Should NASCAR be considered a sport?

[Eck]

So I was watching Shaq Versus the other day(don't ask me why.) and they said there are millions of people out there who don't consider NASCAR a sport. So that got me thinking should it be? In my opinion yes it should. It's not just driving in a circle either. You need to be fit, concentrated and have quick reflexes just like any other sport. Plus not to mention they could die at every turn. But I want to hear from you guys. If yes support your reasoning and if no support it too.

Note: If this has already been a thread merge or do what you see fit.

 

[Davi323]

Absolutely it should be considered a sport. I do not watch NASCAR. I hate NASCAR. I also was one of those people who thought it wasn't a sport. And then I was challenged by a friend who does watch it. He challenged me to read what the drivers endure each race, and tell him it wasn't a sport.

What do they go through? Well to start, they are subjected to inside temperatures that approach 120 degrees fahrenheit for the duration of the race. While wearing a full faced helmet. While wearing a full length protective suit. Basically, they sit in a fucking sauna for three plus hours a time, losing around 10 lbs of water in sweat. Every week. You have to be physically fit for your body to tolerate dropping and adding that much water constantly.

Then, you have to consider the stress. While they are roasting in their mobile sauna, they are subjected to the stress on their bodies as a result of not only driving at 180 plus mph, which certainly pumps adrenaline through them, but with the mental concentration required to not only drive but to avoid other drivers. They have to have a high amount of stamina, as well as being both mentally and physically tough. They are athletes. They have to be. The physical and mental exertion would require it.

They are tough sons of bitches.

 

[Bernkastel]

I remember a debate I had with Xfear about this about 2 years ago... Ys, it should definately be considered a sport.

For starters, the cars don't have power steering, so that makes the automobile many times more difficult to control at high speeds when compared to a normal car.

Secondly, the cars don't have air conditioning, so one can only imagine what it must feel like to race for 3 to 5 hours straight, it's close to 100 degrees inside the car, and you're wearing a flame ******ant suit...

It's no mystery as to why a NASCAR driver can lose up to 5 pounds of water or more during a race... that's roughly in the same ballpark as a basketball or baseball player.

Conditioning is a major key for NASCAR drivers; it if weren't then half would pass out from heat stroke before the race was even half over.

So yeah, NASCAR should be take seriously as a sport... same with INDYcar and Rallisport.

 

[Gregor_Samsa]

Yes Nascar is a sport.
If the general public is going to consider Golf a sport then professional racing is definitely a sport. My personal definition of a sport is "something one has to be athletic to be good at." Going by this criteria, auto racing doesn't qualify but my seething hatred for golf and this nation's obsession with it makes me say, damn right, auto racing is a sport.