Folks, NASCAR drivers are rarely considered athletes. This has been the reason for disdains for many all-time greats. As Joey Logano put it a few days ago, “The fact that they even ask us is a bit ridiculous in my opinion. It’s how you want to define an athlete, right? In the same way that, if you give me a basketball, I’m not gonna be that great with it. It’s the same way if you put an NBA player in a NASCAR race car, and they are not gonna be that great either, right? So, are you gonna tell me now that the NBA player is not an athlete because they can’t drive a race car? Probably not.” But, it’s not like drivers have not risen to prove that they are no less than runners, ballers, or fighters.
When NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace bluntly told Jamie McMurray, “My God, you are an athlete—you got zero stomach, you’re chiseled out,” he was capturing more than just a…
