“I’d Like to See Him Tumble 13 Times,” Ryan Preece Fires Back after Stephen A. Smith claims racers are not athletes

Recently, Stephen A. Smith had claimed that NASCAR drivers should not be classified as athletes. His take spread quickly through the stock-car garage after Smith dismissed racing and golf during a SiriusXM segment. Driving a race car, in Smith’s view, does not meet the same standard as other sports.

“Come on, man. That don’t count. You driving a car,” Smith said, according to Fox News. “It’s a great sport. But come on, bro. Getting behind the wheel of a car is not the same.” Smith’s comments came during a discussion about all-time athletes when a caller brought up NASCAR legend Richard Petty. Smith rejected the comparison and said Petty’s accomplishments did not belong in that category because he was “driving a car.”

The comment was not limited to Petty. Smith also questioned whether golfers should be described as athletes, while making an exception for Tiger Woods. Smith said NASCAR drivers and golfers are elite at what they do but drew a line between skill and athleticism.

When Ryan Preece was asked about the same, the RFK Racing driver pointed back to his 2023 Daytona crash. In August 2023, he survived one of the most violent crashes of the Next Gen era when his car rolled roughly a dozen times at Daytona. Preece was evaluated overnight at Halifax Health Medical Center and released the next day. He was cleared to race the following week at Darlington with bruised, bloodshot eyes but no concussion symptoms.

1. Ryan Preece Details Gruesome Daytona Crash to Prove NASCAR Athletes Are Real

Preece did not argue around the edges of Smith’s comment. He went straight to the physical consequences of racing stock cars at Cup Series speed. “He can have an opinion all he wants,” Preece said. “I’d like to see him tumble 13 times, have black eyes and show up next week doing what you gotta do.” During the 2023 Daytona crash, his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford went airborne and flipped repeatedly late in the race. The car rolled approximately a dozen times before Preece was transported for evaluation, then medically cleared and released. Preece returned to competition the next week at Darlington.

2. The Hidden Physical Strain and Athletic Demands NASCAR Drivers Face

Smith’s comment fits a familiar outside view of racing. Many claim that the car does the work, the driver directs it. NASCAR drivers and teams have long argued that this view misses what happens inside the cockpit. The strain is not always visible on television. The steering corrections are small. The brake pressure is hidden. The heat is not obvious until a driver climbs out. The impact forces are only fully understood after a crash, when the driver is evaluated, bruised or ruled out. Preece’s Daytona example made that hidden part visible. The crash produced a hospital trip, bloodshot eyes and a public return one week later. ESPN reported that he had no concussion-like symptoms and was cleared to drive, but the physical evidence from the rollover remained apparent. The “not athletes” argument also ignores how NASCAR teams build around athletic performance beyond the driver. Race teams have recruited former football players for pit crews, with organizations using combine-style testing to evaluate agility, strength, hand-eye coordination and repetition under pressure. Preece’s response was aimed at the driver side of that equation. His point was not that NASCAR resembles football or basketball. It was that athleticism in racing is measured through control, endurance, recovery and the ability to absorb physical consequences while continuing to compete.

3. Inside Ryan Preece’s Career Revival and Breakout Bowman Gray Clash Victory

Preece is in his second season with RFK Racing, driving the No. 60 Ford in the Cup Series. RFK added him in 2025 when the organization expanded from two full-time Cup cars to three, putting him alongside Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher. The move followed a major garage shake-up. Stewart-Haas Racing shut down after the 2024 season, leaving Preece to land with RFK as the team built out its Cup operation. Keselowski entered that lineup as both a former Cup champion and team co-owner, while Buescher had already become RFK’s established weekly contender. Preece’s 2026 season also included a clear career marker at Bowman Gray Stadium. He entered the Clash winless in 223 Cup Series starts, then passed Shane van Gisbergen with 43 laps remaining and beat William Byron by 1.752 seconds. The Bowman Gray victory did not count as a points-paying Cup win because the Clash is an exhibition race. It still gave Preece his first win in NASCAR’s premier division and kept him visible early in the season. His background stretches well beyond his current Cup ride. Preece came through modified racing, won the 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship, and has won in both the Xfinity Series and Truck Series.

• Tags:
• Ryan Preece