Is racing/auto racing a sport?
08-26-2002, 01:59 PM
#11
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To think that racing isn't a sport is delusional. So what if the car is propelled by the engine. It would, by this flawed logic, be a sport if the driver had to do a "Fred Flinstone" to move the car?
Preposterous...
Just watch any in-car video camera of a CART, F-1, Indy or NASCAR car and you will see just what an absolutely brutal experience it is to endure a road course (OK, take NASCAR out of this example ...
). The driver has to be in excellent shape to endure such a violent environment, to be able to sustain 4 lateral G's (on the Carousel at Road America, for example), not to mention the sudden stops that sometimes happen into a wall. They also have to be in peak mental conditioning, as well...OK, take NASCAR out of that example, as well. hahaa
Racing is without a doubt a sport. And anyone who thinks it isn't, is wrong.
Preposterous...
Just watch any in-car video camera of a CART, F-1, Indy or NASCAR car and you will see just what an absolutely brutal experience it is to endure a road course (OK, take NASCAR out of this example ...
). The driver has to be in excellent shape to endure such a violent environment, to be able to sustain 4 lateral G's (on the Carousel at Road America, for example), not to mention the sudden stops that sometimes happen into a wall. They also have to be in peak mental conditioning, as well...OK, take NASCAR out of that example, as well. hahaaRacing is without a doubt a sport. And anyone who thinks it isn't, is wrong.
08-26-2002, 03:39 PM
#12
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Indeed. As if anything else needed to be said...
A professional racing driver in CART, F1, etc. will often see sustained heart rates in the 130-140 bpm range. For hours at a time. That would kill some people out there.
The reflexes, coordination, etc. of a top racing driver are akin to those of an ace fighter pilot.
And how many sports do you know where the risk of being killed is very, very real? Short of a spinal injury in football, I can't think of too many sports that have serious risks of injury or death present at every event. But virtually every sort of motorsport risks just that.
Was it Hemmingway that said there are only 3 true sports - Bullfighting, Mountain Climbing and Auto Racing. The rest are mere games (I know it went something like that).
UL
p.s. - I don't think that top driving is any more difficult than hitting a 100 mph fastball, or god forbid a wicked slider from someone like Randy Johnson. Putting a round bat on a round ball (of similar diameter) squarely enough to hit it well when said ball is moving at 125 ft/second and delivered from 60 ft away is not an easy task. Most people wouldn't get the bat moving before the ball passed them and a good number of us would jump back from the plate like it was a dangerous animal - being that close to even an 80-90 mph pitch is frightening. The fact that there are a number of hitters who can not only put the bat on the ball, but direct it where they want it is simply amazing.
A professional racing driver in CART, F1, etc. will often see sustained heart rates in the 130-140 bpm range. For hours at a time. That would kill some people out there.
The reflexes, coordination, etc. of a top racing driver are akin to those of an ace fighter pilot.
And how many sports do you know where the risk of being killed is very, very real? Short of a spinal injury in football, I can't think of too many sports that have serious risks of injury or death present at every event. But virtually every sort of motorsport risks just that.
Was it Hemmingway that said there are only 3 true sports - Bullfighting, Mountain Climbing and Auto Racing. The rest are mere games (I know it went something like that).
UL
p.s. - I don't think that top driving is any more difficult than hitting a 100 mph fastball, or god forbid a wicked slider from someone like Randy Johnson. Putting a round bat on a round ball (of similar diameter) squarely enough to hit it well when said ball is moving at 125 ft/second and delivered from 60 ft away is not an easy task. Most people wouldn't get the bat moving before the ball passed them and a good number of us would jump back from the plate like it was a dangerous animal - being that close to even an 80-90 mph pitch is frightening. The fact that there are a number of hitters who can not only put the bat on the ball, but direct it where they want it is simply amazing.
08-26-2002, 03:54 PM
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I agree with most of what has been said, but I have seen people, especially in Nascar who seem to be pretty old and in decent/average shape (but not in peak physical condition like other sports)... Paul tracy also comes to mind on the CART circuit (dissing my fellow Canadian, but oh well) that doesn't seem to be in tiptop shape, sp is it really as grueling as you make it out to be.
P.S. I consider my self to be in decent/good shape, and I am active in lots of sports, so would I be able to take it? (I have never been on a track to experience it firsthand, but I intend to)
P.S. I consider my self to be in decent/good shape, and I am active in lots of sports, so would I be able to take it? (I have never been on a track to experience it firsthand, but I intend to)
08-26-2002, 04:02 PM
#14
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Have you seen Paul Tracy this year? He's lost a lot of weight and gotten into shape. The top drivers in any series (NASCAR included) realize that to be competitive you have to be in peak physical condition.
If you're in decent shape, you can participate in amateur racing, but the better condition you're in, the better off you'll be. If you wanted to go race in CART or F1, the demands are much higher.
UL
If you're in decent shape, you can participate in amateur racing, but the better condition you're in, the better off you'll be. If you wanted to go race in CART or F1, the demands are much higher.
UL
08-26-2002, 04:07 PM
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Yeah, true, he has lost some weight, I just think he looks a lot bigger on TV than in real life when standing next to all the other drivers on circuit 
(Da Matta, Carpentier, Franchitti, Tagliani, etc.)
(Da Matta, Carpentier, Franchitti, Tagliani, etc.)
08-26-2002, 04:40 PM
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But how big is he compared to a football player (big guys) or a soccer player (small guys)...see size really has no bearing in sports...it all depends on the type of sport.
08-26-2002, 05:42 PM
#17
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But if you look at CART drivers, in particular, they are not big or even tall. Most of them are on the short side. I was an arm's length away from Adrian Fernandez last weekend at RA and he was not only thin, but probably about 5' 6". Cool guy too.
It just makes sense that these drivers are not big people. Power to weight ratio is bettered even when the driver brings "less" to the table.
Does that make them any less athletic? Of course not. These guys are athletes and at least as sharp mentally.
I think the exception that may apply here (and no, I'm not showing my anti-NASCAR bias) is that many of those drivers are, well, they are old farts compared to CART, F-1 and Indy. And by implication it is assumed that these would be less athletic. You also have to consider that a bigger "old fart" can fit into a stock car. There is not much chance that some of NASCAR drivers would fit into a CART of F-1 car...that still doesn't mean that NASCAR isn't a sport or even less of a sport as CART or F-1.
Size DOES matter. From a power/weight ratio standpoint and from the simple perspective of fitting into the various types of race cars.
It just makes sense that these drivers are not big people. Power to weight ratio is bettered even when the driver brings "less" to the table.
Does that make them any less athletic? Of course not. These guys are athletes and at least as sharp mentally.
I think the exception that may apply here (and no, I'm not showing my anti-NASCAR bias) is that many of those drivers are, well, they are old farts compared to CART, F-1 and Indy. And by implication it is assumed that these would be less athletic. You also have to consider that a bigger "old fart" can fit into a stock car. There is not much chance that some of NASCAR drivers would fit into a CART of F-1 car...that still doesn't mean that NASCAR isn't a sport or even less of a sport as CART or F-1.
Size DOES matter. From a power/weight ratio standpoint and from the simple perspective of fitting into the various types of race cars.
08-26-2002, 05:50 PM
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Greg...I am not sure if your comments where meant for me, but I agree that drivers are athletes...I understand that drivers want to be small due to weight/power issues. All I am saying is that a person's size does not determine whether he/she is an athlete or not. For example most football players are big, most drivers are small...both are athletes.
08-26-2002, 06:02 PM
#19
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Matrix, we don't disagree a bit.
I was just pointing out the merits of why it makes sense for a racecar driver to be on the small side. And yep, all of them are athletes.
One other example that I have...and this in no way is meant as self aggrandizement, but I have taken a few friends to Gingerman (one shall remain nameless to protect the innocent). And while the two that I'm talking about were female, BOTH of them were so worn out by being in the PASSENGER seat that they couldn't take it anymore. Sure G-man is a tight and technical course, but it's just an example that putting a car through its paces on something like that is a VERY physical experience and it demands a great deal out of the driver, not to mention the poor unsuspecting passenger.
And no, it wasn't my driving that made them sick...in case you were wondering.
Of course, F-1, CART etc, don't have passengers, but it just illustrates how violent of an atmosphere it is. Sure there are control issues (I'm not a good passenger with people I don't know, etc), but until you experience all the crazy forces that your body goes through even during a day when a bunch of whackjobs rent a racetrack like we do, you can't judge how athletic a given activity is. Let alone the g's, accelleration and decelleration and all the absolutely crazy stuff that puts the human body through. Life on a racetrack is a harrowing experience, both physically and mentally. Have you pulled 4 lateral g's in your chair at the office? These guys do that in practice...
Crazy...and totally freaking badass.
Athletes? All of them. Absolutley. And only athletes compete in sports. Period.
I was just pointing out the merits of why it makes sense for a racecar driver to be on the small side. And yep, all of them are athletes.
One other example that I have...and this in no way is meant as self aggrandizement, but I have taken a few friends to Gingerman (one shall remain nameless to protect the innocent).
And while the two that I'm talking about were female, BOTH of them were so worn out by being in the PASSENGER seat that they couldn't take it anymore. Sure G-man is a tight and technical course, but it's just an example that putting a car through its paces on something like that is a VERY physical experience and it demands a great deal out of the driver, not to mention the poor unsuspecting passenger.And no, it wasn't my driving that made them sick...in case you were wondering.
Of course, F-1, CART etc, don't have passengers, but it just illustrates how violent of an atmosphere it is. Sure there are control issues (I'm not a good passenger with people I don't know, etc), but until you experience all the crazy forces that your body goes through even during a day when a bunch of whackjobs rent a racetrack like we do, you can't judge how athletic a given activity is. Let alone the g's, accelleration and decelleration and all the absolutely crazy stuff that puts the human body through. Life on a racetrack is a harrowing experience, both physically and mentally. Have you pulled 4 lateral g's in your chair at the office? These guys do that in practice...
Crazy...and totally freaking badass.
Athletes? All of them. Absolutley. And only athletes compete in sports. Period.
08-26-2002, 06:21 PM
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heh...I fully agree, I remember when a bunch of us Toronto owners got together and went for a track day...by the end of the day, we were all beat...the 1.5 hour drive home was very difficult.