Serpent

I think you guys should just learn about f1 and leave nascar alone =P In reality though, yes race car drivers are atheletes. As much as boxers, distance runners, sprinters, football players; they are all atheletes. Race car drivers have to put up with dehydration due to heat and the physical force they exert from their body piloting a car in most cases above g loading of 2. (thats 2 times the regular force of gravity for you non math folks) I'm not exactly sure of the g loading that a nascar car can create but i figure around 2-3 for the speed they are going and the angle of the average oval. On the other hand open wheel cars will create 3-4gs around ovals and f1 cars around 4 gs per corner in most cases. Although its not comepletly consistant at these loadings (except for a f1 car where there are horizontal g forces applied constantly due to the cornering, acceleration and braking forces used) it is still a difficult job. (And my reasoning as to why f1 drivers are under a larger load is because oval drivers get breaks during the straight aways where there is not much g loading above 1 if any). Now f1 for example, the drivers are all on an extreme fitness training during the season, and have some
(if not the best) fitness trainers in the world working for them. Then there comes the mental aspect of racing. The most important of it all, in order for the physical part to work, you have to have an insane amount of concentration. To drive a car lap after lap on the very edge that a car can go for two to three hours is another difficult job. Thus when you combine the two i think of race drivers being just as atheltic as a baseball player who has to have the strength to hit a ball and the concentration to keep his eye on it and watch it connect to his bat.. Ok my rants over.


Oh and don't forget about motorcycle racers who throw their bodies around on a bike, they are atheletes too.