Ross Chastain questions whether Stephen A Smith could recognize a NASCAR driver after controversial comments

If you don’t know what you are talking about, it may be best to keep your opinions to yourself.

That is certainly how star driver Ross Chastain feels about Stephen A. Smith after the talk show host said he doesn’t think NASCAR drivers are athletes.

"That’s his opinion. We’ve all got them. He has a microphone and he’s using it, and he got the clicks. I don’t know that he even — I know he doesn’t know me, and I don’t believe, I don’t know. I guess my opinion is I don’t know that he knows a NASCAR driver if one walked in the room, if we didn’t have our fire suit on," Chastain told OutKick in a recent interview.

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Ross Chastain waves to fans during driver introductions before the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S.C., on Sept. 6, 2026. (Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

"If you don't know the people that you're giving an opinion on, I'm not sure that I can put much credit to it."

Smith said drivers are just getting behind the wheel of a car, not exerting themselves.

"Come on, man. That don’t count. You driving a car!" Smith said in April on his SiriusXM 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.

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ESPN commentator and host Stephen A. Smith on set Feb. 07, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)

"You can be behind the wheel of a car in your 60s and 70s, for crying out loud."

Kyle Larson and Jeff Gordon also took umbrage with Smith’s comments. Chastain said Smith simply doesn’t know any NASCAR drivers or hasn’t met any, while acknowledging his massive reach.

"If you don't know, like you have to, you at least have to know one driver, or have met them more than seeing a clip on TV. That's his opinion. He's got a big, big audience, that he talks to, through his microphone, and those waves go a long way, so that's fine," Chastain said on behalf of Busch Light.

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Ross Chastain and girlfriend Jordyn Mallory stand for the National Anthem before the NASCAR Cup Series DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix on March 1, 2026, at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

In Smith’s rant, he also said golfers aren’t athletes.

Ryan Canfield is a digital production assistant for Fox News Digital.