The NASCAR community is firing back after Stephen A. Smith recently said that NASCAR drivers are not athletes.
While discussing where LeBron James ranks among the greatest athletes ever on Smith’s Mad Dog Sports Radio show on SiriusXM, a caller suggested NASCAR legend Richard Petty as a nominee, and Smith proceeded to trash the idea of NASCAR drivers and golfers being athletes.
“Come on, man. That don’t count,” Smith said. “You driving a car! I’m being honest, it’s a great sport. But come on, bro. Getting behind the wheel of a car is not the same. You can be behind the wheel of a car in your 60s and 70s, for crying out loud. A golfer is not an athlete. A NASCAR driver is not an athlete. Just because you gotta walk the course for 18 holes for four days, that don’t make you an athlete. They’re skilled players; they’re elite at what they do. But athletes? Athletes? Are you kidding me? If you’re out there doing stuff that grandmas and grandpas can do, I’m not gonna look at you that way.”
On Saturday, NASCAR driver Joey Logano responded to Smith’s comments, saying, “People like that have to make comments to stay relevant.”
And during Sunday’s coverage of the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega, longtime Fox NASCAR play-by-play announcer Mike Joy called out Smith, referring to the ESPN personality as “well-known online pundit.”
“Earlier this week, a well-known online pundit said race car drivers are not athletes,” Joy said during the Talladega race. “I want to send him this sequence. And ask him to think about it.”
This will probably not be the last of the high-profile members of the NASCAR and golf communities calling out Smith. But that attention tends to be exactly what he craves.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.