Duck Commander 500 2016: Phil Robertson gives controversial invocation (Video)
By Phil Naegely
Phil Robertson’s opening prayer before the Duck Commander was filled with a little bit of controversy.
The Duck Commander 500 is
. However, the weather allowed them to get the pre-race festivities in, which included the traditional invocation before the race. Phil Robertson took the stage and offered an invocation that ruffled some feathers once people realized what he said.
In his prayer he asked God to bring a republican into the White House as the next president. It’s not a secret the Robertson clan are conservative Christians that don’t support Barack Obama — or many Democrats for that matter. They also are gun-loving family that lives in the country. Earlier this election cycle Robertson put his support behind Ted Cruz for the Republican presidential nomination.
After Robertson’s invocation ended, many took to social media to bash what he said and speak out. However, don’t expect NASCAR to do much as much of the community lean similar to Robertson politically. Also, the Robertson family’s company is the sponsor of Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.
While many NASCAR fans may not like it, this prayer will get people talking about the sport. It may even cause others to tune into future pre-race prayers to see what else is said. The pastors or individual who prays usually says something more general. However, they aren’t usually a part of the race sponsor.
Robertson may have crossed a line, but NASCAR will probably not even say anything about what happened due to his family being the lead sponsor of Sunday’s race. Likewise, NASCAR officials most likely agree with what was said before the race.
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