The "Ricky Bobby" Prayer: Reflecting on the Prayer from Saturday's Nationwide Race

During the summer months, there's not much sports related news taking place.  Baseball is in the middle of their season but it's not to the point of pennant races.  Basketball, football and hockey are in their offseasons.  MLS is quietly going on with little fanfare.  The only other major sporting event going on is racing.  In other words, it's pretty quiet.  So when I heard about what happened a few days ago at a race in Nashville, it caught my attention in several ways.

I had previously blogged (2 years ago) about how NASCAR is the only major sport that has an invocation or prayer prior to their event.  This is the case both at the major circuit (Sprint Cup) and their secondary circuit (Nationwide Series).  Last Saturday, there was a Nationwide Series race at the Nashville Motorspeedway.  Like other races, there was a pre-race invocation prayer.  I personally didn't see the prayer live but I later watched it on replay.

The pastor who led the prayer, Pastor Joe Nelms of Family Baptist Church of Lebanon, TN proceeded to give a prayer that has been talked about on sports talk shows, SportsCenter and newspapers across the country.  In his prayer, he gave thanks for the racing fuel, for some of the car owners providing engines for the cars, the tire company.  He also thanked God for his "smokin’ hot wife tonight, Lisa, and my two children, Eli and Emma, or as we like to call the, ‘The Little E’s".  He finished his prayer by saying "In Jesus’ name, Boogity Boogity Boogity, amen."

Here's the clip from YouTube of the prayer:



Some newspapers rightly described it as the pastor channeling Ricky Bobby in the prayer.  For those who don't know, Ricky Bobby is a fictional character from a movie called Talledega Nights which starred Will Ferrell as a race car driver.  Ferrell's character prayed a somewhat similar prayer saying grace at the dinner table.

To be honest, when I watched this I felt uncomfortable.  After watching it, I thought to myself "Would I pray like that if I was given the opportunity?"  The answer I came up with was "No."  I just wouldn't feel comfortable praying in such a manner as Pastor Nelms did.  It does make me think of how I pray privately with God.  Do I honor God with my prayers?  As a follower of Christ, I should be able to come before God and talk to Him like a child to a father.  Just as a child is comfortable talking to one's father, there is also a level of respect there too.

Did Pastor Nelms get attention?  Yes.  The question is what will he do with this attention?  Will his "Ricky Bobby" prayer help him as he shares the Gospel?  That would be a great question to ask him.  In the meantime, I know for me it has reminded me of how I pray to God and what I pray about to Him.