Race- Car Drivers: Athletes of the Sport World

Race- Car Drivers: Athletes of the Sport World An athlete is defined as a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength or a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill. Given these standards, one is likely to say baseball, football, basketball, or even golf players are considered to be athletes in competition. What about professional race- car drivers? To some, a race- car driver requires no athletic ability whatsoever and should not be considered an athletic figure. On the contrary, the intense practice, workouts, and stamina required for them to win a race indubitably meet the standards of an athlete. Some people even believe drivers require even more endurance and strength than athletes of other sports. Therefore, professional race- car drivers should ultimately be considered athletes in this highly competitive world of sports. Maintaining a velocity of 200 miles per hour for four hours in a cramped space is no easy task for professional drivers. The amount of practice needed to become a top- notch racer can be related to that of many athletes in sports. Just like any other athlete, professional race- car drivers require years of practice and simulation training in order to become skillful at what they do. An average NASCAR driver will have the same routine for thirty- six weeks in a year. Get to the track, practice, race, and repeat. This general schedule can compare to that of a professional football player. Football players arrive at a field, practice, compete, and repeat. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a senior medical correspondent of CNN and U.S brain surgeon, shares results of research that shows NASCAR drivers sweat as much as a football player at practice. “They can lose 3% of body weight in sweat, that’s about 5 lbs for each race” (“Are racers athletes?” 1). Moreover these drivers will practice three to four days in a week on the race- track in order to fully prepare themselves for a

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