung, or sing along if the spirit gets in you, then when it's over, yell out "Earnhardt!"

Go to First Baptist Church this Sunday. You get Jesus with a dash of Carl Edwards. Just be careful of the backflips brought on by the Holy Spirit -- you might land on the choir. And the choir might pull for Junior.