Faith and racing collide at Indianapolis
In 2016, The Christian Post covered a groundbreaking story: the first-ever Christian-led team preparing to compete in the Indianapolis 500. Rev. Will Marotti, senior pastor of New Life Church in Wallingford, Connecticut, announced that his newly formed Marotti Racing would take the green flag in the 100th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
“There has never been an Indy racing team led by a minister,” Marotti explained. “It may seem unusual, but I have been a racing fan since I was a young boy — and I see the race as a prime missionary field.
A lifelong passion for motorsport
Marotti’s passion for racing was born early. He recalls listening to Mario Andretti’s 1969 Indy 500 victory on the radio, attending Skip Barber Racing School in 1979, and walking into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time in 1982. The experience, he said, left him “totally in love with IndyCar racing” — a love that never faded.
With Marotti Racing, that passion moved from the grandstands to the paddock. Backed by his church community of 1,200 members and years of team-building experience, Marotti believed he could honor his faith while competing at the highest level of motorsport.
Preparing for the 100th Indy 500
By late 2015, plans for the team’s debut were well underway. In an interview with Racer magazine, Marotti revealed that his program was already 80 percent complete and included trips to Dallara’s headquarters in Italy to inspect the chassis they intended to purchase.
“I’m quite confident we’ll have a car entered,” Marotti said. “We’re excited about bringing a brand-new car to Indy and plan to do more than compete — we want to race.”
Alongside securing cars and partners, the team asked for something equally important: prayers. For Marotti, the 500-mile challenge was about more than speed — it was about reaching people with a message of faith and hope.
A grassroots vision
Marotti also emphasized his desire to restore Indy’s tradition of welcoming new, grassroots teams. “Indy has historically been a place of new beginnings,” he told The Christian Post. “We want to bring back that raw, innovative spirit and help make the fan experience the very best it can. After all, without the fans, none of us would even have the chance to race.”
That vision — uniting racing heritage, fan engagement, and Christian faith — defined Marotti Racing’s entry into the 2016 Indianapolis 500 and laid the groundwork for what is today Marotti Autosport.
