{"id":636484,"date":"2026-04-29T13:37:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/636484\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T13:37:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:37:14","slug":"stephen-a-smith-escalates-feud-with-nascar-with-insufferable-two-word-suggestion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/636484\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen A Smith escalates feud with NASCAR with insufferable two-word suggestion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Stephen A. Smith is confused that NASCAR<\/a> drivers are angry at him because he mocked them last week in one of his predictable podcast rants.<\/p>\n

Weird, I know. I can’t believe they’d fire back after that! I figured they’d just stay quiet because, after all, it’s Stephen A. Smith. Precious, popular, untouchable Stephen A. Smith<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE<\/a><\/p>\n

For those who missed it, the “First Take” host hopped on his little podcast and took a dump on NASCAR drivers after one caller insisted Richard Petty belonged in some sort of discussion he was having about LeBron James.<\/p>\n

Yes, Stephen A. was talking about LeBron<\/a>. Stunning.<\/p>\n

\"Stephen <\/p>\n

Stephen A. Smith (C) attends a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks at Crypto.com Arena on March 06, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky\/Getty Images) (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

“Come on, man. That don\u2019t count. You driving a car!” Smith told Jay from Greensboro. “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.”<\/p>\n

It’s not a new debate, by the way. This comes up every few years, and everyone gets all flustered every few years. I’ve seen it a dozen times in my life.<\/p>\n

Anyway, Joey Logano \u2014 also known as a two-time Cup champion and future Hall of Famer \u2014 stuffed Stephen A. in a locker<\/a> last weekend at Talladega, saying he only made those comments because he needed to stay relevant.<\/p>\n

I thought it was a relatively obvious retort given that’s all these podcasters do. They say things to get clicks. That’s the name of the game.<\/p>\n

Stephen A., however, did NOT share the same sentiment on his show last night (starts at the 11-minute mark):<\/p>\n

Joey Logano and Stephen A. Smith are both right, unfortunately<\/p>\n

“Let me speak directly to Mr. Joey Logano, I don\u2019t know you from a can of paint. Why can\u2019t I just have an opinion about NASCAR? Why do I have to be doing it to stay relevant? My television show has been No. 1 in the morning for 14 straight years. I\u2019m on television and radio and my career spans 30 years.<\/p>\n

“Check the news. Google me. I don\u2019t have that concern. I\u2019ve been blessed by God enough not to have that concern … Do I look like somebody that needs to be relevant? I am relevant.”<\/p>\n

I mean, what a response! What a battle we have brewing between Stephen A. Smith and the NASCAR world. Certainly didn’t see this one coming, but I’m glad we’re here.<\/p>\n

Look, I think both guys are probably right here, which is a boring stance to take, I know. But, it’s the one I’m taking.<\/p>\n

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON\u2019T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!<\/a><\/p>\n

\"NASCAR <\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series driver Joey Logano celebrates after winning the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship and the championship race at Phoenix Raceway. (Mark J. Rebilas\/Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Joey Logano is right in saying that Stephen A. just says stuff to say it. Duh. That’s been his shtick for over a decade now. Nobody flip-flops more<\/a> than Stephen A. Smith. The dude has attempted to get into politics for the past 18 months, and it’s been laughable.<\/p>\n

The way he walks into a “big” NBA game like he owns the place and all eyes are on him gets me every time. He really does think the world just loves him.<\/p>\n

And, he’s also sort of right. Look at what I’m writing about today. This is the SECOND time I’ve written about this<\/a> in the past week. The guy does get clicks. He does move the needle. Like it or not, it’s true. The data says it’s true. Fair is fair, and I have to listen to the data on this one.<\/p>\n

There’s a reason “First Take” is one of the very few shows at insufferable ESPN that has survived all the turnover. People watch it.<\/p>\n

I don’t, because I value my sanity, but plenty of folks do.<\/p>\n

\"Stephen <\/p>\n

ESPN reporter and analyst Stephen A. Smith appears on the set of “First Take” in San Francisco, Calif., on Feb. 6, 2026. (Aaron M. Sprecher\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Now, the whole “Google me” shtick is so exhausting. That’s where Stephen A. loses me. People who throw that line out there are usually pretty intolerable. There is nothing worse than a self-righteous Big J journalist. Nothing. It’s pathetic, and, frankly, embarrassing.<\/p>\n

You can give us the facts without following up with “Google me.” We gotcha, Stephen A. We know. We hear you. Trust us, we always hear you.<\/p>\n

You never shut up!<\/p>\n

Anyway, the truth is that most of Stephen A.’s audience doesn’t know Joey Logano, and most of Joey Logano’s audience doesn’t know Stephen A.<\/p>\n

OUTKICK IS NOW ON THE FOX APP: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD<\/a><\/p>\n

Frankly, I think they should just play a game of one-on-one and hash it out on the court.<\/p>\n

My money is on Joey!<\/p>\n

Zach Dean is a writer for OutKick.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stephen A. Smith is confused that NASCAR drivers are angry at him because he mocked them last week…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":636485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,459,231762,82,35518],"class_list":["post-636484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-nba","tag-outkick-sports","tag-sports","tag-stephen-a-smith"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}