“He’s Never Driven a Race Car,” Joey Logano Responds to Stephen A. Smith’s NASCAR Athlete Claim

The argument over whether NASCAR drivers are athletes has returned to the center of the debate. This time Joey Logano responded directly to Stephen A. Smith’s claim that race-car drivers do not belong in that category.

The exchange landed during a 2026 Cup Series season in which Logano, a three-time champion and the only active driver with three Cup titles, is trying to build momentum in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford while NASCAR itself operates under a revamped championship format.

Smith’s comments came during a broader debate about all-time athletes, when he dismissed race-car drivers and golfers as “skilled” but not athletes. He argued that driving a car or walking a golf course did not meet his standard.

Logano’s response, delivered with little interest in debating the premise on Smith’s terms, shifted the story from a definition-of-athlete discussion into a larger look at media provocation, the physical realities of stock-car racing and the cultural gap between motorsports and mainstream sports commentary.

1. Logano Exposes Stephen A. Smith’s True Motive

Logano did not sound caught off guard by the question. He acknowledged that he had seen Smith’s remarks and immediately said he was “not surprised,” pointing out that Smith had made similar arguments before. Logano said, “I wasn’t surprised. He’s said it before. Yeah listen, I think people like that have to make comments to stay relevant. Right?” He continued, “I mean that’s like part of their game, right? Is how they gotta make big moments and things so people watch. And so he got exactly what he wanted, right? He got you talking about it, the whole industry talking about it, now he’s relevant. So I mean I don’t put much weight into it personally because he’s never driven a race car.”

2. What a 50°C Cockpit Does to the NASCAR Athlete’s Body

The strongest context around Logano’s response is physiological. A ScienceDirect study on stock-car drivers found significant increases in core temperature, skin temperature, heart-rate strain and perceived exertion after competitive racing in hot conditions. The study concluded that heat strain associated with competitive stock-car racing is significant and that motorsports should consider heat-acclimation strategies to meet the cardiovascular and thermoregulatory demands of competition. That evidence directly challenges the casual comparison between everyday driving and NASCAR competition. A Cup race is not a commute. Drivers compete for several hours in a hot cockpit, wearing fire-retardant gear, managing traffic at high speed, communicating with teams and controlling a heavy race car under changing fuel, tire and aerodynamic conditions. The study also noted that stock-car drivers can compete for three to four hours at speeds near 322 km/h, with cockpit temperatures reaching roughly 50°C. That environment places a premium on hydration, cardiovascular conditioning and the ability to maintain precision while the body is under thermal stress. Logano’s reference to the “mental aspect” was also scientific. NASCAR races require continuous information processing, i.e., track position, drafting lines, tire falloff, fuel windows, pit strategy, restarts, spotter communication and split-second risk assessment. A driver’s physical endurance and cognitive control are intertwined because fatigue can affect reaction time and decision quality. NASCAR’s athletic demand is not measured by whether the motion resembles a traditional stick-and-ball sport. It is measured by whether the competition requires trained physical capacity, specialized motor control, stamina and performance under bodily stress.

3. Logano Battles for Consistency Under NASCAR’s 2026 Playoff Format

Logano enters the 2026 season in his 18th NASCAR Cup Series season and 14th year with Team Penske, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. He is the only active driver with three Cup Series championships. Logano has 37 career Cup victories, a streak of 14 consecutive seasons with at least one Cup Series win, and a 2024 championship that placed him among the small group of drivers with three or more Cup titles. Through the early portion of the 2026 season, Logano had not yet won a race, and NASCAR’s official standings listed him 14th with 225 points, two top-five finishes, two top-10s and nine starts entering the Talladega weekend. That puts him in a season where consistency is as important as single-race speed. That is especially true because NASCAR reintroduced its original 10-race Chase-style postseason format for 2026. Under the revised system, the top 16 drivers in points after 26 races qualify for the postseason, and a race win no longer automatically locks a driver into the playoff field. For Logano, that turns every regular-season weekend into something more layered than a trophy chase. The No. 22 team can still change the tone of its season with one dominant Sunday, but under the restored points-based playoff model, a bad pit cycle, a mistimed restart or a finish outside the top 25 carries more consequences than it did in the win-and-advance era.

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