Washington (CNN) – Trevor Bayne may have won the Daytona 500 on Sunday, but a small charity he name-dropped will share in the spoils of victory.

The 20-year-old NASCAR driver was racing in just his second Sprint Cup competition and is now etched in the record books as the youngest driver to win the sports’ biggest race.

“I never thought in a million years we were gonna win our first one,” Bayne told CNN Monday morning. “It’s incredible.”

During his post-race news conference, Bayne was asked how he would spend some of the $1,463,813 purse he won from the race.

“I don’t know if I will splurge. I am definitely not putting it up for retirement yet, I am going to stay around for awhile,” Bayne said.

“Hopefully this money will help us get some more races, and there are a lot of foundations and ministries that need support. Back2Back ministries in Mexico is one, and there are a lot of good organizations that need some help, and we will help them out as much as we can.”

In a sport that has ads plastered over nearly every inch of the drivers and their cars, it was a big deal for Bayne to namedrop the Christian charity.

Trevor Bayne visits with an orphan on a trip to Mexico in November.

Back2Back is an independent Christian charity working with orphans and the needy in Mexico, Nigeria and India. Bayne was introduced to the charity by Lonnie Clouse, a former chaplain for NASCAR with Motor Racing Outreach, who is now on staff with Back2Back.

“I assure you it was nothing short of miraculous.  Trever called me yesterday from the media center after the win with tears in his eyes and we prayed together over the phone,” Clouse said by phone from Monterrey, Mexico.

“This was part of God’s script and God’s plan for him.  He’s using his platform to talk about those with no voice and [about] orphan awareness.”

Motor Racing Outreach (MRO) provides weekend church services and Bible studies for NASCAR drivers and their teams who can’t get away from the track on race weekends. Clouse was MRO’s traveling chaplain for the NASCAR Nationwide series.

“Bayne was a faithful attendee at all our Nationwide Bible studies.  He would sit in the front row.  He would get up and read scripture or open in prayer, whatever we needed,” Clouse said.

Bayne traveled to Mexico to work with Clouse in November. “He was down here in Mexico staying with us and serving along side us helping with orphans,” Clouse said.

“We went and visited orphanages. He made quite an impression here. He was out playing soccer with the orphans.  We huddled them all around, and Trevor got to talk to them about what he did.  They were asking him how fast he went.  Most of them had no clue who he was and what he did,” Clouse said.

Bayne visits with an orphan on a trip to Mexico in November.

After the race Clouse gathered the orphans together and filled them in on Bayne’s big win. “It was exciting for them to hear how well he did.”

Clouse was ordained in a non-denominational church. MRO pulls chaplains from many different denominations. Clouse said Bayne is member of a church near his home but gets most of his spiritual nourishment on the road from MRO.

For the former chaplain, all those Bible studies at the race track paid off when Bayne was in the winners circle.

“He summed up the two greatest commandments, ‘Love the lord your God with all your heart’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  He got up on that stage and he was able to articulate those things beautifully.  It was a very very proud moment for me and for MRO.”

For some, Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, a long holiday weekend to head to the beach or fire up the grill. I sincerely hope that Americans attach a deeper meaning to this unique holiday.

Lee Greenwood wrote a popular patriotic song a number of years ago with lyrics that are perfect for Memorial Day:

“And I’m proud to be an American
where at least I know I’m free.

And I won’t forget the men who died
who gave that right to me.”

Whenever I hear that song, I am reminded how fortunate we are to live in a country where we can live pretty much as we please. We rarely stop to think about what we are allowed to say or do, or where we can go. We are free to make our own choices.

What does this have to do with a column about business? Plenty! Our whole democracy survives because we have brave men and women who fight to protect our way of life. What we have in America simply doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world.

We all have the chance to study what interests us, work where we choose to work, take risks and fail and try again. We sell our products on the free market, hire from a well-educated and motivated workforce, grow our businesses without limits if we are successful and make a fair profit. We go to sleep at night knowing the morning will bring another opportunity.

We owe our freedom to those who are willing to defend it.

As a businessman who has realized the American dream, I understand that the sacrifices of our valiant service people have enabled us to live free and pursue our opportunities. We take our liberty for granted but as the saying goes: “Freedom isn’t free.”

Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday in May. Touching and beautiful ceremonies are held at cemeteries across the country, and if you haven’t ever attended one, I encourage you to go this year.

Gen. George S. Patton offered his own perspective: “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.”

I drive past Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis every time I go to the airport. The unending rows of white grave markers are a solemn reminder of the millions who have died for our country, from the Revolutionary War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We honor them for their commitment and service. We recognize their sacrifices and their families’ sacrifices, that allow us to go about our everyday activities.

Yes, I am an unashamed flag-waver. I like it here, and I am grateful to those who have made my freedoms possible.

Mackay’s Moral: Show your true colors — honor our veterans.

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About The Author
Harvey Mackay is the author of the New York Times #1 bestsellers Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive and Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt. Both books are among the top 15 inspirational business books of all time, according to the New York Times. Harvey is a nationally syndicated columnist for United Feature Syndicate, whose weekly articles appear in 52 newspapers around the country. Visit his website at www.harveymackay.com.

You’ve most likely seen these guys on one of the numerous TV shows that have featured their amazing and real trick basketball shots. But did you know that they are also using their newfound fame as a platform to help others?

According to their site, DudePerfect.com, Dude Perfect began as a group of six college buddies simply trying trick shots. After a few more-than-impressive shots were captured, they threw the videos up on YouTube and became a viral sensation.

Yes, the shots are all real, and yes, most of the shots took many takes, but the point they make is this: just because something looks hard that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. That’s a determined strategy that would serve us all quite well.

Ultimately, Dude Perfect is a group of college guys that follow Jesus.

“We as the Dude Perfect Team, have decided to try to use that interest that has come from our videos for a cause greater than ourselves… that is, reaching out to help others in need. Don’t get us wrong, as you can tell we love to entertain and are quite happy that people enjoy watching our videos, maybe almost as much as we enjoy creating them. But, we also understand that it’s not all about us, and we want to try and help those less fortunate.”

Dud Perfect has teamed up with Compassion International to fight against malaria (www.compassion.com/dudeperfectmalaria) and have helped in Compassion’s effort to bring clean water to children around the world (www.compassion.com/dudeperfectwater).

Way to go guys! Talk about using your passion and creativity to further a cause and leave a legacy. A Fivestar shout out to Dude Perfect!

Saved By The Bell

Keith Reed imparts important messages to the at-risk youths who work out in his gym.

She was falling. Fast. Smoking weed, drinking and hanging out with the wrong people. Cheyenne McKinney went from someone who was doing a lot at Booker T. Washington High School to someone who no one thought would graduate.

She had lost her motivation, her inspiration to do anything.

She lost her Pops. He died in April 2008 and she didn’t know what to do.

Then she took a second look at Orlando Hawkins. He had been a friend at Booker T., but had gotten in trouble and was arrested. But he found a way to stop falling out of a good life. He became a boxer.

Cheyenne McKinney takes a break between rounds at The Reed Foundation boxing gym in north Tulsa. “As soon as I met Coach Reed, it’s like, that’s the turning point in my life,” she says.

She wasn’t sure if it was going to work for her. Her mother certainly didn’t think so when she drove her daughter up to Keith Reed’s boxing gym near Apache Street and Cincinnati Avenue.

“I’m not letting you get out in this ghetto neighborhood,” McKinney recalls her mother saying. “Go ask that man who the boxing coach is.”

Soon they met the man inside the building. A thick-framed man, 6 feet tall, 275 pounds, with a gold-tooth speckled smile. He wasn’t like her Pops, a man she called “her heart.” But Cheyenne quickly found out Reed would serve a different role. She would eventually call him her savior.

“As soon as I met Coach Reed, it’s like, that’s the turning point in my life,” McKinney said.

Back then, almost two years ago, the Reed Foundation boxing gym in north Tulsa was rough.

“We just had a real raggedy building, you know, you could see the sky, the rain, it was terrible,” Reed said.

That wasn’t the way Reed remembered it. The building had been a boys club when Reed was a kid. In the early ’70s, it was thriving with athletic programs, and would eventually lead Reed to find himself and his passion.

“Without boxing, I could have been real hot-headed. Boxing cooled the head down because once you get into boxing, you realize you’re not the toughest person in the world,” Reed said. “There’s always somebody who’s tougher than you are.”

Boxing took Reed around the world as a teenager. He’s a Golden Glove winner who won third place in nationals when he was 17 years old. He has fought big names such as Sugar Ray Leonard.

Those experiences taught him to love his fellow man, he said. Now he spends four hours every night re-giving the gift that the boys club gave him.

Today, the Reed Foundation gym features two boxing rings, pro equipment, treadmills and about 60 members, including Cheyenne, someone who graduated her senior year with A’s and B’s and has her sights set on the Olympics in 2012.

It’s here that Reed takes at-risk youths and teaches them self-confidence and discipline through the sport of boxing.

“I just stick by him, and they call me ‘Little Reed,’ ” McKinney said.

“I asked my mom, like, ‘did you ever think boxing would be my turning point?’ ” McKinney said. “This could be my future. I never thought about it like that.”

Read more from this Tulsa World article at www.tulsaworld.com.