The CheckerBoard

Im ready for the DV! I followed it for a decade when Dale Jarrett was driving. However, I classify driving with golf, and bowling... IMO, there has to be all of the following to be considered "Athletic"... Running, jumping, catching. Everything else is just fat man sports, and I include myself in this statement.

I have the utmost respect for the drivers and what they do. it takes a tremendous amount of stamina, strength, and endurance to handle what they do every week. the heat and the amount of g's they are exposed to definitely makes it a very tough job. Having said that, I dont know that I would call them athletes. And i dont say that with any sort of negative connotation at all. They are definitely skilled at what they do, but my personal opinion is that i wouldn't call them athletes. They are professional race car drivers. They are great at what they do.

JMO, but when I think of athlete, I think of a guy like Mike Vick who, a year before being drafted into the NFL, was drafted by the rockies after not having played baseball since his 8th grade year. or a guy like allen iverson who was an outstanding high school football player and won the Associated Press High School Player of the Year award in both football and basketball.

I dont know for certain and I know you cant make a blanket statement for all football or basketball players (just like you can't NASCAR drivers) but how many NASCAR drivers would be able to go play football or baseball or basketball and excel (or atleast not look completely out of place)?

So, to sum up, my personal opinion is that no, they're not athletes, but they're the best in the world at what they do. I dont think that is in any way a shot at them or anything negative.

Oh, and my favorite drivers are jeff gordon (i know a lot of ppl hate him, but he was getting a lot of media attention when I started watching back in the mid to late 90s, so the exposure made me follow him and he's remained my favorite. I'm also a HUGE Mark Martin fan and, while I dont like his antics all the time, i think Kyle Busch adds a little something extra

Every one makes good arguments on both sides of the question so I looked up the definition of the word ATHLETE it states that 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. So based on that I guess I would consider them athletes. Favorite driver, Kyle Bush. Favorite track, Bristol, I live about a mile away from there. I will say though, I don't like Bristol near as well since they redone the track.

The drivers are athletes, as well as the entire pit crew for each team. 88/Bristol