Are NASCAR drivers athletes?

[K.C.]

Jimmie Johnson wins athlete of the year for 2009. (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gjzazqedJdJp0IxgBe_jdjgCYBDQD9CNQ7D80)


My take is simple -- no.

You can literally have a 20 year old, a 40 year old, and a 60 year old in a race without any real competitive edge going to anyone.

Is there some reflex and endurance involved in driving? Sure. But it has more to do with the car, and strategy on any given day.

The overriding factor on any given day is the car and the performance of the crew.

It's a great competition. There's great strategy involved. But these guys are just not athletes and it shouldn't belong in the same conversation as "sport."

[GregoryJoseph]

Jimmie Johnson wins athlete of the year for 2009. (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gjzazqedJdJp0IxgBe_jdjgCYBDQD9CNQ7D80)


My take is simple -- no.

You can literally have a 20 year old, a 40 year old, and a 60 year old in a race without any real competitive edge going to anyone.

Is there some reflex and endurance involved in driving? Sure. But it has more to do with the car, and strategy on any given day.

The overriding factor on any given day is the car and the performance of the crew.

It's a great competition. There's great strategy involved. But these guys are just not athletes and it shouldn't belong in the same conversation as "sport."

They're far more athletic than golfers, and I've seen Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods win similar awards.

I don't think a lot of people truly appreciate what a race car driver goes through physically during a race. It's a lot more taxing than almost any other sport.

I'm not a fan, but have great respect for what those guys do.

[K.C.]

They're far more athletic than golfers, and I've seen Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods win similar awards.

I don't think a lot of people truly appreciate what a race car driver goes through physically during a race. It's a lot more taxing than almost any other sport.

I'm not a fan, but have great respect for what those guys do.

But it's not the overriding factor of any race.

The car and the crew have way more of a decisive factor in any race, so in that respect, a lot of it is out of the driver's hands.

I agree the "athleticism" in golf is questionable as well, but I could buy that argument a little more, since at the end of the day, the golfer is by far the primary factor in determining the outcome.

That said, I would say golf is a skill, and would shy away from calling them athletes as well, but I think they have a slightly better case than NASCAR.

[GregoryJoseph]

But it's not the overriding factor of any race.

The car and the crew have way more of a decisive factor in any race, so in that respect, a lot of it is out of the driver's hands.

I agree the "athleticism" in golf is questionable as well, but I could buy that argument a little more, since at the end of the day, the golfer is by far the primary factor in determining the outcome.

That said, I would say golf is a skill, and would shy away from calling them athletes as well, but I think they have a slightly better case than NASCAR.

Driving a race car is nothing like driving your family car. Today's NASCAR driver has to be in peak shape to last through a race.

Two of the biggest problems facing a race car driver are the heat and the constant G forces from turning corners. The temperature inside a typical NASCAR cockpit is around120 degrees on a hot summer day. It feels even hotter because the driver is wearing a fireproof suit from head to toe.

In a corner, a NASCAR driver experiences 2 to 3 Gs. A 200-pound driver feels like he weighs 600 pounds in a 3-G turn. Holding your head, arms and torso in position for hours at a time when you weigh 600 pounds takes strength - so NASCAR drivers spend time training in the weight room. Drivers work especially on muscles in the neck, shoulders, arms and torso so that they have the strength to work against the Gs. Drivers also work a great deal on stamina, because they have to be able to perform throughout a race that lasts three to four hours without rest.

[Hottub]

Racing is not a sport, post hoc ergo propter hoc, no.

[Marc with a c]

they can be athletes, but you don't have to be.

[opie's twisted balls]

They're far more athletic than golfers, and I've seen Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods win similar awards.
I agree that they're athletic but they're not athletes.

For someone to be considered an athlete they need to compete in a sport and NASCAR IMO isn't a sport in the true sense of the word.

[RhinoinMN]

Those guys lose close to 6-7 pounds during a race and a lot of times piss blood afterwords.

[Hottub]

Following the logic, Greg is a professional driver.
Therefor an athlete.:blink:

[Hottub]

Those guys lose close to 6-7 pounds during a race and a lot of times piss blood afterwords.

Sounds like the aftermath of a Saturday night of drinking.

[Marc with a c]

Those guys lose close to 6-7 pounds during a race and a lot of times piss blood afterwords.

so does hippo after eight minutes on a treadmill. what's your point?

[underdog]

Those guys lose close to 6-7 pounds during a race and a lot of times piss blood afterwords.

So fucking trannies makes me athletic?

[RhinoinMN]

so does hippo after eight minutes on a treadmill. what's your point?

I don't have a point. I just like to throw out factoids.

[RhinoinMN]

So fucking trannies makes me athletic?

Absolutely.

[opie's twisted balls]

Those guys lose close to 6-7 pounds during a race and a lot of times piss blood afterwords.
Sounds like my regular bowel movement

[NateCantDance]

If you argue that these guys ARE athletes, then how exactly do they train? By driving? That doesn't count as physical activity when I do it.

[cougarjake13]

i think they have to be athletic to do it but by no means does that make them an athlete




do we consider the horses athletes in horse racing ?? or the jockeys ??

[RhinoinMN]

i think they have to be athletic to do it but by no means does that make them an athlete




do we consider the horses athletes in horse racing ?? or the jockeys ??

The jockeys are cosmetic.

[STC-Dub]

They are athletic as some baseball players.

[sr71blackbird]

I do not belive thier physical condition has any real effect on the outcome of a race.
They can be 50 lbs and 50 years over a guy that can run a mile in 3 minutes and the fat old guy can beat the athlete everytime, so long as all things are equal.

[K.C.]

If you go back to the Greeks, they defined sport as games which are primarily determined or influenced by one's physical skills in competition.

Most sports that we all commonly accept as sports have the same characteristics: speed, strength, durability, coordination as the determining factors.

With NASCAR, the determining factors are primarily construction of a car, skill of the pit crew, driving strategy, and judgment. People can point out the endurance factor, but how much of a determining factor is it, really, when you have people in their 60s who can compete on an equal playing field with people in their 20s? Furthermore, it's not unrealistic to say it's also genderless, as there are females in other racing associations.

The big question is Golf. There's some strength involved in driving, but other than that, it's mostly a judgment/perception game. That really makes it more of a skill than a sport.

[Marc with a c]

if an eighty year old game beat an athletic twenty something it isn't a sport (golf, car racing, horse racing, winter olympics, etc.)

[Chigworthy]

http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2007/writers/lars_anderson/08/13/watkins.glen.five.things/Tony_Stewart.jpg
No.

[King Hippos Bandaid]

without the car, the NASCAR driver is hitching a tailor and listening to Larry the Cable Guy


MEH to NASCAR


MEH!!!!!!!