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MP3 Tim Malchak - Jesus Is My Spotter - The Race Car Driver's Anthem
4 MP3 Songs
COUNTRY: Country Rock, GOSPEL: Country Gospel
Details:
Foreword by Joe McCaffrey
The story of how “Jesus Is My Spotter” (“JIMS”) came together is quite remarkable. It all began in late February of 2005. I was traveling with my family on a busy, fast-moving highway, reminiscent of a racing speedway. Moving at a high rate of speed and surrounded by other vehicles that were only a few feet away, I could barely see a car length or two ahead of me. My senses were on red alert and my anxiety level was soaring. Although not nearly as intense, the experience reminded me of what it must be like for a professional race car driver. I remember thinking to myself, if one driver ahead of me makes a wrong move, there’s no way I’m going to see it in time to avoid ending-up in a huge, dangerous wreck. Unlike the professional race car driver who has a spotter watching out for danger that lurks ahead, all I have is Jesus as my spotter. Then it hit me like a lightning bolt. JESUS IS MY SPOTTER!!! That’s a great slogan for Christian racing fans! I knew immediately this was a calling and I was destined to lead the movement.
Enloit Enterprises, the parent company that owns the JIMS brand, officially opened for business in mid-June of that same year. Our product offering included assorted apparel and gift items emblazoned with the “Jesus Is My Spotter” slogan. We were working diligently to increase the exposure of the brand, but I soon realized how difficult it was to merchandise a brand that wasn’t yet established in the marketplace. We received a lot of positive feedback about the slogan and it started to develop a small following amongst the racing enthusiast community. But in order to create the level of awareness that would be necessary to maximize the brand’s visibility, I knew we would need far greater resources than we had available. I did a lot of soul searching until the idea came to me that what we first needed was an appropriate core product to define the JIMS brand. We developed a list of over 200 potential product ideas, however, none of them were suitable to represent the brand as our core product.
In late August of 2005, a good friend of mine, Michael Weissleder, suggested I meet with a longtime friend of his named Bill Shulkin. Bill, Michael said, is an innovative entrepreneur, much like myself, who Michael thought might have some ideas to help increase the exposure of the JIMS brand. I met Bill at a coffee shop in Rye Brook, New York. Like everybody else, Bill thought the brand was a great idea. The dual themes of auto racing and Christian faith were two popular trends of the era and the Christian racing fan market was largely untapped. We talked for a while when Bill offered up an idea he said was previously presented to him by somebody else for one of his businesses, but it wasn’t the right fit. However, he felt it might be perfect for our business. I asked Bill what the idea was. He said the idea was to write a song about motor racing called, “Jesus Is My Spotter”. Not a promotional jingle, mind you, but an actual song. “Great idea!”, I thought. The only problem is that I don’t know how to write a song, nor do I know anybody who can. I phoned Wendy, my beloved wife of 15 years, mother of our two children, and business partner, on the ride back to the office and told her about Bill’s idea. I thought it was a terrific idea, but I told Wendy I don’t know how to bring it to life. To which she suggested, “How about my cousin, Tim?”. I thought for a few seconds and replied, “Cousin Tim… who’s cousin Tim?”. She said, “You know… my cousin, Tim!”.
I need to take you back in time about a year or so earlier. Wendy was on the computer one evening and decided, just for fun, to “Google” her maiden name, which is Malchak. Interestingly, almost all of the page hits were for one person named Tim Malchak who is a country-western singer and song writer with an illustrious career that includes several listings on the country charts and high visibility performance appearances during the 80’s and early 90’s. Wendy comes from a large family in Binghamton, NY. So large, in fact, there are relatives who she has never met. Wendy found the web site for Tim Malchak and discovered he too was originally from Binghamton. Figuring they must somehow be related, Wendy sent an introductory e-mail to Tim. Turns out, sure enough, they are related! Wendy’s grandfather had two wives and eighteen children amongst them. Tim is a descendent of wife number one and Wendy from wife number two. Wendy and Tim exchanged some e-mail pleasantries, which gradually faded away over time.
In the early fall of 2005, Wendy once again reconnected with “cousin Tim” to inquire about his potential interest in developing a song with us. Well, just when you thought this situation couldn’t get any better, it turns out that Tim had gone through a rough patch in his life, found the Lord, and was now writing praise and worship music! Wendy presented the idea for the JIMS song and Tim thought it was just about the best idea he had ever heard! With that, the search for the defining JIMS core product had miraculously come to an end. For the next twelve months, Tim and I worked diligently to create a fitting tribute song, which we subtitled, “The Race Car Driver’s Anthem”.
I’m sure there will be some people who will attempt to dismiss this chain of events as nothing more than happenstance and extraordinary luck. However, to the faithful followers of Christ, these folks will know it wasn’t luck at all. It was pure divinity. On behalf of Tim and I, thank you for participating in the continuation of this amazing journey.
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