“When you work on your mysterious lady-part stuff, you should have the right tools too. So that’s why you should use Maypax. Maypax: The official tampon of NASCAR”
Before I continue my work as a missionary of sanity in this crazy freaking world, I have something I’ve been needing to get off my chest. It doesn’t have social ramifications of Gun Control, or the emotion of The R-Word, or my usual volatile mix of Religion and Politics that you have come to know and love, but it is important nonetheless…. Here it is: NASCAR is not a sport, and NASCAR drivers are not athletes. Not even close. There. I said it. (Full disclosure: My wife just asked me what I’m blogging about, and I told her that the things I’ve been writing about lately have been a little too serious, so “I’m writing about how NASCAR is not a sport and NASCAR drivers are not athletes.” And she responded, “Don’t you think that might incite people?” I told her it was the truth, and people needed to hear it. So I guess, in my own little way, I’m still just out here trying to spread the truth.)
I happen to prefer number 2….
More people in America attend NASCAR races than any other sporting event, and this is just mind-boggling to me. I’m sorry, I simply do not get the draw of these events. I have been to stock car races before–It basically contains all the excitement of watching people drive on the interstate, only with all the fun of trying to keep your ears from bleeding because of the deafening noise. I used to think that the reason most of the people were rooting for an accident was either out of some sort of demented blood lust or just due to pure boredom–If I was forced to watch interstate traffic for a couple hours, I’d probably start rooting for an accident too–but I think that it has more to do with wanting just a couple minutes of relative quiet to talk to the people around you without having to read their lips as they scream the words, “THIS IS SO FREAKING STUPID!” to you.
That red sweater would look real nice with some sponsor patches….
I do feel a bit of a kinship with NASCAR fans, because I drive pretty fast myself. A couple months ago, I rented a car and drove from Nashville to Northern Michigan and back and I really flew. I think the combination of the fact that I was driving without any kids AND I was driving a really nice rental added a few more miles per hour than usual to my speed. In the roughly 1500 miles that I drove, I was passed by only one car. One. And it was going at least 110 M.P.H. Now, a person might expect someone driving that fast to be pretty athletic…. so I was as surprised as you when I looked over and saw a moderately overweight woman who looked to be pushing 60 years old fly past me. She must have trained really hard.
But seriously, the best predictor of whether or not you will someday be a successful NASCAR driver is whether you have an uncle or a father who has a race team. It’s not like they send scouts out onto the roads looking for new talent, pulling up next to someone at a gas station…. “Excuse me, son. My name is Sparky McDoogle, and I’m a NASCAR talent scout. They call me ‘The Plug.’ I noticed the way you passed that Dodge Intrepid a few miles back, and I think, with the right coaching, you’ve got what it takes to be one of the great ones. Here’s my card.” It would also help our imaginary hero’s chances if he was smaller than your usual dude, as that allows the race team to use more ballast and put it where they want in order to improve the car’s handling. It’s like that old saying: “Being 5’5″ and having an uncle in the business does not an athlete make.”
Behold: An athlete.
I know, I know–Being a race car driver takes a lot of stamina and focus and control. But you know what else takes a lot of stamina, focus, and control? Playing video games. I put race car drivers in the same “sporting” category that I put people who are really, really good at Halo…. Dorks. I’m impressed by how good some people are at video games, but just because they can shoot my character in the face with a plasma gun while virtually running backwards doesn’t mean they are an athlete. Still, I’d say that gaming is probably closer to a sport than NASCAR is…. Literally anyone could be groomed to be a driver–It’s the people who make the car, the people who make the tires, the mechanics, the pit crew, and Sparky McDoogle that make the magic happen.
I think there is still some advertising space around the ham hocks.
So feel free to drive eight hours to sit and watch cars drive around in circles for three hours while earplugs hold back the Cole Trickle of blood coming out of your head. Feel free to idolize the drivers. Feel free to go out and buy yourself a whole boat-load of Tide and Pennzoil and Viagra because they are painted on the hood. That is just fine by me…. Just please don’t refer to the drivers’ athletic ability in any way–They are no more an athlete than that old lady who left me in her dust on the way to Michigan. And you can call it a race, you can call it a competition, you can even call it fun. But please don’t call it a sport. It’s just not. I’m serious. It’s not.
Alright…. I feel like we really got somewhere today. Good job, everybody.
The Boeskool 
Ah. This post is a perfect example of how when you judge something without truly understanding it, you can be just plain wrong. On so many levels. It’s not even worth it to point them out to you.
Point away. : )
Dude, you are so off base on this it’s not even funny.
It’s a little funny….
Never have understood it either. 😀 Great read! And thank you for the shout-out to the crew, who really are the ones who make it work.
That made me want to drive to Nashville and kiss you on the mouth, Closed, of course. Thank you for your eloquent rendering of what I had been offending most of Nunica about for the better part of five years. Bless their sweet, misguided, dare I say simple hearts.
I think it is hilarious how many people got annoyed at this post. I, for one, completely agree with you. 🙂
Just to help you understand motorsports, and I’ll speak slowly for you; there actually is a whole lot of tactical maneuvering and strategy involved, but it it revolves around the complexities of aerodynamics, and given your simple-minded assessment, I don’t think you’d understand. You also have clearly never driven an actual race car, so you wouldn’t be aware of how physically demanding it is. Certainly in formula cars, the training required to FINISH a race is comparable to triathlon. In fact, many, if not most Formula one drivers are accomplished triathletes, runners, and road bike riders by necessity.
Next time before decide you judge in the public domain, do some homework, get informed. Gazing at your navel and judging others based on assumptions just demonstrates your ignorance to everyone else. But that is your right…
That couldn’t be funnier to me if you had meant it to.
Thank you for speaking so slowly for me–It came through in your typing. And, just so you know, I understand a whole lot about motorsports and the stamina needed to complete a long race…. As I have played quite a bit of Gran Turismo. Some of those races were really long. And my butt got really numb while I sat and drove the car. You are preaching to the choir! Thanks for reading.
OMG!! dying …. lol I def needed that chuckle. 😀
Nascar and other types of auto racing has/have some similarities to golf in that it is somewhat like a game/sport mix. fitness is essential, obviously but since the level of athleticism is not blatantly obvious, my preconceptions of what a ‘sport’ actually is, gets challenged. motocross is almost the opposite extreme, perceived as fairly physical but, studies have shown them to be the most fit persons in the world, who considers motocross a sport? good thing we have terms like “Motorsport” which implies some level of physical prowess, but the two parts of the word should never be separated.
somebody around here is just ‘taking a piss’…maybe that should replace “Picking a fight” in this case? the expected mayhem happened before some gave though to what was actually said. where have I seen this before?