x
Breaking News
More () »

A 'Marvelous' invocation given at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday

Father Geoff Rose honored former St. Francis student-athlete Marvelous Walton during prayer before the race.

BROOKLYN, Mich. — This weekend, at Michigan International Speedway, Kevin Harvick snapped a 65-race winless streak after taking home the checkered flag in the FireKeepers Casino 400.

Before the race even started, there was a special moment that most probably didn't even notice.

"I've worked here in some capacity since I was a senior in high school, 1988," Fr. Geoff Rose said. "I just love the track, the people that work here is like family."

RELATED: NASCAR: Harvick wins at Michigan, crashes playoff picture

Father Rose, who is the president of St. Francis De Sales School, has been giving the invocation at MIS for the past decade and a half.

"Yeah, you still get nerves," Rose said. It's still a big crowd and you don't want to mess it up, it's on national TV, but I love doing it."

A sentiment that doesn't take much time, yet still requires pace.

"There's a lot of routine to the pre-race and it's down to the second," Rose said. "I have 25 seconds for the prayer and I've never used them all."

On Sunday, his prayer took a different turn. Shifting his usual opening line of "We thank you for a beautiful day" to a "Marvelous" one.

"I just wanted to honor Marvelous Walton, our student who was killed tragically last month," Rose explained while wearing a wristband that read 'we are marvelously made.'

Devotion that not only poured over the largest crowd at Irish Hills since 2016, but carried over back into Ohio.

"To his family, we love you," Rose said. "For all the people in Toledo, it's a simple way to honor Marvelous."

Before You Leave, Check This Out