But, I have to Compeletely Disagree with you on your thought about NASCAR being a sport and NASCAR drivers being athletes. You cannot watch a single NASCAR race on TV and decide whether you think its a sport or not. If you really wanted to get the inside of NASCAR, get a pit pass, or log on to NASCAR.COM and listen to the radios of the drivers.

Not only does NASCAR take an enormous amount of concentration and talent, it also takes a ton of ATHLETESISM. A NASCAR stock car is much more different than your minivan you drive to school/work. They are about 100 pounds heavier, weighing about a ton and three quarters (3500 lbs). You have to drive that racecar at incredible speeds around a racetrack, let’s say Texas Motor Speedway. The top speed you can and will get at Texas is about 175 – 180 mph. Throwing that car into the 24 degree banked turns, you are putting G-forces on yourself, about 3.2 Gs, or 3.2 times the earths gravity, at Texas ( some tracks have more, some less). You have to fight those G-forces, while maintaining precision driving with cars in front, behind, and on the sides of you, closer than you would park at a parking lot. You do get about that many Gs going down a roller coaster, but only for a time span of 3-5 seconds. These drivers are fighting these many Gs both horizontally and vertically (more horizontally) for three hours. And what about wrecks? Famous NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon crashed at Pocono Raceway in 2006, spinning in the corners and slamming into a concrete wall. What was virtually a harmless wreck; Gordon had about 64 Gs on him at the time of impact. Think of slamming into a wall like that at 130 mph. While NASCAR drivers have more safety mechanisms that a street legal car does, it still hurts. Sounds like a horrific crash, and there has been many more violent wrecks since then, and most likely worse.
Lastly, the pit crew. The jackman must lift that 3500 lbs car with just one pump with an aluminum jack. The tire guys, have to pull off that 75 lbs tire, and put a new, heavier tire on ( tires loose weight as they wear off rubber and air pressure). Repeat tha process one more time on the left side. The gasman has to fill that tank with fuel, holding a 45 pound gas tube at just the right angle for the fastest fuel drainage into the car. This all has to be done in less than 15 seconds, with absolutely no mistakes.
I am not positive I have changed your opinion on NASCAR drivers being athletes, but, before you call them unathletic, do a bit more studying than watching a race on TV for an hour.
One last thing, I have only scratched the surface.

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So you are actually saying that the ability to sit in a hot car for 3 hours makes someone an athlete? Really? Come on man, think about that.

I am the one that said “they can’t run a 100-yard dash to save their lives”. In context, I was talking about former drivers who were in their 70′s. Most likely at 70+ years of age, one is not going to run a very good 100 yard time, if they can run it at all. But they can certainly drive a car! Driving that car (and sitting in heat, LOL) does not make them an athlete. btw. Most NFL lineman can run pretty good times. Watch an NFL training camp or a combine, or play collegiate level football, and you will find out quickly that most (especially at the professional level) lineman are very athletic.
Did you just question if professional swimmers can run? Obviously they might not have Olympic run times, but they will most certainly be able to quite fast.

I’m sure driving with 42 of your buddies at 150+ on the highway, door to door, is tough, and something that most people could not do without training. But the ability to do this does not make someone an athlete. No natural running/jumping/lateral quickness/above average muscular ability is required to do this. This would be something that someone, even someone without athletic ability, could be trained to do.
That is the difference here. Athletic ability cannot be learned. Driving a car fast, can be learned.

Are some NASCAR drivers athletes, sure they are! Do you have to be an athlete to drive a NASCAR? No.

No one is saying that driving a NASCAR is “easy and boring”. I’m sure it is very tough, but it is something that can be learned.

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‘Oh well anybody can sit in a hot car for 3 hours.’
Well, I guess you’re right. Can anybody just sit in one going 150+ for 3 hours? Not many! And don’t embarrass yourself by saying you can. It’s like riding the Kingda Ka… for 3 hours. I can’t even do that more than once, I don’t know about any of you.

‘They can’t run a 100 yard dash to save their lives.’
Can defensive or offensive linemen? Can professional swimmers run like professional runners can? Vice versa? Simply, there are different breeds of athletes. It’s always been that way. You’re right NASCAR drivers aren’t like other athletes, but it certainly doesn’t exclude them!

‘It’s like driving on the highway.’
Oh, ok, well try and round up 42 of your best buddies and go drive on the highway at 150+, door-to-door. That doesn’t even compare because the highway is practically a straight line!

‘Well, they have to rely so much on their equipment, it’s really not their work.’
Well what do you think, the car is just going to drive itself? Is the bat going to swing itself? Is the ball going to magically fly in the air and land in the hoop? This just goes back to the idiocracy of trying to criticize them. If you ever get the chance to go and drive a NASCAR car, then come back and tell me all about how you thought it was easy and boring and takes no athletic ability. Somehow, I don’t think that will be your argument anymore. I agree with Aaron, there really should be a reality show for this! I would laugh so hard at you people.

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NASCAR events all over the country gather more spectators than all of the MLB games in the regular season COMBINED. In no way am I supporting NSCAR, but I just thought it was some food for thought.

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