Lots of things in professional sports have soured me a bit. The tatoo wearing, hip-hop NBA players of today are no match for the Magic-Bird-Jordan era. Baseball continues to struggle with steroid use and the controversy of breaking records. The NFL is struggling with law-breakers. However, by far, NASCAR is the biggest joke out there. I don't see how driving a car makes you an athlete? I just don't see how this "sport" has increased so much in popularity over the past few years.

Anybody disagree?

On the bright side, I think Tiger and Roger have been great for golf and tennis.

I disagree. You get in a NASCAR and drive it for 4 hours at 190mph and tell me it doen't whip your ass every week.

and Tiger is an athlete because? I agree NASCAR sucks,anyone who races any vehicle that goes around in a circle is NOT an athlete, however, off road racing , atv and motocross jockeys ARE athletes. Takes a lot of strength and stamina to muscle those rigs around a course. I know from experience, although my motocross days are long over, I was in the best shape of my life then.

Golfers are in much better physical condition then they used to be as well. Years ago the majority of the players were built like regular folk and many used to smoke during their rounds. Lee Treveno now refers to the PGA tour as the "flat belly tour".

As for NASCAR, I have no doubt that 3-4 hours at 150 to 200 mph beats up a guy pretty good and there is definitely some serious skills involved. NASCAR's popularity has peaked in the last couple of years and it will start to shrink some in the future due to too may 1.5 mile tracks and even though there are 43 cars on the track only 5-10 cars/drivers really have a shot to win week in and week out.

SM,

Since when does getting getting whipped around make you an althlete?

I agree, golf is marginal as a sport/being an althlete but at least there is not a motor involved.

Homer's quote about sums it up for me.

"We can hike anytime. This is our chance to see cars driving".

Sorry, I'm not convinced.

can you golf? tiger won a championship ON ONE LEG!!! i bet you couldnt even golf with 2. at least in golf they make them walk from each hole. sitting in a car is not athleticism. golfing takes some athleticism. NASCAR isnt a sport. its entertainment " and their takin a leeeffftttt....and another lefttttttt......oh look he just passed someone!!!" try hitting a ball the size of a ping pong ball with a tiny little club on the end of a stick within 100 yards of an intended target...that takes skill. driving a car in a circle? just training...not everyone can train to become a golf profesional. Motocrossing takes balance and a lot of lean muscle just like surfing....NASCAR...no way.


i am just tired, like you said, of all the steriods in baseball, losers in football, and hip hop dudes in the NBA. i think if your caught with steriods...BOOM your outta the league. one time...your out. this is so stupid that they just slap them on the wrist and they can go back to playing

ask some real race car drivers what they think of nascar...like schummacher or some autocrossers, or maybe even some rally racers....they laugh at nascar...

Having raced cars I would tell you that race car drivers aren't athletes the way more physical athletes are. But they are athletes. Driving is physically demanding and does take it out of ya. I raced on local short tracks, and after 40 laps your arse is whooped. I can't even imagine what 400-600 laps in one stretch would be like.

The only negative about NASCAR is that they are intentionally killing other forms of racing. World of Outlaws and Hooters Pro cup to name a few.

As for Mr Schumacher,,, I loved watching that guy before traction control. Lost respect for him when he (and others) started using it. What separates the drivers from the hacks is throttle control. Being able to smash on the gas peddle and not having to worry about spinning out just aint right. Throttle control is the name of the game. That is why most of the hot new drivers in NASCAR come from dirt racing. In dirt racing you steer the car off the back tires, which means you have to have a smooth right foot.

If NASCAR is such a joke, how is it Juan Montoya can win an Indy car championship, a F1 championship, but can't even stay out of his own way running with the Sprint Cup boys? How is it that when Jeff Gordon jumped in Juan Montoya's F1 car at Indy he went fast enough to qualify for previous race, but when Juan got in good old number 24 he couldn't make that car go fast enough to make the NASCAR race? I am not a huge Montoya fan, but I respect what he has accomplished.

Any way back to the topic at hand. Race car drivers are a unique form of athlete. Their skill requires mastery of their own body, and the machine they are in.

To each his own I guess is what it comes down to.

Me too.
A BIG +1!

This may generate some heated discussion but I'm saying it anyway, without trying to be a female gender bashing jerk.

It's pretty much accepted that on average, men are better athletes than women; stronger, faster, etc. In no other sport that I can think of has a woman been able to complete (and win) against men except with Danica Patrick in NASCAR. I think it's a great accomplishment for women but it sends a strong message to me that drivers are not athletes as compared to other sports.

There, I said it.

Montoya never won the F1 championship.

Let Jeff Gordon RACE JPM's McLaren and see where he winds up.........probably right around the same place you find Montoya in a Nascar race.

Schumacher stomped everyone's guts out before traction control, and he did it with traction control. Holding the gadgets engineers use to make the car as fast as it can be within the rules against the driver is pretty f'n stupid.

Besides all that, I'm pretty sure neither Nascar drivers or F1 drivers really give a sh!t if a bunch of fishermen think they're athletes.

I thought we were talking nascar not IRL...

athlete or not watching the control those guys show over a car doing 180+ they have my respect... I dont care if its nascar, IRL or F1...

I don't know why but I thought Montoya did win an F1 Championship. Must have had him confused with Villenuve. Finishing 3rd behind the Ferarris is the best he did.

Schumacher when he was with Williams was fun to watch. That guy slid the car around like it was a dirt car. Thats what I really liked about him. He had a win or die tryin attitude, and he won alot. Then he went to Ferrari and dominated. Kind of takes the fun our of watching when 1 guy wins every week.

You are right Gordon probably wouldn't enjoy the same success in any other form of racing. My point is that crossing over to isn't easy and NASCAR drivers aren't jokes.

Rowing a boat takes as much athleticism as a lot of "sports" out there...and that ain't much.

Fish on...

Todd

P.S. Sports include some sort of ball...

Danica Patrick has 1 career win, and that came when the 3 cars in front of her broke or crashed. She is in the sport cause she is a pretty face and can sell product. That is it.

Schumacher went to Ferrari from Benetton.

And Schumacher only dominated at Ferrari because SF has a huge budget and Ross Brawn, Schumacher, and the rest of the team busted their asses to drag a mid-field team back to the front.

I give a certain amount of respect to anyone at the top of their game, whether it's auto racing, golf, or darts. It takes a level of dedication to be at the top of any game.

I agree, Dan...but some are just "games", some are "pasttimes"...and others are sports.

Fish on...

Todd

Dam it Dan. Yes it was Beneton. Too many cheap beers since then. Damon Hill was in the Williams and and Hakkinen was McClaren's top driver.

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