Why are many (by no means all) race car drivers short?

Question

Are they trying to overcompensate for being short by racing in a manly and dangerous sport?

Answer 1

they would be more light weight which would give an advantage in racing.being shorter would also help fit in the cars better. ahve a good day !:)

Answer 2

I follow almost all forms of racing (except professional drag racing) and I have never noticed that the drivers are any different in size form the general population. The drivers are all in much better physical fitness than the general population of people but that has nothing to do with height.

I am a somewhat short American at 5ft 6in.

I don't think that they are trying to overcompensate for anything by doing a dangerous sport.

Also, even for the drivers who are above average size or weight their size really doesn't limit them. The whole controversy about Danica Patrick's weight in IRL (she is only 100 lbs) is just an excuse for the other driver's slower performance. The real impact of being 25 to 50 lbs heavier should not have as much effect on the cars. Plus, in most forms of racing (F1, ALMS, Le Mans, IRL) the cars are already designed to be so lightweight that the teams add ballast in the form of lead bars to bring the car up to spec weight and be able to change the center of gravity.

Answer 3

Mostly you find shorter drivers in open wheel racing. It isn't the weight advantage or fitting better that gives them an advantage. It is the same reason that good fighter pilots are short as well. The reason is resistance to G forces. The shorter a person is the higher their resistance to G forces. When your body is under a high lateral and longditudinal G loading the blood in your body is forced in the direction of the load along with your internal organs. When you are shorter there is a smaller distance for this all to travel. Your heart has to work harder to pump blood around your body under these forces. This is why an F1 drivers pulse rate can peak at over 200bpm under heavy braking and high speed cornering. So if you are short your body gives you an advantage in that you have to expend less energy in the course of a race. This is also why females on average can sustain higher G loads than men before blacking out.

Answer 4

Most racing series weigh the car with the driver. That's what Nascar does, that why you see all the fat old guys there. Champ car used to weigh the car before the driver but now they weigh after thanks to such a stink about DaMatta (aka shorty) in 02. The Irl still weighs the car before, giving lighter drivers like the princess Danica, an advantage.

The biggest reason you see so many small people in real race cars (open wheel) is that they fit better. Paul Tracy and Justin Wilson buck the trend but and smaller person is going to be more comfortable and therefor perform better in my opinion anyway.

Answer 5

NASCAR contains many stuff. a million. the vehicle doesnt basically bypass in circles such as you do at a roundabout, the driving force needs to maintain administration of the vehicle the finished time and locate the quickest line. 2. they are going at one hundred fifty+ mph lots of the time by corners so it isnt basically turning. 3. the vehicles are set up in a feeling that in case you have been to easily turn, you may spin out. 4. F1 racing is sweet, yet once you be conscious, these days, maximum races are won by skill of the driving force commencing first 5. the race is generally 4 hours long as damaging to a million.5 in F1. those are basically some clarification why NASCAR is a interest. And confident many rednecks are in touch in looking on the sport

Answer 6

Weight advantage. They are just like jockeys at a horse race. You don't see a 300lb. jockey. Ha. Plus in the open wheel series, a car car be more stream lined and aerodynamic having a smaller cockpit. Paul Tracy went on a huge diet to loose weight because of the weight advantage he thought Christiano DaMatta had in the CART series.

Answer 7

Quick answer is that, generally speaking, shorter = lighter and lighter = faster.