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Driving Force
Dave Roberts races to raise funds in South Carolina

Dave Roberts has been on the fast track for the better part of the past 20 years, and these days, he's starting to put his need for speed to work for Habitat. Professionally, Roberts has headed the maintenance department of his local water treatment plant for the past 28 years, but during much of that tenure, the Greenville, S.C., resident has spent nearly all of his spare time pursuing his lifelong dream of auto racing. Roberts drives a late-model stock car in a NASCAR-sanctioned circuit of semi-professional and amateur races. One of the many logos that appears on his blue Dodge is that of Habitat for Humanity, in what the driver refers to as a sort of "reverse sponsorship." Roberts is getting companies that would normally financially support him in his racing efforts to financially support Habitat instead.

In recent years, it seems, driving has turned out to be only one of Roberts' dreams. The racing enthusiast found himself continually searching for ways to connect with his community, to somehow turn his part-time passion into some kind of full-time bond with his town. To that end, he convinced his home track, the Greenville-Pickens Speedway, to sponsor the now-annual, always-popular "Faster Pastor" contest, one night a year when drivers in flashy cars give way to local pastors in golf carts who race for a good cause. The event was a hit and continues to draw crowds, but Roberts wanted to do more. What else could his racing accomplish?

The idea to use his car to raise money to put toward sponsoring a Habitat house was the result of divine inspiration. Literally. "I was sitting in church on Sunday, and I still was trying to think of something to do," Roberts says. "Our pastor said something about Habitat for Humanity and our church. I thought, 'That's it!' And then I just kind of ran with it."

Roberts has convinced several of his sponsors to donate money to Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County. A few have made donations outright; others adhere to a formula Roberts has crafted, one based on his individual performances that assigns a certain amount to every lap he completes or leads and then levies additional contributions whenever he wins pole position or the race. Eager to raise even more funds, Roberts even removed the hood from his car and has allowed fans and supporters to sign it at a number of events in exchange for a $5 donation, a move that has netted a little more than $1,000. The hood now hangs in the entrance way of the Greenville-Pickens Speedway, a reminder of Roberts' mission.

Roberts, who plans to retire soon and race full-time, hopes to raise enough money on his own to build a Habitat home; he speaks fondly of convincing his fellow racers to volunteer on the building crew and of hanging the signature-covered hood of his car as decoration in the garage of that eventual house, so that the family who lives there "will know how many people helped build their home."

That day can't come quickly enough for Roberts. Sponsorships can be hard to come by in a notoriously expensive sport, and Roberts is impatient. He has often refused to keep any sponsorship money for himself in his desire to cross his fundraising finish line. "I'm a racer," he says. "And I want things to move fast. Things don't necessarily move fast enough for me, but I just keep plugging away."

He says he won't be satisfied until he has seen the difference his driving can make; already, his efforts have raised the profile of Habitat's work in his community. "Look," he told The Greenville News earlier this year, "if I have been able to raise $5,000 for someone to have a home, then that makes me feel good. I don't have the money to pull out and give. ... But I'm responsible for this amount being chipped in to help out. ... Instead of just looking for sponsors, people who just help me, I wanted to look for sponsors who could help me and at the same time help others."

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