SPEEDWAY — A racing organization is driving home the message of Christ's love and a local couple is working through that organization to make a difference in the lives of people in our community.
Mother Krysty Pyle reflects on happy memories of her late husband, Mike.
"He was probably the funniest, most outgoing, person you would ever meet," said Krysty Pyle. "He didn't know a stranger. He could talk to anybody and everybody."
Mike was a navy veteran who was in Operation Desert Storm. Krysty says he developed cancer from the war which led to him losing a lung and a leg.
"And after going through all of that, he still maintained this great, positive attitude," said Krysty Pyle. "I always tell people he had the it factor."
Mike was a proud father to Mallory and Preston who were young when he did eventually pass from the cancer. That was five years ago.
"It's still hard, ya know," said Krysty Pyle. "But you don't have a choice but to pickup and move on. I've realized for sure, and I think they both have, that life is short and it's just about being happy."
One of those happy memories with Mike and the kids was out at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the month of May.
"Call it an adventure, ya know, something my husband would never get to do in an ordinary day," said Krysty Pyle. "Mike got to go in the race car with Mario Andretti. He got to go around the race track."
The family got a special VIP experience at the track that day.
They got to watch practice, kiss the bricks, meet drivers and crews in the pits and Mike got to take the laps around the track with a legend.
It's all thanks to the organization Kingdom Racing and a local couple who make these days possible for families all across the country.
"Our mission is to deliver God's message through motorsports," said Tim Carrie. "We wanted to somehow take God and somehow take racing and mix them together."
Tim and his wife Christy are the Miles of Smiles Outreach Directors for the nonprofit Kingdom Racing.
The couple creates these VIP experiences at race tracks all across the country for families who are going through tough times, like the Pyles, in need of a smile.
The families get to go to tracks all across the country throughout the IndyCar season, including several events at IMS in the month of May each year.
"Let go of whatever is going on in their life at that time, and just come out and have a day to have some smiles and just share the love of Christ with them," said Tim Carrie.
The Carries created the Miles of Smiles program after going through their own trials.
"Through those tough times and God kind of rearranging things in our lives is where the Miles of Smiles program was born from," said Tim Carrie.
They came up with the name after the passing of a friend, Dan Wheldon, in a race.
"That Monday after Dan had passed, I called him [Tim] up and I said, I've got it," said Christy Carrie. "I said, what do you think of when you think of Dan? And he said, his smile. And I said yes, Miles of Smiles. That's how the name was born or we came up with it."
In addition to the laps in the two-seater, the driver meetings, and more, the Carries also sit down to have a meal at the track with the families.
"Because when we sit down with them and we encourage them, we want to hear their story," says Tim Carrie. "We know they've been through some tough spots, but we want to hear their story. And when you are sitting and you are having a meal together it just lends to that."
Tim says they use the concept of needing a whole racing team to win a race, not just a driver, to offer support to these families who are navigating difficult experiences.
"We really get to share with them what God has done in our lives to pick us up and carry us through," said Tim Carrie.
The Carries also remain in the lives of the people they bring to the track and check in on them even as time passes. The Pyles and the Carries have maintained a friendship even after Mike's passing.
Through all the excitement at the track, the Carries say they hope it helps give these families a chance to enjoy their time together away from their trials.
"It's just a day when we can let that go and just enjoy themselves," says Christy Carrie. "And just relax and have a little peace maybe for that day."
If you know someone who you want to nominate for this special experience through Miles of Miles and Kingdom racing, you can visit their website at https://www.kingdomracing.net/
