Lets put a stop to the idea that NASCAR drivers are athletes.

[WriterDom]

Once again we have someone racing 500 miles in Indy, then traveling to NC to race 600 more. I know it's hot in the car, but it was hot in all cars before air conditioning. Golf is more of a sport than racing. Tiger can bench over 500 pounds. The average good ol nascar boy curls a 12 pack of Budweiser for exercise.

 

[Starblayde]

Try Formula 1, now there's something you need to be fit for

 

[Shaq]

"Racing is a skill...not a sport. It's like bowling...or checkers....or pool. Yeah, it takes skill to do, it's nice that you can do it. But everybody can't be an athlete!

 

[Azwed]

NASCAR now but what about world rally racing, specificly the Paris Dakar(sp?) rally, or Le Mans?

 

[kiwiwolf]

Once again we have someone racing 500 miles in Indy, then traveling to NC to race 600 more. I know it's hot in the car, but it was hot in all cars before air conditioning. Golf is more of a sport than racing. Tiger can bench over 500 pounds. The average good ol nascar boy curls a 12 pack of Budweiser for exercise.

Bollocks. Racing requires fitness just as much as golf, basketball or any other sport you might care to name.

 

[Starblayde]

You need to concentrate for however-many-laps.
You need to withstand G-forces with consumate ease.

You have to be pretty fit, but nothing special. Point the car in the right place and brake as little as possible

 

[Problem Child]

Who's the kid with a shriveled leg on the pro tour? Casey something? They're trying to take his golf cart away because they think he'll kick their ass if they let him use it. Their are a few fat sixty year olds that could be competitive on the pro tour if they wanted to.

Yeah, you have to be a real physical adonnis to play golf.

 

[Young Knave]

Re: Re: Lets put a stop to the idea that NASCAR drivers are athletes.

Bollocks. Racing requires fitness just as much as golf, basketball or any other sport you might care to name.

If the fitness of the players is a means of judging, then I think we have to exlude baseball as a sport as well as racing.

 

[morninggirl5]

Take a peek at the telemetry and the G forces these guys are experiencing in the turns.

Then we can discuss whether or not they are athletes.

 

[WriterDom]

Take a peek at the telemetry and the G forces these guys are experiencing in the turns.

Then we can discuss whether or not they are athletes.

It approaches those of male ice skaters. I guess that explains the success of Jeff Gordon.

 

[Sillyman]

I define sport as a competitive activity that involves the physical abilities of the user. I think driving calls more upon the mental resources, such as judgement and reflexes, than physical ability. I also don't think horse racing is a sport, since the physical abilities of the jockey tend to factor less into the equation than the horse.

Sports include:
Football
Baseball
Basketball
Soccer
Hockey
Tennis
La Crosse
Wrestling
Boxing
Martial Arts Competition
Fencing
Track and Field
Swimming
Golf
Bowling

Non-sports
Horce racing
Car racing
Chess
Billiards
Figure Skating (or any other competitive form based on asthetics)

 

[Azwed]

Again I point you to the 24 hours of LeMans and the Paris Dakar rally.

That is an endurance test of both man and machine and the people who win that race are definetly athletes.

The race this year will be about 10,000 Km's.

http://www.dakar.com/2002/presentationus/

170 motorcycles, yes thats right motorcycles, are entered in this years rally.

http://www.dakar.com/2002/presentationus/



Her is another page with a breakdown on the kinds of vehicles.

http://www.dakar.com/2002/presentationus/

 

[navarre]

Take a peek at the telemetry and the G forces these guys are experiencing in the turns.

Then we can discuss whether or not they are athletes.

Well said morninggirl5.
Living in the heart of NASCAR country you gain some insight.
If the drivers aren't fit and conditioned, they just don't make it.

 

[patient1]

Let's not forget the rest of the team- the guys that play catch with tires, cans of gasoline, & use real jacks to lift the cars.

 

[koalabear]

Take a peek at the telemetry and the G forces these guys are experiencing in the turns.

Then we can discuss whether or not they are athletes.

I thought the G force was the force applied to their tongue to get their wives off?

 

[christo]

Driving a stock car takes considerable physical skill. You have to deal with the heat and the G-forces, sure. But you have to have lightning reflexes. Driving at 200MPH isn't like driving on the highway, just a little bit faster. You have to have the reaction times of a leopard. You don't have to be a buff, cut demigod to be a great race car driver, but lots of great athletes don't look like Adonis. NASCAR drivers (and Indy drivers and F1 pilots) are extraordinary. Not just any leadfoot can get in a car and drive to Victory Lane.

Being a great athlete is more than physical ability. Things like courage, heart, determination matter a lot. If you drive a race car, you have to have a fair share of courage. If you're a race car driver you've probably been in an accident, probably a few, and getting back in that car race after race takes a lot of heart. Barreling through 500 miles of traffic to win a race takes determination.

If you drive a race car you can die. The risk of death in most other sports is rather negligable. Not only that, but in racing your actions can directly cause the death of someone else. The stakes race car drivers compete for are higher than in practically any other sport.

 

[Guest]

athletes don't drive cars

"There are three sports: bullfighting, mountain climbing and automobile racing, everything else is just a game..."

Hemmingway (allegedly)..

My thoughts: heartrate counts, but not from being scared, so auto racing does not qualify, mountain climbing does, so doesbullfighting. Mario Pantani is definitely an athlete, Jeff Cordon ain't no matter how much he sweats in the car.


I'm mystified as to how driving a car makes someone an athlete- maybe if they pushed it around the track. Does driving a garbage truck qualify one as an athlete? How about your friendly plumber crancking in the snake to clean out your toilet- i bet his heartrate gets up over 100...


Real men ride bicycles....

 

[Wrong Element]

I think we should make a distinction between the separate issues of whether or not auto racing is a sport, and whether or not the drivers are athletes.

I think NASCAR is definitely a sport--first one to the finish line wins. Sports doesn't get much more elemental than that. But while it takes great skill to drive in NASCAR, it's not an athletic skill per se. It's a learned ability.

On the other hand, gymnasts and figure skaters have great athletic ability, but I think what they do is show business more than true sport. There's no equivalent of "the French judge" in NASCAR, thank God.

 

[morninggirl5]

On the other hand, gymnasts and figure skaters have great athletic ability, but I think what they do is show business more than true sport. There's no equivalent of "the French judge" in NASCAR, thank God.

Don't believe those conspiracy theories about the "Room of Doom", do you?

 

[Ishmael]

Perhaps drivers aren't "athletes" in the conventional sense, but;

Come on down to Orlando and take the 4 day school at Richard Petty's driving world. Now, the cars only get up to 160, maybe 140 in the turns. But the G forces are incredible. Holding your head up becomes a feat. Before the suit air conditioners it wasn't unusual for a driver to lose over 10 lbs in the course of a race.

I'm in reasonably good shape, and I know that I couldn't last a 500 mile race. Not without losing concentration from the fatigue. And loosing concentration at 200MPH can make a good day go bad in a hurry.

So for $1500.00 or so, you can try it and then pass judgement. Good vacation for the family too.

Ishmael

 

[Draco]

It's a learned ability.

BULLSHIT....Michael Schumacher, Dale Ernhardt, David Coulthard, Kenny Roberts, Troy Corser, Max Biagi, Mika Hakkinen,
Reubens Barricalo, and all other top name racers/riders. Sheer raw talent. Their skill is not something you can learn.

Althletes, everyone of them.

Their fitness regimes wuld put a lot of so-called sportsmen to shame. You try and concentrate on your car, the track, the opposition, the weather, your pit crew, your computer, and most importantly, trying to squeeze another second off your time, each and every lap for 100, 200, 500 laps and see if your fitness is up to the task.

You compare it with golf....oh please gimme a break! They walk about 5 miles in a round of 36 holes. OH that must be so hard.
A racer covers 5 miles in less than 3 minutes, while putting his life on the line. If a golfer fucks up a shot, its just another mark on a scorecard, if a racer fucks up a corner, HE'S DEAD!!

Until you have worked or participated in motorsports, dont fucking spout off what you dont know about.

I've raced motorcycles for 30 years, everything from Moto-X to Formula 1 (the big bikes, 1000 cc plus.) Try chucking one of them around for 20 laps, it leaves you drained, physically AND mentally.
Its not just a simple matter of jumping on it and opening a throttle. Would you be prepared to drop a bike at 280 Kph+...?

Take a good look at a moto-X race, your arms, jolting, your legs thumping, other bikes hitting you in corners (berms). Tell me they aren't athletes....I DARE YOU..!!!