How is NASCAR considered a sport?
492609
What exactly is a sport?  To me, a sport is competition.  Nothing is more competitive than Nascar, especially when you factor in the setups of the cars, and the technology and research that goes into the "fine-tuning" of each component on the car.  What drivers have you been looking at exactly, when you say that they don't look athletic?  What exactly is your definition of athletic?  I can more than 20 of the regulars who are on a strict work-out program, several of which include running 5-10 miles per day.  Many of them are very intelligent.  Ryan Newman, for example, has a Masters degree in Aeronautical engineering from Purdue.  Although many of the drivers may not have graduated from a secondary institution, consider the hundreds of engineers that work the cars.  And you are calling Nascar drivers dumb?   As compared to what sport?  Baseball?  Football?  God forbid, the NBA, comprised of thugs?  To be competitive in NASCAR,  you have to have superb intelligence to setup the car for a specific track, and to make split second decisions on the track as well as in the pits concerning your race strategy.  Hundreds of a second are many times the difference between first and last.  What do you have to do in Football or basketball that requires intelligence?  Run fast or jump high?  Get 20 tattoos on your arms, grow an afro or braid your hair in cornrows while sporting a "grill" and belting out the latest 50 Cent rap?  I would bet $100 to a donut that the average IQ of a Nascar participants (when you factor in the drivers, crew chiefs, and team engineers) is double that of the average participant in any other of your major sports.   I think the thing that attracts me most to NASCAR is the fact that you have all 43 teams on the playing field competiting simultaneously.  When you run 200 MPH with someone to your left, right, behind, and in front of you only inches away, it is like a high speed game of chess.  And more importantly, in most cases, they are paid according to their performance.  And in my opinion, they aren't overpaid.
550277
Most top sport these days is really about money. F1 has just taken it to the extreme.\n\nIf you have ever been to an F1 race the atmosphere is electric.\n\nSome say that there is no physical effort involved however the physical fitness needed to drive an F1 car under race conditions for 2 hours is huge.\n\nOn balance I think it's a sport but I can see why other may disagree. \n\nEach to their own I say.
557585
Nascar drafting is where you get two, usually more cars together in a train.  The first car pushes through the air, the second car gets in behind and can go faster than normal, and can actually push the first car.  The train of cars can actually go around the track so fast, so that anyone not in this train will almost look like they are going backward.  They like to use it at the big tracks that limit engine power.  So you get alot of cars set up with little downforce, all going together, pushing their limits and each other, with little air around them.  There can be major crashes of 20-30 cars at once, if just one car loses or gets pushed out of control.  That's Nascar drafting.  Kinda like coming home on the freeway.
665629
I HATE NASCAR!! Most pointless thing ever watching people drive around in circles for hundreds and hundreds of laps. Gee, one lap is SO different from the last. I mean come on, what a waste of your life.\n\nNASCAR:\n(1) People say they watch for the crashes and pure excitement.\n(2) Bullsh*t! Nascar has over 500 sponsors. Most of the people in the stands are employees of the sponsors, and family members.\n\nBEEF W/ NASCAR:\nBunch of men with testosterone problems. Oh no! He slammed me into the wall and wrecked my car. So ill wait til he comes back around and throw my helmet at his car. I mean come on, who cares. Not like the cars are worth much.
9172
THERE WOULD BE MILLINS OF NASCAR FANS NASCAR IS THE #1 MOTOR SPORT OUT THERE. AND DONT SEE THAT CHANGING,
789031
NASCAR has ruined the sport with parity. The only way a team could dominate is not get caught cheating for a long time.
426791
Who cares about NASCAR?
1046629
You know, I understand how you may feel this way. However, it's quite natural for people to stick up for a sport they like. Just like football...for example...if people like it, they will stick up for it until the end no matter what people think. That's the beauty of being a fan...a true, old fashioned fan of a sport. I happen to be a large NASCAR fan and I would stick up for it in a second. But I'm far from being a redneck. I live in the Northeast, and I do a lot of things that a lot of people think is stuffy and elite...and not redneck-like. I am nothing like a redneck, but still adore the sport. It's just something I like...just like I enjoy watching water polo....or just like I enjoy playing tennis or fencing. I'm sure you understand what I mean. Don't assume that all NASCAR fans are all rednecks. I'm not, and I know others who also aren't. I know you'll probably just pick a best answer from somebody who writes the opposite of what I'm saying (or should I say, typing!) but try to understand my meaning.
1067247
It is much more than driving in circles.  The strain, the talent and all it takes to drive those fast cars on those tracks is trememdous.  I know why NASCAR is #1 and it's because of the fans, the sport itself and you don't have to be a millionaire to participate.  You can go to a race or just watch it on tv and they are family!  You will not find a greater group of people anywhere!  They will go out of their way to see that the fans get the autographs or whatever it is they want.  They do alot for charities too.  Not a selfish bone in any of their bodies.  Hail NASCAR I'm your #1 FAN & supporter.
55098
Good question! For the same reason that Chess is considered a sport.
783571
i think NFL. if not that then nascar. i heard more americans now watch nascar than basketball or baseball.
562129
I've said this before and I'll say it again...\n\nDefinitely. The word sport is defined as "Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively." Cheerleading is just that.
459209
It is a sport, by any definition. People can say they don't think blue is a color either, but that doesn't mean they have any real facts to back up their assertions.
762729
They are all sports that are usually performed sitting down. And they all require some form of " vehicle" to compete.
44833
I DONT THINK ITS A SPORT AND HERES WHY. IF YOU WIN BY BEING JUDGED, NOT BY SCORING POINTS LIKE IN FOOTBALL OR BASEBALLOR FROM BEING TIMED LIKE BOBSLEDDING, I DONT THINK IT CAN BE A SPORT. JUDGING IS TOO SUBJECTIVE. WHILE I THINK DANCING AND ICE SKATING ARE VERY ATHLETIC EVENTS, THAT DOESNT MAKE THEM SPORTS
413344
NASCAR has deep roots in the south, starting with bootleggers during Prohibition. They would have to outrun the police, so they worked on improving their cars, and practiced driving on dirt roads at high speeds. They even created new ways to handle at high speeds (see a "bootlegger's turn", where you pull the emergency brake to do a quick 180).\n\nAfter Prohibition was lifted, they kept driving, and started on dirt tracks. Eventually, the "sport" (driving in circles on concrete doesn't really qualify as a real sport, to me) morphed into what it is, today.
1167411
that's a good question trixie, i don't get it either. i think maybe people are just envious of the fact that NASCAR is so popular. a lot of people are very narrow minded when it comes to sports, they think if there is no stick or ball involved, it can't be a sport. how small minded is that? i guess it's just that baseball and basketball fans are jelous of the fact that NASCAR is more popular than their favorite sports