The NASCAR community is firing back after Stephen A. Smith recently said that NASCAR drivers are not athletes.<\/p>\n
While discussing where LeBron James ranks among the greatest athletes ever on Smith\u2019s\u00a0Mad Dog Sports Radio show on SiriusXM<\/a>, a caller suggested NASCAR legend Richard Petty as a nominee, and Smith proceeded to trash the idea of NASCAR drivers and golfers being athletes<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cCome on, man. That don\u2019t count,\u201d Smith said. \u201cYou driving a car! I\u2019m being honest, it\u2019s 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\u2019t make you an athlete. They\u2019re skilled players; they\u2019re elite at what they do. But athletes? Athletes? Are you kidding me? If you\u2019re out there doing stuff that grandmas and grandpas can do, I\u2019m not gonna look at you that way.\u201d<\/p>\n On Saturday, NASCAR driver Joey Logano responded to Smith\u2019s comments<\/a>, saying, \u201cPeople like that have to make comments to stay relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n And during Sunday\u2019s coverage of the Jack Link\u2019s 500 at Talladega, longtime Fox NASCAR play-by-play announcer Mike Joy called out Smith, referring to the ESPN personality as \u201cwell-known online pundit.\u201d<\/p>\n Fox announcer Mike Joy now calls out Stephen A. Smith (\u201ca well-known online pundit\u201d) over the NASCAR comments.pic.twitter.com\/yXZ7vLBxsN<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/IvC8dzdbaL<\/a><\/p>\n