From Denny Hamlin to Todd Gilliland, the NASCAR garage had plenty to say over recent comments by famous ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith that drivers aren’t athletes.
That is … the drivers who had heard of him.
Smith kickstarted the controversy with comments on his SIRIUSXM radio show this week where he insulted both golfers and NASCAR drivers.
“Come on, man. That don’t count. You driving a car!” Smith ranted on his show. “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 NASCAR driver is not an athlete.”
As you would expect, the drivers of NASCAR’s Cup Series would beg to differ. Watch their variety of responses below from Saturday’s (April 25) bullpen availability at Talladega Superspeedway.
Joey Logano Calls Out Stephen A. Smith
Ryan Preece On Stephen A. Smith: “I’d Like to See Him Flip 13 Times and Race With A Black Eye”
The author of Did You Notice? (Wednesdays) Tom spends his time overseeing Frontstretch’s 50+ staff members as its majority owner and Editor-in-Chief. Based outside Philadelphia, Bowles is a two-time Emmy winner in NASCAR television and has worked in racing production with FOX, TNT, and ESPN while appearing on-air for SIRIUS XM Radio and FOX Sports 1's former show, the Crowd Goes Wild. He most recently consulted with SRX Racing, helping manage cutting-edge technology and graphics that appeared on their CBS broadcasts during 2021 and 2022.
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Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin' Out Loud column, co-host of the Frontstretch Happy Hour podcast, and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a Captain in the US Army.
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Michael Massie joined Frontstretch in 2017 and has served as the Content Director since 2020.
Massie, a Richmond, Va., native, has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, SRX and the CARS Tour. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad and Green Bay Packers minority owner can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies and Packers.
I heard Mike Joy mention the “athlete” thing prior to one the gazillions of commercial breaks. Didn’t realize what the hubbub was. And frankly, don’t care what smith says or thinks.
Smith is a punkass.
Strap him into a race car and take him for a spin…
but have the diapers and puke bucket ready.
Smith got what he wanted, which was outrage, reactions, and clicks. He’s playing a character. I don’t understand why people tune in for this sort of thing, but it clearly works to drive ratings. Make no mistake, this was planned for this purpose.
I can’t stand it, but people tune in/read stuff which generates outrage, and that’s the name of the game. We even see it here in FS articles from time to time. There was one of these within the past week. Most humans are addicted to outrage, but individually, they don’t generally see it within themselves. Even though I know this, I catch myself falling into this trap every now and again.