Is NASCAR a sport?

[GalensGhost 0]

Priceless! You should really consider writing a book. You could be the next Grizzard.

There are two things I've always wanted to do. If I don't do one or the other, I'm afraid my life will have been meaningless.

1) I wanted to be a lawyer when I was a kid. Never really wanted to be anything else. But circumstances and some incredibly poor decision making years ago has to this point denied me that dream.

2) I want to write a book. I've started half a dozen or more, all now in various stages of completion. I have two ideas now that I think would be very good, but I don't know how to get published. I'd love to be considered in the same continent as Grizzard or Dave Barry.

Hey, GG. An agent is looking over my novel right now, and if I can write one, anybody can. Try getting this book: The First Five Minutes. It's a great book about how to put your book together, find an agent, etc. etc. Best no-BS book I've ever seen.

Much thanks. I've got several ideas I'd like to pitch.

[CCTAU 3,458]

I'm sure no drunk CFB fans have EVER ruined anyone's good time???

For those of you who do not understand NASCAR and who have NEVER attempted to excell in anything that requires personal skill, do not belittle those that have. Turning left and going fast only describes your limited ability to see the nuances that take place. I cannot stand hockey, but I can sure appreciate a good play. Almost the same with NASCAR. I can't make myself watch the whole race, but I really enjoy parts of it. Especially the last 20 laps. This year's Daytona 500 was one of the best finishes ever. It wasn't the car that went over the finish line upside down, it was the chess match that each driver and team was playing to get their vehicle in postion to make a run at the end. Harvick made one of the best moves ever at a race end. As far as sport goes, I said yes in that it takes and extremely skilled individual with stamina to make it through the competition. And that's what it is, a competition. Some of you seem to think its the best car that wins. That's not true, it's the driver that makes the least amount of mistakes and makes the correct moves at the right time. Kind of like it is with most sports.

About $125 a day to rent a bobcat where I live.

And for the guy who inaccurately represented hunting, if you don't know what you are talking about, SHUT THE HELL UP. Just because you heard funny stories of guys getting drunk and illegally hunting over corn, does not make it true for the 99.999999% of hunters.

[mowegl 4]

Im kinda with those that dont understand the desire to watch racing. I mean driving cars and racing is tons of fun and Im sure itd be that much better in a stock car, so I can understand loving it from the drivers perspective. But personally I dont have any desire to watch someone else drive a car, that just isnt fun to me.

As far as sport goes, NASCAR can stay as long as they get rid of poker. Im so tired of seeing that on ESPN and everywhere else. What an incredibly boring thing to watch.

[otterinbham 0]

Im kinda with those that dont understand the desire to watch racing. I mean driving cars and racing is tons of fun and Im sure itd be that much better in a stock car, so I can understand loving it from the drivers perspective. But personally I dont have any desire to watch someone else drive a car, that just isnt fun to me.

As far as sport goes, NASCAR can stay as long as they get rid of poker. Im so tired of seeing that on ESPN and everywhere else. What an incredibly boring thing to watch.

They might as well have Monopoly.

[GalensGhost 0]

Just because you heard funny stories of guys getting drunk and illegally hunting over corn, does not make it true for the 99.999999% of hunters.

Yeah!! It was only true for 99.9999%

[CircleDrill 178]

OK, I don't care who calls me a redneck or whatever after this. But everyone READ WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SAY CAREFULLY....

Watching NASCAR on TV is not even close to what it's like in real life. Once you go, it will be impossible for you to not at least respect the guys driving. You will be thinking "I can't believe there is a man in each one of those things."

You cannot appreciate 30 drivers blowing past you at 180 mph on TV. It is truly, truly awesome.

Next time you are sitting in a drive thru waiting, think about the guy in the car in front of you going 180 and you going 180 and being that close (or closer) to him. And the whole time you are trying everything you can to get around him.

[Fmnstr 0]

OK, I don't care who calls me a redneck or whatever after this. But everyone READ WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SAY CAREFULLY....

Watching NASCAR on TV is not even close to what it's like in real life. Once you go, it will be impossible for you to not at least respect the guys driving. You will be thinking "I can't believe there is a man in each one of those things."

You cannot appreciate 30 drivers blowing past you at 180 mph on TV. It is truly, truly awesome.

Next time you are sitting in a drive thru waiting, think about the guy in the car in front of you going 180 and you going 180 and being that close (or closer) to him. And the whole time you are trying everything you can to get around him.

i'm sure it's an absolute thrill to be in one of those cars. their lives are on the line the entire time, and it really is remarkable that they can handle themselves under that kind of pressure for that long. that being said, nascar absolutely sucks harder than the oreck 8-pound vacuum system by managing to take a breathtaking feat (racing really, really fast) and making it last 5+ ungodly boring hours. how do you make 185 mph boring? that's an even bigger feat.

nascar is in absolutely no way a sport. it is the entertainment equivalent of painting the living room. then the bedroom. then the other bedroom. then the bathroom. you get the idea. no friggin thanks. at least painting the house is productive.

[AU_tiger_2000 0]

OK, I don't care who calls me a redneck or whatever after this. But everyone READ WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SAY CAREFULLY....

Watching NASCAR on TV is not even close to what it's like in real life. Once you go, it will be impossible for you to not at least respect the guys driving. You will be thinking "I can't believe there is a man in each one of those things."

You cannot appreciate 30 drivers blowing past you at 180 mph on TV. It is truly, truly awesome.

Next time you are sitting in a drive thru waiting, think about the guy in the car in front of you going 180 and you going 180 and being that close (or closer) to him. And the whole time you are trying everything you can to get around him.

i'm sure it's an absolute thrill to be in one of those cars. their lives are on the line the entire time, and it really is remarkable that they can handle themselves under that kind of pressure for that long. that being said, nascar absolutely sucks harder than the oreck 8-pound vacuum system by managing to take a breathtaking feat (racing really, really fast) and making it last 5+ ungodly boring hours. how do you make 185 mph boring? that's an even bigger feat.

nascar is in absolutely no way a sport. it is the entertainment equivalent of painting the living room. then the bedroom. then the other bedroom. then the bathroom. you get the idea. no friggin thanks. at least painting the house is productive.

A lot of people would say the same about watching 19 year old kids play football. I feel that way about baseball. Just what is your point? You think it's boring so that everybody who likes it must have something wrong with them?

[AUChizad 0]

Who would have thought a discussion on NASCAR would have gotten this hostile?

If anything it validates the poll option that it's a religion more than anything else.

[Tiger in Spain 0]

Who would have thought a discussion on NASCAR would have gotten this hostile?

If anything it validates the poll option that it's a religion more than anything else.

Why am I the only one that voted so?

[AU alum 2]

Racing is a sport. It takes a toll on you physically just like the other sports that are out there. You can not tell me that it does not have a mental toll on a person either, I mean 185 mph, with just say 10 cars inches apart, you burp and all heck can break loose. I personally enjoy the Saturday night dirt tracks more than Nascar. There isn't as much political correctness at the short track. Some may say it is redneck....well may be, but this is the most high dollar redneck activity I have ever seen. We are not talking about playing horseshoes with toilet seats.....We are talking $40,000 motors and $250,000 rigs.

Racing takes a physical toll on you. Sorry, doesn't qualify. Working in my yard takes a physical toll on me.

Racing takes a mental toll on you. Sorry, doesn't qualify. Sodoku takes a mental toll on most people. So doe crosswords.

Racing is expensive. Sorry, doesn't qualify. Working in my yard is expensive. You probably have no idea how much it costs to rent a bobcat to move dirt around. It takes skill to drive that thing, too.

If racing is a sport, then so is OTR trucking. Breaker, breaker.

I find it hard to believe that you work in your yard for 5 straight hours with no bathroom break or beverage break in 220 degree heat. I'll give you the bathroom break, these guys have one just not a conventional one like you do in your yard. Football, baseball, tennis or whatever you do classify as a sport requires things such as hand - eye coordination, racing does as well,try missing a broadside car at 185 in a corner. I'm not gonna argue if it is or isn't a "sport" I'll give you that, but I PROMISE you it is not as easy as you may think it is. Crossword puzzles do take mental tolls on a person, true enough, but to me that is a apples and oranges comparison. You are not doing a crossword puzzle at 185 4 inches from somebody else doing 185.....at least I hope not. One more thing, you are right about the bobcat rental. I do not know how much it costs to rent one....I own one. For the record I own 2 race cars as well....not that you care.

Trying to impress us with how rich you are? Well, you didn't. It came off as "I'm better than you".

[AU alum 2]

Summing up Galens' thoughts (and mine as well): NASCAR sucks and that's all you need to know

I think it blows personally.

I agree. Why in the world grown men would drive in circles for 4 or 5 hours making ear-splitting noises is beyond me. Except they are paid VERY well. That I don't understand.

And why parking your trailer in the middle of the track is the ultimate is beyond me. The noise must be ear-splitting. Of course, after you've been drinking all day, I guess the noise doesn't bother you.

But I know there are people that enjoy Nascar. I just don't understand why.

[CCTAU 3,458]

Just because you heard funny stories of guys getting drunk and illegally hunting over corn, does not make it true for the 99.999999% of hunters.

Yeah!! It was only true for 99.9999%

Of the .00001% that it was actually true for. Don't be a Hmong!

[fearthetiger03 0]

Marching Band is much more of a sport than car racing....

[AWK 0]

I don't see why this is an issue, If you like something and enjoy watching it then who cares if someone considers it a sport. There are a lot of people that play online video games competitively, and they actually make money from doing so. It takes skill to do these things, and not everyone can. I would consider it competitive...grass cutting is not.

[Tiger in Spain 0]

I would consider it competitive...grass cutting is not.

You've never seen my Goodwrench sponsored Craftsman 54" cut. I can cut an acre in under 5.47

[lukeduke 8]

I vote sport. While there are mechanical elements involved that heighten what these drivers can do, there is skill involved. The good drivers can overcome bad cars to win. The skills of hand eye coordination as well as a higher than you would imagine degree of physical and mental exertion are required to be competitive.

[AUChizad 0]

And for the record, I will be attending Talledega this year.

A friend of mine here in Birmingham is from there and will be camping out and knows the ropes.

So I'll guess we'll see if "seeing it in person" will enstill a newfound respect.

But then again, that's what people said about Dave Matthews Band, and as a result I am $75 poorer and where I previously could tolerate him, I now loathe him.

[SupperClub 0]

And for the record, I will be attending Talledega this year.

A friend of mine here in Birmingham is from there and will be camping out and knows the ropes.

So I'll guess we'll see if "seeing it in person" will enstill a newfound respect.

But then again, that's what people said about Dave Matthews Band, and as a result I am $75 poorer and where I previously could tolerate him, I now loathe him.

Let me say that I couldn't care less about NASCAR, but I have been to two races at 'Dega (that's what the locals call it) and I had a freakin' BLAST at both of them. I would just about rather attend a NASCAR event than anything else, mainly because it's BYOB, and bring as much as you can handle without killing yourself. And the sights you will see...

[AWK 0]

And for the record, I will be attending Talledega this year.

A friend of mine here in Birmingham is from there and will be camping out and knows the ropes.

So I'll guess we'll see if "seeing it in person" will enstill a newfound respect.

But then again, that's what people said about Dave Matthews Band, and as a result I am $75 poorer and where I previously could tolerate him, I now loathe him.

Let me say that I couldn't care less about NASCAR, but I have been to two races at 'Dega (that's what the locals call it) and I had a freakin' BLAST at both of them. I would just about rather attend a NASCAR event than anything else, mainly because it's BYOB, and bring as much as you can handle without killing yourself. And the sights you will see...

I am going as well, and I have heard about the sights.

[Aubie16 1]

if you are in the infield of talledega...you won't gain an appreciation for the sport. just the female body

...and an appreciation for how much beer mere mortals can drink in 3 days!

If you are higher up and can actually see the track, you could gain more of an apprecation for it. I prefer the mile to 1.5 mile tracks in person. You can actually see the whole race unfold rather than just the section of the track you can see.

i hope to make it to bristol one day so that I can see a 1/2 mile track one day and see how that compares.

[AUChizad 0]

if you are in the infield of talledega...you won't gain an appreciation for the sport. just the female body

...and an appreciation for how much beer mere mortals can drink in 3 days!

If you are higher up and can actually see the track, you could gain more of an apprecation for it. I prefer the mile to 1.5 mile tracks in person. You can actually see the whole race unfold rather than just the section of the track you can see.

i hope to make it to bristol one day so that I can see a 1/2 mile track one day and see how that compares.

Hopefully I'll be in the infield then.

[CCTAU 3,458]

Bring A/C.......

[passthebiscuits 7,006]

whomever mentioned the marching band analogy is EXACTLY right. If NASCAR is a sport, then Marching band certainly is. ANYONE, I mean ANYONE who argues against the marching band being a sport MUST argue against NASCAR>that puts this thing in perspective.

[AU! 0]

whomever mentioned the marching band analogy is EXACTLY right. If NASCAR is a sport, then Marching band certainly is. ANYONE, I mean ANYONE who argues against the marching band being a sport MUST argue against NASCAR>that puts this thing in perspective.

Agreed, BIG time. Hell, I even put Marching Band on a higher level than nascar. Marching Band requires some real athleticism (not to say that everyone that marches is athletic, just that the best marching bands are the more athletic ones). If you don't agree with that, go to a drum corps practice, spirit of atlanta is a great one, then go check out Jacksonville State Univ. Marching Band, then go tell a member of the FAMU band that marching band doesn't require athleticism. Band camp at FAMU is a little like hell week in the marines, I'm sure they'd love to talk on the subject with you.