Here are three things that rarely go well together: politics, religion and sports. NASCAR managed to stir all three into one combustible pot during the Duck Commander 500 last week at Texas Motor Speedway.

“All right, Texas, we got here via Bibles and guns. I'm fixin' to pray to the one who made that possible,” Duck Commander patriarch Phil Robertson beseeched in his invocation before the race. “I pray, Father, that we put a Jesus man in the White House. Help us do that and help us all to repent, to do what is right, to love you more and to love each other.”

Cue implosion on the Internet. Robertson drew outrage from those with more diverse viewpoints and cries of “amen” from supporters.

Just what NASCAR needs. Another food fight in the culture wars.

The pre-race invocation usually calls for the safety of drivers. Nothing wrong with that. But Robertson sent a mixed message about how we should all “love each other.”

Speedway officials recruited Robertson and the rest of the Duck Dynasty as a sponsorship deal. If the track wants to go all-in for the conservative fan base, it is within its rights.

It just might want to check the message it wants to spread. Not everybody got here via “Bibles and guns.” I suspect many fans got to the race in cars or RVs. Some might have even called Uber.

Stewart on hold:Tony Stewart's last run continues to be on pause, waiting for the first lap.

A broken back suffered Jan. 31 in a dune buggy accident in California cut short his farewell season before it started, and he remains in rehab mode. He awaits a scan this month to determine when he can get back to racing.

“I don't (know my return date) — not until they do the next set of scans,” Stewart said last week, when he was honored for raising $1.5 million for the Texas chapter of Speedway Children's Charities. “Then they'll be able to have an idea exactly when it's going to happen.”

As with any rehab, there are good days, not-so-good days and bad days. It has been a bumpy ride.

“I feel great,” Stewart said. “I've been doing everything over the last week that I've wanted to do. If you step off a curb wrong or step too hard, you're reminded you have these rods in your back. Other than that, I feel well.

“I'm anxious to get the scans. It's driving me crazy wanting to see what it looks like and what is the diagnosis and when they think they're going to let me go.”

— George Diaz