Time once again for the real Sport to start

[chev1958]

Hand eye coordination, strength, speed, physical endurance, precision teamwork, etc... all the things any sport requires are needed to compete at this level in the sport of racing.

"firefighter - a person who fights destructive fires" (dictionary.com)

Now, I think we would all agree that firefighting requires the exact same skills as your quoted definition of "athlete." But we don't call firefighting a sport. In fact, military personnel, SWAT, EMTs, and UPS meet your definition as well. There's a certain amount of physical conditioning required to perform those jobs, yet we don't consider the people who perform them "athletes."

Everything in life requires these abilities to one degree or another. I'm not denying the skill and abilities it takes to be in NASCAR. But, in the end, NASCAR boils down to which team has the better machine. I could be the most athletic driver in the history of NASCAR, and require all my crew members to do 100 pushups and run 1.5 miles in under 12 minutes (the Navy PT test, by the way), but without a car, we're just a bunch of physically fit guys standing around.

Is a horse-racing jockey an athlete? How about a golfer or a bowler? Pouring 24 gallons of fuel into a car or changing a tire in 15 seconds the same as a high jumper, quarterback, or goalie? Get real. Is the guy who cleans the windshield an athlete? NASCAR is team competition, no doubt, but sport is stretching it.

And since I'm not going to change your mind and you're not going to change mine, there's really no sense in continuing this discussion.

If you can get me tickets to the Coca-Cola 600, you might be able to change my mind. :thumb

Mitch

[loyaldefender]

ESPN covers NASCAR as a sport, as well as FOX Sports, Sports South, NBC Sports, etc.

Last time I checked they didn't cover fire fighting as a sport. So all complaints about NASCAR not being a sport can be forwarded to the folks mentioned above. :tum

Thanks.

LD

:eye:

[chev1958]

Those networks also cover the World Series of Poker, pool (billiards), the National Spelling Bee, curling, and the making of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. I guess we need to change the definition of "athlete" and "sports" to whatever TV sports shows cover.

Mitch

[kevinmiller]

It's amazing what Baptists will debate anymore... :bolt:

[loyaldefender]

Yeah it is, I was just having fun. Making "sport" of it.



Maybe ESPN should cover this thread. :tum

Motorsports rule!!!

[dwayner79]

By definition, Tim is right.

Sorry Mitch. Nascar fits the definition of a sport. Perhaps not an "athletic" sport or some other modifiers, but a sport non the less.

[Tim]

That settles it, two people agree with me and Kevin is confused. :thumb

[chev1958]

Nascar fits the definition of a sport.

Then, you're calling the car the athlete of that sport. It's the car's performance that wins the checkered flag. Sure, the team members help and if they take more than 15 seconds in a pit stop, they could lose the race. But they are working together to enhance the performance of the car, just like the trainers and medical personnel for ball teams do. Co, in the end, the champion is really the car.

It's interesting how NASCAR tests the cars for illegal substances, and real sports test the humans.

Mitch

[Tim]

Then, you're calling the car the athlete of that sport. It's the car's performance that wins the checkered flag. Sure, the team members help and if they take more than 15 seconds in a pit stop, they could lose the race. But they are working together to enhance the performance of the car, just like the trainers and medical personnel for ball teams do. Co, in the end, the champion is really the car.

It's interesting how NASCAR tests the cars for illegal substances, and real sports test the humans.

Mitch

Think of the driver as the quarterback, crew chief is the coach, the spotter calls the plays, the pit crew is the offensive line, and the driver can also do lots of blocking. The best car is seldom the winning car in a NASCAR event, it is the team that performs the best or the driver with the skill to take that last second chance with a pass no one expects. It takes much more than the fastest car to win a race. For example the past weekend in the Busch race, the fastest car was driven by Kyle Bush (He led 81 of 300 laps) but he was passed coming out of the last turn by Jeff Burton. Jeff used his driving skill to slingshot his car past Kyle. He did it by letting his car drift high and carry the momentum through the corner, Kyle expected Jeff to try and pass low, (the preferred line) he lost momentum by driving low to protect the bottom line. Both teams had performed well all day to be in a position to race for the win but Kyle