Few figures in NASCAR are better equipped to stand in defense of NASCAR and meet criticism head-on than Kevin Harvick. And he did just that. Responding to pointed remarks from Stephen A. Smith, the veteran didn’t hold back while challenging what he saw as an ill-informed critique of the sport.

Speaking on the Speed podcast, Harvick addressed Smith’s claims that NASCAR drivers aren’t athletes. “If you don’t know anything about racing, just keep your opinion to yourself because you shouldn’t even have an opinion if you don’t know anything about a sport,” he said.

To Harvick’s point, Smith isn’t a specialist in NASCAR or Motorsports coverage. He is a multi-sports commentator; however, he has built a career commenting on the NBA.

So, the former SHR driver further explained his point that he had Polar make him a smartwatch to wear during races. In the first race where he wore the watch, he burned over 3,000 calories. This prompted the watch brand to call Harvick and offer a replacement since they thought something was wrong with the previous one. They gave him another watch, and this time the calories burned turned out to be close to 2500. Kevin Harvick stated that this amount of caloric burn or heart rate changes is only seen in marathon runners.

“I think this is just an instance where Stephen A. Smith is looking for clicks on something he knows absolutely nothing about what he’s talking about,” Harvick added.

Responding to a fan’s claim that Richard Petty is one of the greatest athletes, Smith claimed that NASCAR drivers “don’t count” in the category of athletes. “You’re driving a car! I’m being honest, it’s 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,” he added.

However, one look at some basic medical data from a race compared to an NBA game and Smith’s comments become baseless. Because during a NASCAR race, a driver can burn anywhere from 2,500 to 5,000 calories. The caloric burn during an NBA game? 900 to 1,000 for those playing for around twenty minutes, and 1,200–1,500 calories for players playing 30+ minutes.

Smith also recently fired back at all such comments, suggesting he was trying to stay relevant.

“Do I look like somebody that needs to be relevant? I am relevant. I have a show that airs nationwide every weekday for two hours on radio after I have a national number one morning show on television or two hours every day for the last 14 years. What are you talking about? This is the problem. Can we grow up? Can we grow up?” Smith fired back, addressing the criticism.

Smith was not spared by NASCAR drivers for his controversial comments

Reacting to Stephen A. Smith’s comments, Denny Hamlin claimed that a normal person’s body isn’t trained to do what NASCAR drivers do. Because of that, they can be qualified as athletes even though they don’t look athletic in most cases.

“The strength and the stamina is the part that no casual person would be able to do. If you’re going to use that part of the definition, we are absolutely athletes, and he’s incorrect,” Hamlin claimed.

Ryan Preece, who has been on the wrong end of the ugly side of NASCAR a few times, wondered if Smith would be able to endure the same. “I’d love for him to go tumbling 13 times, have black eyes, and show up next week doing what you got to do,” he described.

But Ross Chastain’s reaction could be summed up as the most efficient and appropriate to Smith’s comments. The Trackhouse driver pointed out that Stephen A. Smith has made a career out of a specific type of comment, one that calls for attention.

To Chastain, that’s all it was, a comment for the attention.