“Best NASCAR invocation ever”: Fans hit with nostalgia of Joe Nelms’ legendary pre-race prayer at Nashville

As NASCAR prepares to hit Nashville Superspeedway, NBC posted a throwback video from the Cup Series race at the 1.330-mile tri-oval intermediate speedway in Lebanon, Tennessee. The 2011 edition of the race, called the Nashville 300 back then, was especially memorable to the racing fans because of Joe Nelms' hilarious pre-race invocation.

The invocation started with the usual prayer that the fans were used to listening to. It thanked the Almighty for the Goodyear tires, the Sunoco racing fuel, the powerful engines on the cars, and everything else that made the race possible.

"Heavenly Father, we thank you tonight for all your blessings. You said, "In all things, give thanks". So we want to thank you tonight for these mighty machines that you've brought before us,"Nelms said. "Thank you for the Dodges and the Toyotas. Thank you for the Fords and most of all, we thank you for Roush and Yates partnering to give us the power that we see before us tonight. Thank you for GM Performance Technology and RO7 engines. Thank you for Sunoco racing fuel and Goodyear tires that bring performance and power to the track."

However, things took an epic turn when the Pastor started quoting Will Ferrell from 'Talladega Nights'.

"Lord, I want to thank you for my smoking hot wife tonight Lisa, and my two children, Eli and Emma, or as we like to call them the "Little E's". Lord, I pray and bless the drivers and use them tonight. May they put on a performance worthy of this great track in Jesus' name, Boogity, Boogity, Boogity, Amen."

Several fans reacted to the prayer, with one calling it the best NASCAR invocation ever.

"Best NASCAR invocation ever. Thanks for the joy of it again today," the fan said.

Revealing that they had used the invocation as their ringtone for quite some time, another fan said,

"I still have the Songify of this, used it as a ringtone for a long time."

Here are a few other reactions to the prayer:

"Man Bless this Man! But can I see his wife 😂," a fan joked.

"The opening ceremonies best moment ever you could see the drivers smirking and laughing thruout the prayer! #Classic," said another.

"This is historic! I remember this like it was yesterday… #BestNascarPrayerEver #Nascar," a fan added.

Although the prayer ended on a funny note, several drivers were greatly motivated by Nelms' words, and Austin Dillon was one of them.

NASCAR driver Austin Dillon revealed his take on Joe Nelms' legendary words

For Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon, it was the kind of prayer that gets one "fired up". In an interview by renowned FOX journalist Bob Pockrass, Dillon said that he had felt energized by Pastor Nelms' words that day.

"The cool part about it was it kind of pumped me up before the race," Dillon exclaimed. "Some people use music, but that prayer was like, ‘Man, I want to go out there and race and put on a show for the fans and do it for the big man above.’"

"It was cool. It got me fired up. It gave me goosebumps," he added.

However, not everyone found it appropriate. Hours after the invocation, a lady from the church called Joe Nelms' residence to express her concerns about the pastor's disrespect towards his wife. Interestingly, Nelms' wife, Lisa, picked up the phone.

Recalling the same, Nelms said,

"She wanted to gripe about how disrespectful I was to my wife," Nelms said. "(My wife) said, ‘Ma’am, I am the wife. I appreciate it, and I really enjoyed it.’ She loved it."

"She is a little more shy, a little more private than I am. But it sure did help my marriage. It didn’t hurt anything there," Nelms said speaking of his wife.

This year's race at Nashville Superspeedway will take place on June 30. Motorsports enthusiasts can catch the action live on NBC Sports and Peacock. The 300-lap race can also be heard on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR radio.