Is NASCAR a sport?

Bilz:

Sport. What is it? Is NASCAR a sport? Of course not! Seems straightforward enough. I begin by defining sport generally: a physical competition to reach some goal. Seems direct enough, but I realize that NASCAR also has physical elements. People control cars with skill and decision making much as they would horses, and I’d like to think horse racing is a sport. No, there must be something more that truly defines sport. After all, sports are the descendants of ancient feats of war which were valorized. Football players converge on the battlefield as heroes of old. There is something pure and beautiful about a footrace, recalling the messenger who raced from the plains of Marathon to proclaim Greek victory. Valor, purity, beauty. This is sport. And then there is NASCAR: a white-trash version of horse racing where people drive in countless circles while the countriest of bumpkins hoot and holler.

Ben:

It bothers me how most people scoff at the suggestion that Nascar is a “sport.” As I see it, Nascar is one of the purest forms of competition there is: people get in cars and see who can get from point A to point B the fastest. Nascar drivers are not exactly bastions of ideal fitness, but the amount of focus required to maintain control of 1 car racing 39 others going 200 miles per hour in a continuous circle is amazing. I understand not caring to watch Nascar (I can’t watch an entire race without getting bored), but there is really no need to badmouth the people that make a living off of the sport.