Do you people SERIOUSLY think NASCAR is a sport?

Question

Come on, get real.. no one with half of a funtioning brain thinks its a sport... "OH WOOEEE.. look at that there jimbo.. he made another left turn!! YEEHAW" pathetic.. its more of a sport driving in rush hour traffic every day to work and back. Now, if it was anything like FOX they portray's it on their commercials, THAT would be worth watching. Tracks to the moon, doing loop-de-loops, in and out of cities, hairpin turns, death defying jumps.. ect ect. If it was like THAT it would be worth watching.. but still not a sport.. get real.

Hell yes I have my mind made up. It takes no skill, no talent, and no brains to drive a car. It doesnt matter how many ingnorent lame-O fans there are at the stadium, or how many times me and everyone with half a pea-brain turns the channel when ESPN tries to pretend its a real sport and broadcasts updates, or if some obscure dictionary lists it in their definition of 'sport'. The fact is its driving a car, in circles.. woop dee doo dah.. no 'pysical prowess' or 'athletic activity requiring skill' .. Indy car, thats a bit more exciting!!!! Probably could get closer to the 'sport' classification because heck, it takes talent to maneuver left the right then sharp left again with no bank. NASCAR=boring and mindless ingnorent inbred entertainment. I was just curious how many dumbies there actually are out there that would say its a real sport. Just sit down, stomp your foot down, and turn left!!! YAY!

Well goll-E-gee willackers there Jacks-Back.. I sure didn't mean to offend YA nun.. gosh heck with a bottle of tabasco If i could only watch people drive in circles like you do then heck, I'd be a real hot doggin' cow polk like you are huh.. YEE HAW .. you ain't from around here are ya city boy!

Wow, this was to much fun, thanks for the laughs Ya'll.. made my day to see your reactions when someon tells you what you already know!!! offending NASCAR fans... priceless :)

Ya'll come on back now ya hear!

Oh yeah, and enduring high heat doesn't make you an athlete either. I guess all Arizonians are athletes now? hmmmmm...

Answer 1

Man I absolutely hate nascar, i think it is probably the most gay thing on the planet. The only racing series i like are formula one, and rolex sports car series. Those two actually take talent, more than just left turns. The racers are sharper, and just plain better drivers. Amen

Answer 2

Nascar a sport... hmmm. Well, I would like to see you try to drive one of those cars 170 mph around a corner. You seem cocky enough to do it. Indy cars are like an oversized go kart. You can see where all four tires are. I bet you qouldn't last two minutes in a nascar racing with those guys. You would either die of exhaustion orrr get taken out. Most likely you would take yourself out. Those drivers have been racing since they were young. I don't think your giving enough credit to them. Having said that. I have watched Nascar since i was a young boy. It is boring anymore however. Most of the tracks look the same. And i agree, "look, another left turn... sigh" Drivers complained too much about short tracks and most of them have been taken off the circuit. If they were still on the circuit, I believe that Nascar would be more exciting, but again, the drivers didn't like racing them. I doo think that you have portayed Nascar fans as a bunch of hicks. Wellll thanks to Jeff Gordon and other pretty guys... Mainly Jeff Gordon, Nascar has become popular to a different class of people. I think that you must have a problem with southerners which i am not. In the end i think that Nascar is boring.

Answer 3

sport [spawrt, spohrt] –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.

Hmmm, so the question is, does anyone seriously think that NASCAR is an athletic activity of a competitive nature that requires skill?

While NASCAR may not be the most physcially demanding type of auto racing in terms of athletic requirement (Formula 1 and various Sports Car classes that are involved in Endurance Races would rank tops here), there is still a requirement of skill, precision, and physical ability involved. Driving a car at it's limits is not at all like driving in rush hour traffic - I regularly instruct at open track events and often encounter people that seem to think that by driving on the road they somehow know how to drive around a race track. They always discover very quickly that while they can drive around one, they cannot do so in a manner that even resembles a quick time! Doing a quick time while manuevering in traffic of other competitors? Tougher still.

Autoracing can require great physical endurance, competing in layers of fireproof clothing in cockpits where the temperature often is well in excess of 100 degree F. And doing this for hours, while having to stay 100% focused and alert (unlike people in rush hour traffic). Further, keeping the car balanced while at the limits of adhesion, and providing the correct amount of steering/throttle/brake input can require careful control (and in some cases where the rules do not allow for power assistance, quite a bit of strength!). Yes, the athletic requirement in NASCAR is less than some other forms of auto racing, but it is there, and is very real.

And as mentioned, there is definitely a skill set that is completely different from normal driving. If you have a doubt, go by a go kart facility and go out on track with the fast drivers... if you are correct that there is no special skill, you should have no problem keeping up (the truth is though, you will be lapped, and lapped regularly as if you were standing still).

So, we have an the first two requirements... now, the only thing to further confirm it completely as a sport would be if it were a competition or a race? Hmmmm, can you maybe see that one too?

Some people have a hard time seeing golf as a sport, or yatch racing, or even surfing. Yet all of these are. Autoracing, including NASCAR fits this as well. If it's not your thing, that's understandable. But failure to pick up that there are these elements is more a lack of perception on your part.

Answer 4

I just love when someone posts a question that gets others all bent out of shape. They do it for just that reason. It may not be your thing, but it does mean a lot to millions of people who watch it or are involved in it. Eight of the top ten most watched sporting events are NASCAR races. Not bad. I would love to see all these people that think that racing is easy get out on a track, turning left, and try not to run into anyone else. Especially doing 200mph, and with 42 other cars all in a pack. But I guess that if you can talk on your cell phone, put on your makeup, eat and read the paper while driving and not get into a wreck, then maybe you should hit the track and see what you are made of.

Also, I just love the "redneck" jokes that circle around NASCAR. That really shows the intelligence of a person. "I drive a race car in circles so I am a redneck." That shows a lot of maturity. Stereotyping like this just shows you how ignorant some people really are.

I hope you get some really stupid answers to this question. I like reading them. They bring a little humor to my boring, left turning, cousin dating, redneck life. And thanks for the points.

Answer 5

To anyone foolish enough to classify NASCAR as a non-athletic event........I say hop into that precision machine and go close to two hundred miles an hour for up to four hours of driving for a race. Endure hot uncomfortable temperatures for an extended period of time without losing your concentration or edge due dehydration.
That is high stress and will definitely get the heart rate going. If these drivers aren't in mental and physical condition, then something tragic will happen come race day.
How fast you can run will not affect your ability to drive a race car? If you believe that then you are the ignorant one............

Answer 6

No matter what someone else likes theres 80 people that don't like it and try to say its stupid. Alot of people that dislike Nascar just use the simple saying like you did about the cars going in a circle and then they laugh and go on. Thats fine but let me try and explain a little more of what goes on in a race other than the cars going in circles.

Nascar/stock car racing is probably one of the most complex forms of competition you can find. For instance all those cars you see riding around in circles, they're not all out there for the same goal. Yes, first and foremost all the drivers want to win, but there are all sorts of underlined goals each team has for each race.

There are teams that are trying to stay away from trouble all race long for 500 miles just to gain a few points against another team they are racing to try and edge them out of the seasons championship at the end of the year. Staying away from trouble in a race is almost impossible when you have 43 race cars racing door to door, bumper to bumper closer than cars parked at the local shopping mall parking lot, all at speeds of 190 mph. But the team that manages to do it will have a great shot at the victory.

Drivers risk their lives, all to seek the thrill deep inside of pushing a 3500 pound stock car to its breaking limits just to gain a few inches against the other cars and teams in order to win. Do you ever think about the pit crews out there for each race? There are 7 guys for each team who put their life on the line just to change the tires (which weigh 50 lbs a piece), fill the car full of fuel, adjust springs, clean off the windshield... all under 13.9 seconds. Go get 7 people you know and go do all that to your street car in that amount of time. Those teams are always practicing at the race shops all week before races trying to shave another 0.1 of a second off the next respected pit stop during a race.

It is a 100% team sport in Nascar racing. A driver can be fast out on the track risking life and limb with each move against the competition but the 7 guys pitting the car some odd 11 times during each race have to hit their marks as well.

Bottom line is NASCAR is a very strong form of Competition. Thats the key word. I don't care if someone wants to say Nascar is a sport or not (If you ask, I'll say it is though...) but dammit it's competition. The drivers strap into their race cars knowing there is a chance they may not be going home at the end of a day. They can and do get completely dehydrated during a race from the soaring temperatures of 140 degrees inside the race cars.

If you've ever heard of the popular sports drink Gatordade, then you might know that they do alot of their testing with Nascar drivers by installing gatorade cooling systems inside the race cars to try and help the drivers stay dehydrated. It's not just about being the fastest in Nascar, it's about being able to survive everything that goes along with trying to be the fastest.

Answer 7

It's pretty clear that your mind is made up already. And since the only thing that might change your mind(having you behind the wheel participating in Daytona)probably will never happen, there's nothing that I, or any other fan can tell you that will change your way of thinking. So why bother? You say it's not a sport. Fine. Your entitled to that opinion.

Answer 8

Yes it is a sport just because they drive in circles that doesn't mean it's not a sport. When you can drive 200 mph and avoid 42 other cars competing for the same thing come tell me it's not a sport.

Answer 9

Obviously...you haven't got a clue what a sport is. It takes stamina and a lot of nerve to drive in a NASCAR race. If you think it's so easy...try it sometime. If the drivers weren't in excellent physical condition they wouldn't be able to make it through the whole race. That's hundreds of miles with no bathroom breaks, no air conditioning and those fire suits are very hot. If it is 80 degrees outside the drivers are in the vehicles in 100 degrees or more. As I said...I'd like to see the smug know it alls like you try it.
You wouldn't be so quick to judge.

Answer 10

Sport;recreational,competition,physical.Activities to acheive a goal.
Recreational;Horse shoes,ping pong,fishing,shooting ...
Competition; Autoracing,horseracing,Gymnastics...
Physical;Baseball,Football,
Basketball,hockey...
Some sport purest classify pure sports as any sporting event found in the Olympic games.

Answer 11

ok just because you dont consider it a sport doesn't make what you say right. So when football players play in the snow or in weather so cold " its manly, we can do it cuz were men". But NASCAR drivers drive in cars in a hot jump suit w/ a helmet in 80+ degree weather sometimes reaching above 100 degrees and you dont consider that a manly sport (o its redneck) PLEASE just honestly if you dont have something worth asking a question about then why waste the time and our energy. GROW UP!