There are many fans of NASCAR in the United States who feel that NASCAR is one of the most competitive and most entertaining sports to watch. I can highly disagree with that, although I know many people who think it is quite interesting to watch. But what always bugs me is when they say that NASCAR is a sport. It annoys me more when they say that NASCAR requires more skill than any other sport. Of course there are many advocates of NASCAR out there and I am not saying that NASCAR is a lame activity or one that requires no skill, but I am rather attempting to show people that it is not, technically speaking, a sport...
The usual excuse fans use when defining NASCAR as a sport is that it is televised on the FOX Sports segment and on the SPEED channel, which is described as a sports channel (although I do not believe that for a second either). Though car races are interesting to watch, they can hardly be defined as a sport. The common misconception is that a sport is defined as an activity that someone needs heightened and exceptional skill and training for to win a competition. If this were the textbook definition, I can definitely say that I am really good a lot of sports: chess, poker, eating (competitive eating is a sport according to this definition), Halo (the video game), and shopping (because you are in competition to find the best sales before others and requires good vision).
The actual definition of a "sport" according to dictionary.com is "an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature." NASCAR is an activity that requires skill and prowess and is quite competitive, but there is nothing athletic about it. Breaking it down, an athlete is "a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill." NASCAR requires mental agility, but has no physical impact whatsoever: the car does all the work and the strength of the car is utilized. If you want to be a very loose interpreter, you can say the car is the athlete, but a car is not a person.
I am sorry to dash the hopes of anyone who claimed that NASCAR is a sport: bocce ball has more qualities of an actual sport than NASCAR. Nonetheless, I do have respect for the drivers, I know there are dangers involved, and these drivers must have high mental acumen to be able to drive those cars around a track at such high speeds. But the most physical activity drivers get is stepping on pedals. Therefore, NASCAR cannot be defined as a sport, but rather as an elevated activity. Therefore, we conclude that though NASCAR does have its redeeming qualities and entertainment value for watching purposes, the people competing are drivers, not athletes.
Written by R. Turk
http://expertscolumn.com/content/can-nascar-be-defined-sport
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