NASCAR is awesome!

Many people who have never even watched NASCAR believe that NASCAR is one of the most boring, nonathletic, non-sport, redneck thing that one can watch. They believe it’s just going around in circles for three — four hours: however, these people are sadly mistaken. Imagine being on the highway, surrounded by cars in front of you, behind you, and to the sides of you, how aggravating it would be. Then add to the mix going 180+ mph, I am sure you would get very worried. I have no clue how anyone can find that “one wrong move and chaos will strike” boring. That is what these people do for a living, week in and week out. Also racing in NASCAR takes mental and physical strength. In turns, NASCAR drivers can experience 3 Gs of force against their bodies, comparable to the forces pressing down on shuttle astronauts at liftoff. Temperatures in the car often exceed 100 degrees, reaching as much as 170 degrees by the floorboards. Drivers can lose 5–10 pounds in sweat during a race. In a race, a NASCAR driver maintains the same heart rate -120–150 beats per minute for 3-plus hours — as a serious marathon runner for about the same length of time. Heck, even a study in "anticipatory timing" found race car drivers to possess the same ability to anticipate what was going to happen as a hockey goalie or a quarterback. So to say these drivers are not athletes is just asinine. Also, these drivers don’t “driver in circles for hours” as a matter of fact, they go to many different OVAL tracks, such as tri-ovals, quad-ovals, a rectangle, a triangle, and road courses! Oh, and did I mention the fact that most of the pit crew members are former NFL players? Try telling them this is not is sport.

<- Former linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings, now front tire carrier for the #24 in the Cup Series, and #9 in the Xfinity series.

Another reason NASCAR is so great is the fact that drivers, owners, and even the announcers are always making appearances either the day of the race, or at local shops that they are sponsored by. They are also always happy to sign autographs- as long as they aren’t on their way to the track. How often do you see baseball, football or basketball players do that?

Next time you think NASCAR is not awesome- go watch a race, either at the track or on TV- the odds are, you will change your mind.