I'll have a cliff notes section for people at the bottom of the post, but please read before trying to make any intelligent responses. I dont have time to effectively map out a simply laid out argument, so i'll rant.
J_Rogan's comment there sums it up for the view on motorsports in the country. Many find it tedius and retarded making left turns around a track for 500 laps, and those which are a majority of the public, really have no idea what it takes to perform at that level on a racetrack. I will outline a few points of the way i see.
To start out I'll put it out there that I race cars (speedway oval) around the country during the summer, im a national champion, but not at the nascar level, but its stock car races none the less. I've met with many of the top racers (nascar, irl, and more) in many different disciplines, and really saying its not a sport is quite inaccurate, just hear me out.
1. Many people have no idea what it takes, and what its like to race a professional sanctioned race car.
Every jonny hofuckin-who ha has played baseball or softball at one age or another, and thrown a football, or had to run in gym class. Sports such as those are a lot easier to appreciate having done it and seen what it would take to perform at the highest levels. Most individuals will never have the chance to drive around a racetrack turning left for 500 laps, and what most imagine the experience is like couldn't even comprehend what it is. Going to daytona and diving into the turn 1 turning left at 195mph is NOTHING like speeding going 70 around a bend in your 97 saturn, or playing nascar 2008 on your ps3 or arcade, or driving a go-kart at the local fun park. Pushing a standard car to its limits before its bite (grip) potential is exceeded is a lot different that pushing a car thats made to serve this purpose. I guarantee if you drove a car, or let alone participated in a ride along program, when you hit top speed and dove into the turn, feeling the amount of g's your pullin at that speed, and dancing on the line between speed and out control is indescribable (if thats a word). Nascar may seem boring like sunday drive, but when you got the most talented racer in the business out there, yeah, it probably will look boring and easy, cause they know exactly what they need to do.
A man at my work was a critic of motorsports, and finally drove a stock car on vacation in florida, and he came back and described it as no other adrenaline rush he has ever had, no other "high" could compare.
2."you dont see any 16 year olds in baseball" These are two different sports, and i'll go into the physical demands of racing. Just to hint the environment, go outside now in all of your winter gear, in the hot sun and try to do something physical. yes theres new hydrating technology and tubes of cool water that run throughout your driving suit, but many times you are to the point of passing out. "pssh its probably just like sitting in the old escalade going down the highway, how physical can it be?" You can't comprehend how much energy it takes, to just sit still. Mentally, you are always thinking, always, always, always, in a state of complete concentration(if you wanna be the best i guess).. the car handling, track position, driving line(i could write a book on how to drive, but no one would care).. team mates, track tempature, oil levels, tire preserving, tire tempatures, chassis dynamics(cambers, castors, ackermans, wedge, left side weight, transfer speeds....much more. "but thats what their technicians are for, well they can't fix it if they dont know exactly what happening on the track with all of it. Racing isn't about brute strength, its tough, and 50% of the racers don't win every weekend like alot of other sports, theres one winner in the race, and if ya ain't first, you're last. You need stamina to make the 500 laps, its thinking so hard...well about everything, and hitting your marks is so draining. driving the tracks perfectly is so difficult when every 1/100th of a second counts, every single one. Young guns are being started in driver development programs at a very young age, 6, some even "bred to race"
3. a couple of posts above, someone mentioned that the "motor does the work." Now a days in professional racing, that couldn't be farther from the truth, looking at it from a different perspective. Like skiing, could we do it without skis? skis to skiing are the same as motors in motorsports. Motors dont make the chassis and the driver a champion, and skis dont make the skier a professional. Could a baseball playing really hit a 500' homerun with the side of his arm instead of a bat, no, does that mean that the bat does all the work? obviously not, its how you use it.
with racing at the high level of technology it is today, the motor that everyone has is like a pair of shoes in....lets a mile run. When you get to the high end basic running shoes, yes some fit you better, but going from a nike to a new balance shoe, are you really gonna run a 15 second faster mile, everything else equal?
I DONT FEEL LIKE WRITING ANY MORE SO IM GONNA END THIS PORTION...so for any smaller more focused arguments or discussions, ill gladly go more indepth.
NASCAR AND MOTORSPORTS HURT THE ENVIRONMENT
you know, i dont disagree with you, something needs to be done, i don't enjoy hurting the environment, motorsports is an american way of life for some (i dont think that), a passion for others, its something thats engrained in our society. it evolved decades ago when gas was low, and no one gave a shit about the environment, and now its here to stay, one of the most popular sports in america, the future may change this, we'll see.
many of my friends don't necessarily agree with racing, but after actually seeing what goes into it, they don't see it as any less of a physical activity, for it being a "sport", fuck who cares, its a division of it. work out and train tuesday, wednesday, thursday, practice at track/qualifying friday, practice/train saturday, race sunday, monday off day/ meetings. start over.
cliff notes: many in america cannot relate to or even comprehend what its like and what it takes to drive a professional race car.
yeah, it may not make any sense, i havent proof read, but you might get the point. end.
