You can tell me you don’t like NASCAR, and I’ll be fine with that. However, if you try to tell me that NASCAR isn’t a sport, I will be forced to offer my opinions as to why I disagree with you.
NASCAR is a sport, and it’s a sport that deserves more respect than it gets. It’s only thought of as a “redneck” event, in which beer-guzzling country folks party and yell for their favorite driver as they watch 43 multi-colored cars run around in circles.
“Running around in circles” is what gives NASCAR the “boring” appeal that most non-fans assume it has. Though most race tracks are round in nature, there are still several tracks, known as road courses, that aren’t round or elliptical in nature. These courses wind and weave, much like tracks you normally see at the go-kart tracks at your local “Fun World.” So don’t claim NASCAR is boring simply because it’s just cars driving around in circles. There is more to it than that.
For example, many claim that NASCAR isn’t a sport because the drivers aren’t true athletes. The drivers aren’t in shape: they don’t really do anything except drive a car. We all do that every day, right? At the same time, not all of us can slam dunk a basketball or hit a baseball 400 feet, can we?
There is more to being a NASCAR driver than simply driving a car. In fact, drivers must be in shape to endure the 100-degree atmosphere that is often created in the stock cars driven each and every Sunday for longer than three hours at a time, with little to no hydration. Keep in mind that drivers not only sit in the car, but must control a beast of a machine, keeping it on course at speeds flirting with 200 miles per hour. It’s not easy, and not anyone could do it.
I give NASCAR credit. It is finally starting to publicize itself as a team sport, rather than just a driver’s sport. For too long, NASCAR has been looked at mainly as a solo sport, as many people, even non-NASCAR-fans, are familiar with famous names such as Richard Petty, the late Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon.
However, a driver is only as good as his crew chief. And a crew chief doesn’t exist without a crew. Pit crews make NASCAR what it is today, because without them there would be no one to change tires, put in gasoline, adjust settings, make sure the driver can see and care for the driver’s health and hydration.
A NASCAR pit crew spends as much time in the weight room as other professional athletes. Being able to change four tires, fill a car with gasoline and do everything else they do, all with about eight team members, is enough work in itself. However, keep in mind that everything in NASCAR is a competition between drivers and teams. This means all action in the pits done by crews must be done faster than all other teams to win the race in the pits.
Pit crews these days have lowered the time spent in a pit stop to below 15 seconds, and that’s counting everything that is done when a driver pulls in. Pit crews must be in shape, and they must utilize teamwork fundamentals and trust their teammates in order to successfully win a race.
Just because Kurt Busch can’t throw a baseball, doesn’t mean that NASCAR drivers aren’t athletes. I’m pretty sure Kobe Bryant can’t hit a baseball, and more than likely, Mike Tyson couldn’t tackle LaDanian Tomlinson. But I’d be willing to bet that neither Kobe, Iron Mike nor LT could get into the driver’s seat of a NASCAR stock car and last 500 miles in Daytona. If, by chance, I am wrong, I’d still be confident in saying that none of them can change a tire or fill it with gas in under 15 seconds.
Give NASCAR the respect it deserves. It’s okay that you don’t watch it, but don’t bash those who do and stereotype them as rednecks.