Someone enlighten me as to why people in motorsports are considered athletes.

Now if they took out the power steering pumps, I would change my mind on this. But I agree ^


But so far this discussion has not really changed my mind on much. Besides f1 drivers are the cream of the crop, I'll give them that

 

the v02 i could see a top fuel driver getting some professional numbers but the win gate test you speak of is more of a physical thing. I guarantee things like basketball, football, baseball they dont have the mental acuity that professional motorsport drivers have. I think being athletic can mean being incredibly physically fit and/or mentally fit. Nascar is a little bit of both.

 

Baja, rally cross? They use there muscles as springs so to speak to keep as level as possible and breathe a certain way when they land from jumps and it takes an imense amount of focus to drive at a fast pace in the dirt while doing jumps and racing others, baja same thing but they're races are usually even longer so thats where the stamina comes in and its not like you just suddenly wake up and bam stamina, you have to train body and mind and be physicay fit, most motorsports drivers train physicaly as much as say a mlb pitcher, its not so much strength that makes you an athlete, its being able to keep calm, cool and still preform great

 

Any sport that requires physical fitness, Requires a bit of mental fitness as well. Just because you have the body to do it doesnt mean you have the mindstate.

 

Exactly what im saying, the fact that these drivers do have that mind set and calm collective ness under pressure and perform an aggresive, competitive sport makes them an athlete

 

No one wakes up doing something to its fullest extent and getting use to an activity is just being human. But there is no possible way (to do those things you mentions for racing) the car, the ultimate thing doing the work, perform any better.

Athletes do those things, and better them selves, which they are doing the actual work of speeding up, slowing down, turning, landing, jumping. etc

That is true for anything in life....as opposed to a car that no matter what mind set it has (if i can say that) it will perform optimally, assuming everything is working adequately.

I'm going to bed, i'll pick this up after work& class tomorrow

 

Good conversation, but i feel there are things drivers can do, different racing lines in the track, adjusting how early or late you shift, throttle/ break control, its constantly changing and they're forced to adapt, tires wear brakes heat and fade they constantly have to change what they're doing to take in to count all of those factors

 

Damn good discussion thread if i do say so myself. Goodnight good sir.

Not to be off topic but why the fuck are we paying football players x100 more then our soldiers fighting for our fucking freedoms?

 

Why is the World Series of Poker on ESPN?

Are those guys considered atheletes? Getthefuckoutta here...

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& teleivised Golf (of any sort)

Rather stab forks in my eyes than watch that shit..

 

World Series Of Poker LOL thats just a bunch of rich dudes throwing around a ton of cash.

 

There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.

 

Playing both varsity basketball and tennis back in HS i disagree.

I always thought tennis was a bitch sport until i played it,

 

Retarded thread is retarded. OP have you ever been in a race? And not the 1/4, I mean on a road course or autocross.

 

Only Motorsports I would consider real physical fitment to play part, and have real athletes competing:

1. Motocross (ultimate interaction between man and machine)
2. MotoGP
3. F1

 

Talent as a driver only gets you so far. Your success as a racing driver is largely determined off your ability to market yourself to sponsors. Bigger sponsors means, better gear, better parts, better crews, etc. I wouldn't call them athletes. I'd call them marketing tools.

Also, there is a BIG difference between talent and skill. Talent you have naturally, skill is only developed after hard work and practice. I would argue that there are drivers who probably possess limited talent, but they practice and develop their skills to a level that makes them capable of performing at the top level.

 

I have tried to stay out of this one, but just can't. I find it almost hilarious that people still have this argument. I always say until you have walked in a mans shoes (Or driven a mans car) STFU. I have been in a race car and have seen and endured some of what these drivers have to do. Now you can hem and haw about this motorsport is better or more challenging than that motorsport, but if you don't KNOW the sports, then you don't know what you are talking about!

I have seen people in here comment about tennis, and how they thought it was a wimpy sport until they played it. Same goes for motorsports. Unless you have strapped yourself into a car and tried to drive alongside some 25 to 40 other drivers on a track only wide enough for 3, while trying to win the race, and still not wreck and kill yourself, or any of the other drivers, then you have NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.

It takes extreme concentration, motor skills (And i mean physical motor skills), intelligence and endurance to drive in motorsports. A driver is constantly driving a car at sustained speeds higher than most of you have ever driven before (Though I will give credit to motorcyclists who are just insane driving at 140+ mph! Kudos to you!) in your life! While they are doing this they have to keep a constant eye on the other drivers, the track, track conditions, and the gauges on their vehicle. Too many RPM and you destroy and engine, too little and you get passed, or lose control...Oil temp too high? What do I need to do to stay up front, but get that temp down....All of these you have to think about and concentrate on, while still keeping your car in one piece at 200MPH.

As for physical endurance? Few sports out there require a SINGLE INDIVIDUAL to constantly be active at all times. Brake, throttle, clutch, wheel, all of this takes it's toll on a person's body. These drivers have to do this for 3-4 hours or more without a break! Oh sure, they get pit stops...that lasts about 14 seconds. Now I am not trying to belittle any other sport, but instead am trying to show how these drivers are athletes. You tell me how many sports result in an athlete that looses an average of 10-15 POUNDS of water weight in a SINGLE 4 hour activity? That is what your average Nascar driver loses in each race. The average car temp? almost 150 degrees. You can damn near cook food at that temperature.

Regardless though, most of you are already convinced that they are not athletes, and no amount of evidence will change your minds anyway. I challenge ANY of you to go to one of the local Nascar tracks and sign up for the Richard Petty Driving Experience. There you get I think it is 2 or 3 laps in a real cup car that has been modified to limit your top speed. You go there and do that, THEN come back here and say it doesn't take an athlete to drive. Each motorsport has it's own designs and rules. Just like every field sport has it's own. You are not going to find a soccer player strapping on a football jersey any time soon, but they are just as physically challenged as the football player. Same with motorsports: you don't find a formula1 driver sliding into a cup car, or a cup driver sliding into a formula1 car and excelling right off. It takes time, and training, and practice.

You are one of those I classify as unable to convince. Just be cause YOU don't like a sport, does not mean it is not a good sport. Nascar has been around for a long time, and will continue to be around. The money in Nascar rivals what some professional football TEAMS make.

Agreed 100%

First, I find it humorous that you also have to stick it to Nascar. I just don't get it. You are basing your opinion on a sport you truly know nothing about.

I disagree though, I have seen some very skilled drivers take a crappy car and still win with it, and I have seen some well, set up cars and a crappy driver put them in the wall. Again I suggest you do some REAL research before you comment on something.

I liked your post. Good points!

Sniped a specific quote to comment. Again...SHESH...again KNOW YOUR SPORT before you talk about it. Nascar drivers are not "weenies" when it comes to rain. The sport itself has rules. Do you see baseball players play in the rain? No. Because the rules state that if it is raining, they don't play. Same with Nascar. One of the common rules with Nascar is that they use a specific tire. They don't have 4 or 5 different tires that they use depending on road conditions. They use ONE tire type, and it happens to be a slick. I would like to see YOU try to keep 3 tons of steel under control at 200MPH on a set of slicks! It won't happen. Thus since Nascar rules have a single tire type, and it is a slick, they do not allow the race to run if it is wet. KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT BEFORE YOU COMMENT ON IT.

Yes, it is one heck of a workout. You will also find that each athlete has a daily exercise process that they use to stay in shape. You don't see any unfit drivers that win in Nascar.

Wrong. It is a driver's job to take the mechanical performance of a vehicle and get the most out of it, without crashing said car. You take multiple identical cars, and different drivers, and those drivers who have the better skill will beat the others.

It does take a lot of skill and practice. A lot more than just a few days. You yourself said it when you talk about being a danger to the other drivers. These drivers are professional athletes in their ability to control these machines at these speeds.

 

You should watch the Top Gear episode where Hammond drives a Formula 1 car. Keep in mind the types of cars they drive and his background and he was having a lot of trouble handling that car. The problem with those cars is, you need to go fast enough just to make the car turn and stop. Go too slow, there's not enough downforce to stick you to the truck and not enough heat in the brakes to stop you. In a few days, you might be able to make the car move but don't kid yourself into thinking you could drive one of those cars in that amount of time. Those guys are nuts, like a whole new level of crazy. What you see on the TV doesn't do it any justice.

I checked that motorsports drivers are not athletes. It is amazing to see what they can do with a vehicle, but I wouldn't define a race car driver as an athlete just because he is a race car driver. I would say he's an athlete because of the activities he does to stay in shape for racing. They do have to be in shape to compete like they do, but they are not in shape because of what they do. No doubt, they are professionals and extremely talented, but I do not believe they are athletes. Just because something takes an extreme amount of concentration or skill, does not make it an athletic event IMO. No doubt that racing takes a physical toll on someone's body but so do a lot of people's jobs.

 

bama! great post! ive driven some fast cars on track, bikes and trucks, when your trying to drive the best that you can, your mind and body get stressed very quickly.

 

Someone had a rant haha but true. I never liked nascar but I know it's a difficult sport. The argument that as long as you can drive, you can drive anything is not true I can barely stand older drivers now that take around thirty seconds to pull into a driveway. Pull your mom out of bed and give her a week to train for a le mans race and you yourself do the same, and let us know how she does I doubt shell want to go past thirty minutes.


I want one of those suits that NASCAR drivers use that use water to cool them down.

 

The word athletics is derived from the Greek word "athlos" (ἄθλος), meaning "contest" or "task."

source wikipedia