Auto Racing,a sport? (Ford, powered, steering, work)

[Drover]

Anyone who thinks race car drivers are not athletes has never done it seriously or competitively. It takes a fair deal of upper body strength, and certainly a good amount of endurance, to fight substantial G-forces for hours while trying to hold a precise line as you wrestle a car that weighs up to 5,000 pounds by the time you factor in downforce, often with no power steering, while a rock-hard suspension beats the hell out of you the whole time, where straying just a few inches from that line could cost you a position or even cause a crash, all while sweating your balls off in a flame-retardant suit and fighting dehydration serious enough that it's not uncommon to lose 10 pounds in a single race. It may look easy on TV but it's not. Those guys are athletes in the true sense of the word.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by WFW&P

Well put.
I have seen some drivers in NASCAR and wondered how they fit through the window much less drive 500 miles.

The days of the stereotypical "fat slob" NASCAR drivers is gone. When's the last time you saw one on the podium? Especially these days where the cars have become so standardized and room for "building in" an advantage is very slim, every pound counts, and being fit matters.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by cmj_fla

I think a "sport" can be defined by physical activity or skill that has a set of rules and often competitive in nature. Using the word skill vs. physical would make it by definition a sport. What other category would it fall under? It isn't a game and the words hobby or pastime don't really work either. Maybe there should be a new classification for it but I still think there is enough physicality to it that it fits the word "sport" because of the way in which it is scored, ranked, won and overall organized.

The phrase I use for games that require skill and/or strategy but no real athleticism is "leisure activity." They include things like poker, darts, pool, etc.

[burdell]

Originally Posted by Lancet71

No offense but I never considered auto racing a sport.Nothing against it but to me you have to actually move (run)around. I think of it more as a dangerous competition.Just like I wouldn't consider the World Series of Poker or any other version of cards.Any opinions?

Try pulling 3-4 Gs in all directions for an hour and a half as F1 cars do and tell me you could do it while steering a car at speeds over 200 MPH without being in superb physical condition.

[Roaddog]

It's a motorsport so yes it is a sport and it is very physical and it takes skill.

[Roaddog]

Originally Posted by Lancet71

I consider it murder.If you need to eat thats one thing but for the adreneline rush--flat out murder.

Whats that got to do with racing?

[WFW&P]

Originally Posted by Drover

The days of the stereotypical "fat slob" NASCAR drivers is gone. When's the last time you saw one on the podium? Especially these days where the cars have become so standardized and room for "building in" an advantage is very slim, every pound counts, and being fit matters.

Agreed.

[WFW&P]

Originally Posted by Drover

Anyone who thinks race car drivers are not athletes has never done it seriously or competitively. It takes a fair deal of upper body strength, and certainly a good amount of endurance, to fight substantial G-forces for hours while trying to hold a precise line as you wrestle a car that weighs up to 5,000 pounds by the time you factor in downforce, often with no power steering, while a rock-hard suspension beats the hell out of you the whole time, where straying just a few inches from that line could cost you a position or even cause a crash, all while sweating your balls off in a flame-retardant suit and fighting dehydration serious enough that it's not uncommon to lose 10 pounds in a single race. It may look easy on TV but it's not. Those guys are athletes in the true sense of the word.

However, the cars do have power steering (stock cars anyway) and the heaviest, that I know of, are stock cars which are 3500 lbs.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by WFW&P

However, the cars do have power steering (stock cars anyway) and the heaviest, that I know of, are stock cars which are 3500 lbs.

An IRL car weighs about 1300lbs but can be set up generate up to 4,000 lbs of downforce on short tracks. And they don't have power steering.

NASCAR cars may have power steering... but it's still a tough gig. A closed cockpit means they deal with 120-135 degree heat all day. Fun times.

[S6Sputnik]

Its a sport...anyone who has driven a car on a track either in a race or just in an advanced drivers event would say YES it is a sport. It is very physically draining!

my $0.02