Racecar drivers as athletes? Let's go to the dictionary definition.
athlete - A person possessing the natural or acquired traits, such as strength, agility, and endurance, that are necessary for physical exercise or sports, especially those performed in competitive contexts.
Strength? Check.
Endurance? Check.
Agility? Not so much.
The only agility required is to be able to get into and out of a racecar. And if it's on fire, the quicker you get out, the better.
Using the classic definition, I've never thought of racecar drivers as athletes. My father once called them the last of the gladiators, or modern day gladiators if you will, and I think the thought has some merit. Racecar drivers may lack the agility to be considered athletes by the classic definition, but they do have something that pro players in other sports don't necessarily have. Nerve. Guts. These guys, and girls, put their lives on the line everytime they strap into a car. Of course, there are other words I can use to describe this that I won't in mixed company.
I use to ask them could a woman or 60 year old play football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer... and compete with the real athletes?
Racecar drivers don't deserve to be bashed like this and I'll tell you why. By asking the question of whether a 60 year old could play basketball, you're implying that a 60 year old could get out on the racetrack and compete. You're implying that driving a street car is essentially the same as driving a racecar. Further, you're implying that a professional racecar driver doesn't take any special skills that are different from street driving.
All of the above are simply not true. For example, 60 year old drivers don't have the reflexes and reaction times required to compete with pro drivers. Obviously, there are a ton of differences between street cars and racecars. And, just as pro sports players of other sports do, guys and girls who are pro racecar drivers race all their life to get to the pros.
If you think you can strap into a racecar and be as fast as the pros just because you can drive on the street, you're deluded. I guarantee you that none of us have the skills required. That is, unless you've done it.
BTW, there are women who drive racecars. Let's not make the false assumption that women can't be professional racecar drivers. Janet Guthrie, Sarah Fisher and Shawna Robinson have driven in the past. Shirley Muldowney was a terrific drag racer. Erin Crocker, Kelly Sutton, Kathryn Legge and Danica Patrick are today's women racecar drivers. There are more to come. None of them have won yet, but there is little doubt that Danica is going to win an IRL race, probably this year.
It's not like I'm angry about what you said. As PastorSBC correctly noted, we've heard this kind of stuff before. Start a new thread if you want. I'll happily join the thread and show why auto racing is a real sport.
