I played football in school and a little Basketball and that was tough But racing cars is by far the hardest on your body . the inside temp of a car is always 35 to 50 degrees hotter then the outside temp so try sitting in a race suit in 150 degree temp , A car that is pushing or loose, takes alot of upper arm strength to control the car in turns. mental stress ,try driving in rush hour at 160 mph . anyone ever took a hit at 160 mph nothing in football even comes close . Unless you have been in a race car you can not judge . being a race car driver is more athletic then you think