Richard Corning
Writing 122
October 30, 2013

Is Automobile Racing a Sport?
There are many arguments for and against auto racing actually being a sport. To understand this argument one needs to know what type of racing people are saying is a sport. Auto racing has been around as long as there have been automobiles. Every teenager, whether they admit it or not has raced. This type of racing however is not a sport if you ask me; this type of racing is known as street racing. On this type of racing people get together and race their suit up cars and see who is faster. There is no stress on the body, and not any practice needed to participate in this. This is one of the main reasons that most people believe that auto racing is not a sport. The type of racing mentioned above is not what most people consider auto racing and neither do I. Auto racing happens on ovals, drag strips, and road courses all across the world. No matter what kind of race track a driver is on it is demanding, both physically and mentally. The type of auto racing most people criticize is whether NASCAR is a sport or not. I understand why people would say that. It doesn’t take more than basic knowledge to drive a car; millions of people also drive a car on a daily basis. These people think driving a commute car and a NASCAR car is the same. Try driving a car which is heavier than a normal car and goes almost three times as fast.
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, most commonly known as (NASCAR) is fairly new to the kingdom of sports. There is a huge controversy about whether NASCAR is a sport, some people say it is not, but I say it is. Any activity that involves competition for me is a sport. The true definition of a sport, according to Webster’s dictionary is “An activity involving physical exertion and skill and which an individual or team competes against another or others.”(Webster). In any sport it all comes down to who is better, the key factor for victory is to give it all you got every time. It also requires physical capabilities and skills to determine the outcome, winning or losing. Considering that there are over 43 teams that try to qualify for every NASCAR sanctioned race, it is more than safe to state that NASCAR reaches the requirements for the competitive part of being a sport. Many say NASCAR is not a sport due to the lack of physical activity. The drivers are effectively doing reps of arm and leg exercises for four straight hours every race, but they are doing so while feeling constant G-force up to three times as high as a stationary human. That means that even the lightest drivers, an example could be the 100-pound Danica Patrick, are feeling about 300 pounds of force as they are doing many of those leg and arm reps. Meanwhile, temperatures in the car are frequently upwards of 100 degrees. Sound like a sport now? That’s because it is. Now let’s look at the competition aspect of NASCAR compared to other “sports”. Despite what many people want to believe, NASCAR is a team sport. Just like basketball players work to perfect their game during practice, NASCAR drivers and crews are working hard to perfect their cars and their bodies for competition each week. For a long period of time, drivers were seen as lazy, fat, and un-athletic, mostly because at the end of their race they go out of a car and drink beer. Welcome to the new sport of NASCAR, not only are they working hard on perfecting their cars, they’re also working hard to keep in shape to be at the top of their game. Now if people still think NASCAR is not a sport, try getting a pit crew together and jack up half of their 3400 pound car, change four times, add 22 gallons of fuel to the fuel tank, with no time to make mistakes over the span of 15 seconds. Or if that’s not enough, get on the track and drive 325 laps nonstop for over a long period of time. Once accomplished, they’ll realize how physically exhausting the sport is.

Sources
"Online Dictionary." Online Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. <http://www.webster-dictionary.org/>.