A Nashville pastor has defended a pre-NASCAR race prayer in which he thanked God for his "smokin' hot wife," saying he wanted a blessing that would be remembered.
Joe Nelms of Family Baptist Church gave the invocation at Saturday night's Nationwide race at Nashville Superspeedway in Gladeville, Tenn. Late in the prayer, Nelms channeled his inner Ricky Bobby when he borrowed a line from the film "Talladega Nights."
"Lord, I want to thank you for my smokin' hot wife tonight, Lisa, and my two children, Eli and Emma, or as we like to call [them], 'The Little E's,'" he said.
In an interview Monday with Sirius Satellite Radio's "Tradin' Paint," Nelms said he did not want to do "cookie-cutter prayers."
"I want to get somebody's attention,” Nelms said, “so that's been our desire every time we've been up there, to try to make an impact on the fans and give them something they'll remember, and maybe they'll go home on a Friday night or a Saturday night and say, 'Maybe I ought to get up and go to church in the morning.’ “
