Are Stock/Indie Car Drivers Athletes?

No, they're good drivers. megagene

It's physically demanding but I have a hard time considering them athletes since they aren't doing anything athletic.

me personally i say no, i mean, i'm sure its physically demaning but honestly all your doing is sitting on your butt and driving in circles, i'm sure their is more to that but thats all i see, granted i'm not into the sport but meh, they do their thing and can drive better then me

me personally i say no, i mean, i'm sure its physically demaning but honestly all your doing is sitting on your butt and driving in circles, i'm sure their is more to that but thats all i see, granted i'm not into the sport but meh, they do their thing and can drive better then me

Chris_Williams

but honestly all your doing is sitting on your butt and driving in circles. i'm sure their is more to that but thats all i seeChris_Williams

They wish they were

Yes! Professional racing drivers are some of the fittest athletes on the planet. Here is a little insight into the physical demands of driving a Formula 1 car http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmy0zALh_1g. NASCAR and Indy Car drivers face similar physical demands (although at a slightly lesser scale). If this doesn't convince you that drivers are athletes, imagine in every turn your whole body weighs 3 or more times what it normally does; your head weighing 40lbs trying to rip itself from your neck; the steering wheel essentially becoming a 50lbs weight that you are turning out in front of you; a brake pedal that can require 200lbs of force from your leg just to make the car stop. You may think that the belts keep a driver from moving around, but strong back, neck, and leg muscles are essential in keeping a driver upright in corners and under braking. All of this physical work is done in an cockpit that can reach temperatures of 140 Fahrenheit, while the driver is covered from head to toe in thick, fire resistant clothing. Without being physically fit, a racing driver's muscles wouldn't be able to take the physical stresses for the 2+ hours he's in the car, and without a strong cardio vascular system, he would be exhausted by the end of the race; not to mention that once his body gets tired, he will no longer be able to make the precise inputs that allow his car to compete at a high level. I recommended anyone that thinks race car drivers aren't athletes to go to their local kart rental track (I'm not talking about carnival go-karts) and give them a try. Most people will find them physically demanding. Then realize a Formula 1 driver receives 5 times the cornering and braking force of those karts. Indy and NASCAR drivers receive 3-4 times the forces of the kart.

So yes, racing drivers are athletes;)

No.

I'm sure some of them are.

[QUOTE="Chris_Williams"]but honestly all your doing is sitting on your butt and driving in circles. i'm sure their is more to that but thats all i seeSteverXIII

[QUOTE="Chris_Williams"]

me personally i say no, i mean, i'm sure its physically demaning but honestly all your doing is sitting on your butt and driving in circles, i'm sure their is more to that but thats all i see, granted i'm not into the sport but meh, they do their thing and can drive better then me

Ravensmash

I suppose they are, for the simple reason that if you came up with a definition of the word "athlete" that excluded race car drivers, you'd quickly find that it excludes a hell of a lot of other people who are traditionally thought of as athletes.

I mean, is a football player an athlete? How about a second-stringer who never played a game all year? Are they athletes because they work out a lot? But a lot of people who don't even play sports work out and stay in shape. So do you have to be a member of a team? But then you've got the problem of a world-class "athlete" ceasing to be one if he's between teams for a few weeks.

Of course they are (especially when you get up to Nascar/Formula 1 level). Anyone who says otherwise simple doesn't know what they're talking about.

Ok question: what makes someone an athlete?

Ok question: what makes someone an athlete?

worlock77

Ok question: what makes someone an athlete?

worlock77

Ok question: what makes someone an athlete?

worlock77

Are race car drivers athletes? Yes. Sure, they sit on their butts for the entire race, but they are physically exerting themselves, especially if they are at a high banked race track where they end up with 4Gs acting on them for 4 hours. Heat is just one of the deals that they have to contend with. If something breaks, they may suffer from carbon monoxide poisioning as well.

If you look at football, basketball and hockey, games are only 1 hour in length. In football and baseball, most of the team sits on the bench while only a small portion of the team is actually involved in either offense or defense. They get breaks and if need be, can walk down the hallway to use the toilet, racers on the other hand stay in their car until the checkered flag falls (unless the race is stopped for some reason). There are no TV time outs in racing unlike every other televised sport.

Many times, so called athletes from stick and ball sports go for a ride in a Sprint Cup Car with a driver like Carl Edwards and when they get out of the car, after traveling at near 200MPH, all state that drivers are athletes and those who think otherwise are full of themselves.

I hear it all the time, many people say that racing is easy, if that is the case, why are they not racers and driving at 200MPH+ mere inches from other drivers or walls for hours on end? IF they are not athletes, anyone can do it right? Then why are there not more racers? Racers have to be able to think way ahead of where they are at, especially when they are traveling the length of a football field in a second or two. That football player that runs the 100 yard dash in 10 seconds doesn't have to think beyond where his feet are being planted.

Not in the slightest.

[QUOTE="worlock77"]

Ok question: what makes someone an athlete?

rawsavon

So, what makes someone an athlete?

Definte athlete. If you consider those fat golfers or baseball players "Athletes" than I guess you would have to consider race car drivers athletes.

No, it is just a test of endurance. Is my reading a book for a class a sport? Nope, just a test of how much of the book I can endure. I don't know where the line is between sport and non sport, but racing certainly falls in the 'not a sport' category. senses_fail_06

How is it not a sport?

[QUOTE="senses_fail_06"]No, it is just a test of endurance. Is my reading a book for a class a sport? Nope, just a test of how much of the book I can endure. I don't know where the line is between sport and non sport, but racing certainly falls in the 'not a sport' category. worlock77

How is it not a sport?

[QUOTE="worlock77"]

[QUOTE="senses_fail_06"]No, it is just a test of endurance. Is my reading a book for a class a sport? Nope, just a test of how much of the book I can endure. I don't know where the line is between sport and non sport, but racing certainly falls in the 'not a sport' category. senses_fail_06

How is it not a sport?

You didn't answer the question.

[QUOTE="senses_fail_06"][QUOTE="worlock77"]

How is it not a sport?

worlock77

You didn't answer the question.

[QUOTE="worlock77"]

[QUOTE="senses_fail_06"] You can classify anything as a sport then. What isn't a sport? You could make a case that going to an opera is a sport. senses_fail_06

You didn't answer the question.

No, you only stated that you didn't think it was a sport. You never stated why you think that it isn't.

[QUOTE="senses_fail_06"][QUOTE="worlock77"]

You didn't answer the question.

worlock77

No, you only stated that you didn't think it was a sport. You never stated why you think that it isn't.

[QUOTE="worlock77"]

[QUOTE="senses_fail_06"] I told you why I don't think it is a sport in my OP. You can have dictionary.com be the reference point of your life if you like. It isn't the sport in the practical sense, if it was, then what isn't a sport? senses_fail_06

No, you only stated that you didn't think it was a sport. You never stated why you think that it isn't.

It's a bit more than simply a test of endurance. If that's your only metric then that's all any sport is.

[QUOTE="worlock77"]

No, you only stated that you didn't think it was a sport. You never stated why you think that it isn't.

senses_fail_06

How is 7 men who are refueling a car, changing it's tires or jacking up the car so tires can be changed not a physical exertion and just an endurance test? The same could be said of football. In baseball, more players are sitting or standing around verses actually doing anything. Anyone can swing a bat or throw a ball after all. How are baseball players athletes? Baseball, with no set time period could be said to be a test of endurance also, yet no one claims that baseball players are not athletes. If race car drivers or the pit crews are not athletes, then no one else could be considered an athlete that plays an orginized sport like football or baseball. That would even exclude those who participate in the Olympics.

[QUOTE="senses_fail_06"][QUOTE="worlock77"]

No, you only stated that you didn't think it was a sport. You never stated why you think that it isn't.

worlock77

It's a bit more than simply a test of endurance. If that's your only metric then that's all any sport is.

[QUOTE="rawsavon"][QUOTE="worlock77"]

Ok question: what makes someone an athlete?

worlock77

So, what makes someone an athlete?

How is 7 men who are refueling a car, changing it's tires or jacking up the car so tires can be changed not a physical exertion and just an endurance test? The same could be said of football. In baseball, more players are sitting or standing around verses actually doing anything. Anyone can swing a bat or throw a ball after all. How are baseball players athletes? Baseball, with no set time period could be said to be a test of endurance also, yet no one claims that baseball players are not athletes. If race car drivers or the pit crews are not athletes, then no one else could be considered an athlete that plays an orginized sport like football or baseball. That would even exclude those who participate in the Olympics.

WhiteKnight77

Where to start, let us see.

The only mention of physical exertion is from the pit crew. I guess if you want to consider them athletes you can, I mean I think you would be wrong, but feel free to. I had to lift up the front end of my car the other day so someone could get a jack under it...I wasn't competing in a sport.

Baseball requires extreme physicality to play. Running the bases, shagging balls, mechanics of a pitcher, etc. It isn't just throwing and catching.

I would consider racing a sport, under the circumstances that the physical cars are the athletes and not the people running them.