http://youtu.be/nWVmEvgByto

Last week, on FOX Sports 1, the new all-sports network that thinks it’s a good idea to have non-athletes talk about sports and athletes talk about things that they deem not to be sports, Donovan McNabb was asked if outstanding NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson was an athlete:

“He’s not an athlete,” McNabb said. “He sits in a car and he drives, so that doesn’t make you athletic. I give credit to what he’s been able to do.”

Can’t say I totally disagree, depending on your particular definition of an athlete, but it’s probably not a worthwhile opinion for McNabb to offer up about a six-time champion (especially since the leading story from the one time McNabb got close to being one was whether he puked or not).

Today, Johnson responded:

“Yes, I am an athlete, and so is every other driver in one of these race cars,” Johnson said, pausing to set up his punchline. “Even Tony Stewart.”

That Tony Stewart punchline though.* I imagine NASCAR fans just swilled a beer over that. But that wasn’t even the best part of Johnson’s response. That was his Michael Jordan name-drop about championdom:

“I did have some great support over the last couple of days, which is awesome,” said Johnson, who said six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan had been teasing him about only having five Cup championships.

“I can’t wait to send him a text and say, ‘Hey, buddy, I’ve caught up,'” Johnson said.

Wonder which one-time champion teases McNabb about never winning one?

*Did I do that right?