I personally believe they are. People who say otherwise obviously have not gotten close to a Motorsport or have learned about it. Take NASCAR for example: 200 MPH, 125 Degree Cockpit, 42 other guys right by you knowing one mistake will end it for you and others, G Forces, etc. If you are going to troll and say: Redneck, Left turns, fat, bla bla bla, just leave, because you're obviously ignorant and stereotypical. Even F1, Indy Cars, Motorcyles, Drags, etc, a sport doesn't need a stick and ball to be considered athletic. Now, what are your opinions?
Poker, no. (I just had to add this) NASCAR, no. F1, yes. IndyCar, yes. Motorcycles, yes. Drags, no. I make these opinions by the amount of hard a body takes from a single race, as well as the complexity of the driving. NASCAR is a round track. I know I'm sounding stereotypical, but honestly, there isn't much skill involved with that. Adding 42 other racers make it more difficult. In my eyes, you SHOULD be able to do a sport with only two people (in the case of team games, I base this off of like just throwing a baseball or football, or batting practice, etc.). In that case, no. Its not a sport. F1, in my eyes, IS a sport. The track is complex enough that real skill must shine through to drive the track. If you were to drive a NASCAR car on a NASCAR raceway at race speeds, you most likely would be able to get the hang of it. To drive at F1 speeds and in an F1 track, you would struggle. Adding a second racer to the mix just increases the danger and actually the skill because most sections on an F1 track are much more narrow than NASCAR. Indy cars, last I checked, were very similar to F1 in terms of track and car. Thus, they're considered sports in my eyes. RACING Motorcycles I consider sport because of the harm that come to yourself, as with skill. Try driving motorcycles at high speeds on the tracks that they do without flipping. It's hard, even with braking. Drags simply are a "who has the more upgraded car" race of what, couple hundred metres? The skill here, I GUESS, is the skill of starting fast and not blowing up, if that's really a skill. Thus, this is not a sport. And then, in the end I would absolutely rather watch F1, Indy, Motorcycles than NASCAR and Drags just simply because they are much more interesting. This doesn't sway into the opinion of which is and inst a sport, it's just a random thought. Also, I'm moving this to General Chat. There will be less spam there.
If NASCAR isn't, than F1 isn't neither, little of people know, those Ovals put TONS of stress on drivers.
Stress, yes. Skill, no. The difference comes in the skill of driving the track. Hell, if NASCAR raced on F1 like tracks, I'd think differently. But simply because (alone/with 2 people) it takes little skill to not hit walls, flip, etc. in NASCAR it is not a sport.
Not to troll, but NASCAR still does feature four road courses that do not follow the traditional oval. However that's still 4 out of some 20-30 races I wanna say so I agree with you on what styles of racing qualify as a legitimate sport. Not to sound ignorant, but anyone can drive an oval. Finding the line on road courses in little screaming death traps like F1 racers or on a freakin life or death balancing act like racing motorcycles seems much different in my opinion. @Plasmy: Do you know how much stress the people who participate in the hotdog eating contest put on their guts to stomach all that food? Does that stress make hotdog eating a sport?
In terms of exercise, its ****ing workout. Apparently NASCAR drivers are known to loose up to 20 lbs in a single race, and have to stay in shape just to avoid passing out. The physical stress it puts on your body pushes you to your limits, all while requiring you to pull the corners, time your shifts, etc. While its not the same as F1, its a sport in that you can't just 'pick up and go.' It takes training, and is definitely a sport in my eye. -By the way, RedNeck.
Compare that to baseball which is like 90% standing around. If you put all the action of a baseball game back to back the game would last about 5 minutes. I have seen some chunky ball players too who are in worse shape than NASCAR drivers. I do agree it's monotonous watching 50 cars turn left 1000 times, but I know on a hot day those guys are being put though the ringer. So in that respect you need to be athletic to be able to do it. So is that what defines a sport? Competition and athletics are definitely two requirements to calling something a "sport", but is there another factor that is necessary?
no, race car drivers are not athletes. im sure they are skilled at what they do, but so are professional chess players. so are artists. having a skill does not make you an athlete. and it may put some stress on the body, but that does not mean you have to be athletic to do it.
Just to say, not everyone can drive oval well. Anyone can drive road course as well. I have personally raced both Oval and Road Course and found it more difficult to race oval. Oval is constant side-by-side bumping and drafting, in Road Course racing it's too split up, no fun. But I have respect for both monsters.
Well, since athletes are people who partake in sports, and since racing is a sport, yes I would have to say they are athletes.
I dont consider NASCAR drivers athletes, because its not an athletic activity. Sure, their bodies are going under a lot of stress with the g-forces, heat and constant shifting of gears, etc, but its not an athletic activity, merely an activity that requires an athletic person to do it without burning themselves out. And because they've done it countless times, their bodies have become attuned to the effects of driving in those conditions. Its the same as my job, in that respect. Most of my job requirements need me to be very physically fit, enough to do them without killing my stamina, and I can because I've done those activities numerous times, so my body can take them. But that doesn't make me an athlete, merely a professional. Also, look at it this way. People who run for exercise or personal recreation aren't athletes. Athletes are people who participate in athletic competitions professionally, in my eyes. Much the same as someone who plays a guitar is just someone who plays a guitar. You aren't a guitarist until you are part of a band and playing professionally. That last part is true, anyway. So, to reiterate, no, I dont consider drivers of any caliber to be athletes, merely professional drivers. The activities they may need to perform to get themselves to a level to drive properly may be athletic, but that doesnt make them athletes.
nascar, F1, drags... driving a car equipped with that level of power and technology is not something that you can just "pick up and get the hang of." it takes years of practice and a lot of skill, and some might even say its one of those mystical "you either have it or you dont" type of things. esp with drags... lol... you dont just "hit the gas and hope you dont blow up" theres a lot more involved than that.
I like that how some of you are saying how driving in circles (Nascar) is easy, when I bet the majority of you can't even drive stick. Yeah, it's a sport, takes a ton of skill maneuvering those machines.
it takes a ton of skill to design a modern building or bridge, but i dont recall architecture being in the last olympic games.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, the term "sport" meant a challenge involving great personal risk.. It didn't require personal competition (but it could), but did require attaining a goal, such as mountain climbing, hunting, or fishing, racing anything, bull fighting.. That kind of stuff.. The definition was really changed by newspapers that began to carry "sports stories" about things that had only been considered "games" in the past.. Gradually the definition of the word "sport" was accepted to included those games, and people began to lose the actual meaning of the word... Racing has always been considered a sport, most of the others that you call sports, are newcomers to the term.. "–noun 1. an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc." - Dictioary.com Fail in so many ways.
Agreed. I consider a NASCAR race an event. A well publicized, endorsed event. One might even go so far as to say it's the biggest advertising event in existence. Athletes, no. Extraordinarily skilled performers, yes. I hate NASCAR.