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[DMczaf]

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050302/nyw174_1.html

ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Once again Michael Jordan is America's favorite sports star even though he has been retired since 2002 and Mia Hamm is the country's favorite female sports star.

Jordan is comfortably in first place though there are hints that others, including Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, in second place, and golfer Tiger Woods, in third place, are perhaps knocking on the door to replace Jordan as America's favorite. Manning has shot up to second place (from last year's 7th spot) after his record-breaking performance in this year's professional football season.

and for bionic77

the Miami Heat's Shaquille O'Neal (#6), New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (#7), race car driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (#8), Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb (#9) and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (#10)

 

[Ninja Scooter]

yes, but does he have his own chain of movie theatres? Didn't think so.

 

[bionic77]

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050302/nyw174_1.html



and for bionic77

This is the same nation that thinks Saddam Hussain was behind 9-11 and voted Bush into office.

 

[Blackace]

This is the same nation that thinks Saddam Hussain was behind 9-11 and voted Bush into office.

you know he has a point....

 

[DMczaf]

yes, but does he have his own chain of movie theatres? Didn't think so.

Has Magic Johnson ever been to one of his own theaters?

....


Yeah, I wouldn't either :lol

 

[NLB2]

Man, how could it be anyone other than Lance Armstrong?

 

[Blackace]

Man, how could it be anyone other than Lance Armstrong?

Because people don't care about cycling?

 

[Loki]

yes, but does he have his own chain of movie theatres? Didn't think so.

"Failed commercial ventures that turn into money sinkholes are back! They're back, baby!"

 

[DMczaf]

"Failed commercial ventures that turn into money sinkholes are back! They're back, baby!"

:lol :lol

 

[SickBoy]

I'm actually surprised Peyton Manning is #2. He's a talented player and obviously had a lot of success this last year, but I don't think there's anything remarkable about him as a personality off the field.

I don't necessarily think that should be a factor, but you know it probably is for a lot of people.

 

[DonasaurusRex]

This is the same nation that thinks Saddam Hussain was behind 9-11 and voted Bush into office.

who the hell believed that BS????

 

[Tarazet]

No love for Lance Armstrong? This list is dead to me.

 

[Meier]

I'm actually surprised Peyton Manning is #2. He's a talented player and obviously had a lot of success this last year, but I don't think there's anything remarkable about him as a personality off the field.

I don't necessarily think that should be a factor, but you know it probably is for a lot of people.

The great MasterCard commercial probably help.

 

[bionic77]

who the hell believed that BS????

Whichever retards are polled on any given day. I wouldn't be surprised if a majority of Americans still believed Saddam had something to do with 9-11.

When Tom Brady is more popular than Ben Roethlisberger and people believe Saddamn was behind 9-11, that just shows me this country is going right down the crapper.

 

[Lambtron]

I'm actually surprised Peyton Manning is #2. He's a talented player and obviously had a lot of success this last year, but I don't think there's anything remarkable about him as a personality off the field.

I don't necessarily think that should be a factor, but you know it probably is for a lot of people.

He's got that "aw shucks" factor. Peyton seems like a genuinely nice, down to earth guy, as far as NFL players go. He doesn't seem too concerned with his ego, he wants to win, he's a team player. Seeing him take a knee instead of get the TD record was pretty awesome, I thought. I don't know, I respect him because there aren't nearly enough players like that around. There's too many "me first" players around. Peyton is as normal as any other person worth nine figures with a golden arm.

 

[bjork]

Jordan = <3

It's true, it's true.

I would kiss his rings and rub his head.

Interpret as you like.

 

[Shinobi]

"Failed commercial ventures that turn into money sinkholes are back! They're back, baby!"

:lol :lol :lol

I expect Dale Jr to be in the top three within the next few years. Same with Lebron James.

 

[Eminem]

He's got that "aw shucks" factor. Peyton seems like a genuinely nice, down to earth guy, as far as NFL players go. He doesn't seem too concerned with his ego, he wants to win, he's a team player. Seeing him take a knee instead of get the TD record was pretty awesome, I thought. I don't know, I respect him because there aren't nearly enough players like that around. There's too many "me first" players around. Peyton is as normal as any other person worth nine figures with a golden arm.

Yeah, that basically sums it up pretty nicely. There are not nearly enough modest, superstar players like Manning and Tim Duncan.

 

[alejob]

The womans list is sad:

    Mia Hamm                                                       1
    Serena Williams                                                 2
    Venus Williams                                                  3
    Michelle Kwan                                                   4
    Anna Kournikova                                                 5
    Annika Sorenstam                                                6
    Lisa Leslie                                                     7
    Billie Jean King                                               =8
    Martina Navratilova                                            =8
    Chris Evert                                                    =9
    Mary Lou Retton                                                =9
    Michelle Wei                                                   10

    Michael Jordan       1
    Peyton Manning        2
    Tiger Woods           3
    Brett Favre           4
    Derek Jeter           5
    Shaquille O'Neal      6
    Tom Brady             7
    Dale Earnhardt Jr.    8
    Donovan McNabb        9
    Ben
    Roethlisberger       10

 

[ChristKiller]

Whichever retards are polled on any given day. I wouldn't be surprised if a majority of Americans still believed Saddam had something to do with 9-11.

When Tom Brady is more popular than Ben Roethlisberger and people believe Saddamn was behind 9-11, that just shows me this country is going right down the crapper.

Why shouldn't Brady be more popular than Roethlisberger? Brady's won three Super Bowls in four years, while Roethlisberger is just another Steelers QB who chokes in championship games.

 

[Eminem]

while Roethlisberger is just another Steelers QB who chokes in championship games.

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

 

[Shinobi]

:lol :lol :lol Buuurrrrrrrrrn....

 

[Archaix]

Why shouldn't Brady be more popular than Roethlisberger? Brady's won three Super Bowls in four years, while Roethlisberger is just another Steelers QB who chokes in championship games.

Hey now! Uncalled for! What QB hasn't choked against the Patriots in the past two years in the playoffs?

 

[The Internet]

Where's Doug Weight?



The Internet

 

[Gregory]

Where's Doug Weight?





The Internet

Yeah, or Jeremy Roenick? Brian Leetch? Derian Hatcher? It`s sad when I as an European propably know more american hockey players than 99.9% of americans.

 

[Shinobi]

That's no surprise, considering half the NHL is playing in Europe these days. :lol

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

Those fuckers (hockey players) turn on us in the Olympics. Of course we don't know who the fuck they are. Next time, screw your home country, like Tim Duncan and play for the evil empire.

 

[Shinobi]

:lol

 

[NLB2]

Yeah, or Jeremy Roenick? Brian Leetch? Derian Hatcher? It`s sad when I as an European propably know more american hockey players than 99.9% of americans.

And you Europeans always call us trashy...

 

[Aruarian Reflection]

Wow, Michelle Wie is #10? Pretty hot, I didn't know she was that well-known.

 

[DarienA]

Why shouldn't Brady be more popular than Roethlisberger? Brady's won three Super Bowls in four years, while Roethlisberger is just another Steelers QB who chokes in championship games.

Oh shit, owned big time! :lol

 

[DMczaf]

Wow, Michelle Wie is #10? Pretty hot, I didn't know she was that well-known.

 

[DJ Sl4m]

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

:lol :lol :lol

Again, if it doesn't have a ball or puck it's not a sport.

Hell even my dog has more sence than to chase his tail in a left turn circle 500 times in a row.

 

[bionic77]

Why shouldn't Brady be more popular than Roethlisberger? Brady's won three Super Bowls in four years, while Roethlisberger is just another Steelers QB who chokes in championship games.

Brady is the ultimate villain in sports and maybe just the ultimate villain in general as well. Big Ben definitely choked in his first AFC Championship game, but he did more and went further than any other rookie before him. Big Ben was known in many circles as "the Messiah", and as we are all well aware, the Messiah must first be crucified by the devil (aka Brady) before he can arise to the greatness he was destined for. Big Ben is everything that is good in life, whereas Tom Brady is a turd burglin terrorist who rides the coattails of Bill Belichick's genius.

America should be ashamed of itself for being hoodwinked by 'the devil'. I shouldn't be surprised though, this isn't the first time this has happened....

 

[Wellington]

Looks like they confused Eli Manning with Peyton Manning. It's understandable I guess, they are brothers!

 

[Shinobi]

:lol :lol :lol

Again, if it doesn't have a ball or puck it's not a sport.

Hell even my dog has more sence than to chase his tail in a left turn circle 500 times in a row.

 

[DJ Sl4m]

499 more laps to go, keep watching for the surprise ending.

 

[Shinobi]

WTF...there were like four lead changes in the last 8 laps at Daytona. :lol

And your post essentially says that any track and field event, boxing, or any swimming event isn't a sport. That's just fucking stupid.

 

[Gregory]

And you Europeans always call us trashy...

? I didn`t get any of that.

 

[spliced]

I'm suprised at Donovan McNabb and Peyton Manning, neither strike me as amazing personalities.

 

[Shinobi]

McNabb can be a laugh riot at times...he certainly seemed looser this past season. Manning is dull as dishwater, but he was so good it's hard to hold that against him.

 

[DJ Sl4m]

WTF...there were like four lead changes in the last 8 laps at Daytona. :lol

And your post essentially says that any track and field event, boxing, or any swimming event isn't a sport. That's just fucking stupid.

No doubt those are sports, my rewsponse was a bit hasty, but at least I'm not completely idiotic enough to try to convince myself driving in lefthand circles is athletic.
Who's the athlete anyway ? The car ? The driver ? The pit crew ?

If the driver is the athlete then I suppose all offroad drivers in SUV's/Jeeps are athletes too, oh and dont forget those uber athletic bull riders they get beat up while riding too.

The pit crew ? I suppose jiffy lube should be giving their employess signing bonus's when they hire on thier 'team' ?

Face it nascar is a joke to just about everyone outside of the rednecksociety, hell at least the euros have enough sence to turn left and right when racing.

BTW: Dale wasn't a hero, he saved nobody, he died on a high risk job while doing his job.
Firefighters, police, medics, people who save others lives are heros.

 

[God's Hand]

Yeah, I pretty much agree with that. You drive a car around in a circle, and everything else is based on chance/luck. You might get first, or you might get 20th. Depends on how well built your car is and how well maintained it is. There's no sport in it.

And I agree with the hero part too. That word is thrown around so much these days, it makes it harder to realize who the true heros are in this world. Athletes are not heros. Especially not people who drive cars.

 

[Kabuki Waq]

Racing depends too much on the cars themselves.

 

[Boogie]

BTW: Dale wasn't a hero, he saved nobody, he died on a high risk job while doing his job.
Firefighters, police, medics, people who save others lives are heros.

the hell? Was this necessary? Nobody mentioned Dale Sr. in this thread.

 

[Willco]

The only reason McNabb is on there is because of his MOM.

 

[TheDuce22]

It probably has more to do with the dozens of comercials hes in and the fact that the Eagles havent exactly been flying under the radar. They have been dominating the nfc for the past 4+ years. Their national games get higher ratings than average and they have had so many of them.

 

[Shinobi]

No doubt those are sports, my rewsponse was a bit hasty, but at least I'm not completely idiotic enough to try to convince myself driving in lefthand circles is athletic.
Who's the athlete anyway ? The car ? The driver ? The pit crew ?

If the driver is the athlete then I suppose all offroad drivers in SUV's/Jeeps are athletes too, oh and dont forget those uber athletic bull riders they get beat up while riding too.

The pit crew ? I suppose jiffy lube should be giving their employess signing bonus's when they hire on thier 'team' ?

Face it nascar is a joke to just about everyone outside of the rednecksociety, hell at least the euros have enough sence to turn left and right when racing.

BTW: Dale wasn't a hero, he saved nobody, he died on a high risk job while doing his job.
Firefighters, police, medics, people who save others lives are heros.

You say you're not completely idiotic, then immediately go onto disprove that notion. :lol

But I'm gonna chalk it up to an ignorance of how demanding auto racing is, including NASCAR. And many people are in the same boat. So I'm simply going to respond with facts here...whether or not you choose to dismiss them is up to you. First of all, here are some definitions for the word "sport".

Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.

An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

An active pastime; recreation.

Physical activity engaged in for fun.

Now, let's look at various terms for the word "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.

Any one trained to contend in exercises requiring great physical agility and strength; one who has great activity and strength; a champion.

One fitted for, or skilled in, intellectual contests; as, athletes of debate.

Now I'm going to quote from a couple of articles regarding the "absurd" notion that car drivers are indeed athletes.

Point/Counterpoint: Is NASCAR a sport?
High speeds, risk of death
By Erwin McIntosh III
Published: Monday, October 11, 2004


In the Merriam Webster Dictionary, the term "sport" as a noun means "physical activity engaged in for fun." Now imagine going around a track with some forty other cars at close to (and more than) 200 mph.

Imagine how hot it gets inside and outside the car as heat rises on the track. Imagine going through this with few restroom breaks. Imagine, for just a second, having to withstand these conditions for 500 laps. Not only do drivers have to withstand heat, they have to have the endurance to power their way around a track and become physical with other cars by bumping them repeatedly, increasing their chance of accidents and death.

Here is a question that one must ask when debating this topic: are driver's athletes? Yes, they are, but not conventional or "ball sport" athletes.

Drivers do not need to be in peak physical condition in comparison to the "ball sport" athletes, but he or she does need to be in shape. No one has ever seen a racecar driver that is overweight. Drivers need to have a keen sense of sight and impeccable hand-eye coordination. Their timing has to be right on or it could mean their lives. Drivers have to train to withstand these conditions in order to survive and be successful.

Drivers are athletes because they have to be in shape to drive not only physically, but mentally as well. They, like any other athlete, have to know their trade very well. Their knowledge about cars, speed and physics are amazing.

In the course of a racing event, a driver has to learn when to draft and when not to draft. For some of those that don't know, drafting is when the driver allows the car in front of them to pull the driver's car along with their own speed.

Drivers also have to know when to go high on the track and when to go low, not only to pass a driver to gain position, but also to avoid death.

In answering the question of drivers being athletes, the question of whether or not racing is a sport has been answered as well.

When thinking about the event of racing, think about all that goes into racing and keep an open mind about what the word "sport" means. The conditions of racing make it more difficult than ball sports.

Take the time to watch a race on television and believe me - it is just as boring as watching baseball, but racing is more than just going around a track or making a bunch of left turns.

Racing is dangerous, physical and calculating. To be successful in the sport of racing one must have high stamina, a great deal of poise and patience, along with a keen sense of time. It is only prudent to mention these things to show how mentally in-shape a driver must be, along with the physical attributes mentioned earlier.

Finally, a driver must be in control of his or her car while all of the aforementioned distractions are happening all around them.

The speed, the danger, the heat, the bumping and the accidents all make racing a sport and the most dangerous one at that.

Conventional sport, no, but a sport nonetheless.

http://www.newsrecord.org/news/2004/10/11/Opinion/Pointcounterpoint.Is.Nascar.A.Sport-749380.shtml






Here's an article from today's Edmonton Sun.

Sun, March 6, 2005
Athletes or not?

DAVE 'CRASH' CAMERON, EDMONTON SUN


"If you can't pull a groin, it ain't a sport." - Anonymous chat-room contributor

- - -

Larry Walker was PO'd.

In 1997, he put up monster-mash numbers as the resident slugger for the Colorado Rockies - 49 homers, 130 RBIs, topped off with 33 stolen bases - enough to make the good Canadian kid the Most Valuable Player in the top level of America's pastime, Major League Baseball.

But it wasn't enough to be Athlete of the Year in his homeland.

That honour went to Jacques Villeneuve.

The son of the favourite son of the province of Quebec - Gilles Villenueve - had that year become the world champion driver on the Formula One circuit.

In Walker's mind, "I lost to a car."

Thus continued a debate as to whether race-car drivers are actually athletes.

It's a debate that should no longer be in question. Yet it continues.

"Did we claim that (Canadian jockey) Sandy Hawley was never an athlete. Or was it the horse?" asked and answered TSN's Vic Rauter.

Racing - Formula One, in particular - and curling have long been Rauter's main beats as a television reporter.

"(Racers) are athletes in different ways. People would always ask me, 'Are curlers athletes?' And I'd say, 'Yes. They are athletic in the way they have to be athletic.' The way the front end has to brush. To deliver a stone you have to be somewhat athletic.

"Is a 350-pound lineman in the NFL or in the CFL athletic? Or is he just a big mountain of meat filling a hole? Well, no. He's an athlete. He's athletic as much as he needs to be athletic.

"That physical pounding (a racer's) body takes - absolutely they are athletes."

Take F1 all-time champion Michael Schumacher. By any definition of "athlete," Schumacher is one of the fittest on the planet.

"Amazing athletes," said local racer Mark Schwabenbauer, who saw the F1 world up close twice last year, at Nurburgring in Germany and in Montreal.

G-FORCES

"To be in a car for an hour and a half pulling G after G," he said of the astronaut-like G-forces exerted on a driver.

"And we're talking, on the straightaway they're doing positive Gs. Then they go into a corner and it's negative Gs. It's amazing how they can handle that for an hour and a half.

"A lot of these guys work out all the time. If they're not working out, they are on their mountain bikes, whatever. And they've all got their personal trainers.

"Look at Schumacher. Look on his website - it says his hobbies are soccer, tennis, swimming and skiing."

Champ Car World Series driver Alex Tagliani answered the question with another question of sorts when he was here recently to promote July's race at the City Centre airport.

"Ask my dad."

Son had taken the old man for a boot in a two-seat champ car in their hometown of Montreal.

"Three days after, he had a blood vessel explode in his eyes," said Tagliani. "When I was braking, he said he felt (the) pressure on the (eye) socket. He couldn't breathe."

"And he's a race guy - he drove rally car. He said, 'I didn't realize.' "

With his French accent, and accenting his points with a visual flair, Tagliani colourfully explained the feeling of being behind the wheel.

"You're pulling four Gs, sometimes five Gs, in a corner.

"There's a corner at Elkhart Lake (the four-plus mile Road America course in Wisconsin), the kink on the back straightaway on the way to Canada Corner, it's 180 miles an hour, pulling four-and-half Gs.

"And you have to be precise and knowledgeable, so when you find these things, you can find them consistently."

Not to mention doing it with other cars buzzing behind, beside or around you. Or all of the above. Let alone be sharp enough to translate as much of this information as possible to your race-day crew.

"The mental aspect of (racing) is mind-boggling - to comprehend everything that's going on around you at those speeds," Jeff Gordon told ESPN a day after winning the 2005 Daytona 500 on the high-speed, high-banked track that remains NASCAR's top showcase.

"It depends on how you define 'athlete.' I'm not going to run a 100-yard dash in nine seconds, I can tell you that. But ... it does come down to physical fitness when you go 38 weeks, there's only three weekends off, and then there's all the things we have to do for all our sponsors. So you have to be in good physical and mental shape."

"You're in 130-degree heat, inches away from each other for four hours at speeds up to 200 miles an hour. You have a mental and physical fatigue factor that's incredible," NASCAR veteran Mark Martin once said.

"The requirements of a race driver are different than anybody who ever sat on a couch and drank beer and ate potato chips for four hours can imagine."

'YOUR BRAIN IS FRIED'

"When you race at Daytona, your brain is fried from thinking so much," Dale Earnhardt Jr. was quoted as saying before this year's 500.

"You're lucky if you can remember how to get home."

In the mid '70s, cardiologist Dr. Naseeb Baroody conducted tests on NASCAR drivers during a race.

His take: "Race drivers are supermen. If you don't believe me, dress yourself from head to toe in a wool suit, put on a helmet and, on the hottest day of the year, drive with your foot to the floor from North Carolina to Philadelphia, and see how you feel."

http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&oi=n...EdmontonSun/Sports/2005/03/06/952069-sun.html






Here's an article explaining what G-Forces are and how they are calculated.

How do you calculate G-forces?

On April 29, 2001, CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams) officials cancelled a race at the Texas Motor Speedway because the drivers experienced dizziness after as few as 10 laps. The combination of high speeds and tight turns at Texas Motor Speedway produces forces of almost 5 Gs in the turns. One G is the force of Earth's gravity -- it is this force that determines how much we weigh. At 5 Gs, a driver experiences a force equal to five times his weight. For instance, during a 5-G turn, there are 60 to 70 pounds of force pulling his head to the side. Let's see how to calculate how many Gs a car pulls in a turn and how these Champ cars can stay on the track under so much force.

Calculating the G-forces on the drivers is actually quite simple. We just need to know the radius of the turns and the speed of the cars. According to Texas Motor Speedway's Track Facts, the turns on the track have a radius of 750 feet (229 meters). During practice, the cars were turning laps at around 230 miles per hour (370 kph).

When a car goes around a turn, it accelerates the whole time (this is why, when you make a turn in your own car, you feel a force pulling your body toward the outside of the car). The amount of acceleration is equal to the velocity of the car squared divided by the radius of the turn:

A = v2 / r

Let's run the numbers:
230 mph is 337 feet per second (f/s).
(337 f/s)2 / 750 feet = approximately 151 f/s2.
The acceleration due to gravity (1 G) is 32 f/s2.
151 / 32 = 4.74 Gs experienced by the drivers.

How can the car stay on the track under this kind of force? It's because of the banked turns.

The Texas Motor Speedway has 24-degree banking in the turns. The banking doesn't really affect how we calculate the G-forces on the driver, but without the banking the cars could never go around such a tight turn at 230 mph. Let's see how the banking helps.

If a Champ Car tried to make a flat turn at 230 mph, it would slide right off the track because it doesn't have enough traction. Traction is proportional to how much weight is on the tires (the more weight, the more traction). Banking a turn allows some of the G-forces created in the turn to increase the weight on the tires, increasing the traction. To figure out what portion of the Gs gets adds weight to the tires, you multiply the G-forces by the sine of the banking degree. In our example:

4.74 Gs x sin24° = 1.93 Gs

So with a 24-degree banking, 1.93 Gs adds weight to the wheels. In addition, a portion of the 1 G from Earth's gravity also puts some weight on the tires: 1 G x cos24° = 0.91 Gs. Together, 2.84 Gs (or 2.84 times the weight of the car) push down on the car during the turn, helping it stick to the track.

The car's aerodynamics also create significant downforce at 230 mph. On an airplane, the wings provide lift. A Champ Car has spoilers that are like upside-down wings, providing the opposite of lift: downforce. The downforce keeps the car glued to the track with a downward pressure provided by the front and rear wings, as well as by the body itself. The amount of downforce is amazing -- once the car is traveling at 200 mph (322 kph), there is enough downforce on the car that it could actually adhere itself to the ceiling of a tunnel and drive upside down! In a street-course race, the aerodynamics have enough suction to actually lift manhole covers -- before the race, all of the manhole covers are welded down to prevent this from happening!

Between the downforce and the G-forces, well over four times the weight of the car holds the tires to the track when it goes around one of those 24-degree banked turns at 230 mph.

Drivers take an enormous amount of punishment on a track like this. This level of acceleration is higher than most people ever experience. Even the space shuttle only develops 3 Gs when it takes off. What's even more amazing is how long these drivers tolerate this kind of force. The Texas Motor Speedway is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long: The front stretch is 2,250 feet (686 m) long, and the back stretch is 1,330 feet (405 m) long. At 230 mph (337 f/s), the drivers take about 6.5 seconds to go down the front stretch, and then they are slammed by almost 5 Gs of force for the next 6.5 seconds as they go around the turn. It only takes about 4 seconds to make it down the back stretch before the next turn and another 6.5 seconds of almost 5 Gs. If the planned 600-mile (966 km) race had taken place, the drivers would have gone back and forth between 5 and nearly zero Gs a total of 800 times.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/question633.htm





Finally, here's an article regarding a study that proved that race car drivers are as well conditioned as other athletes.

Fit, fast ... and for real
A recent study shows race car drivers are as well-conditioned as other athletes - and their sport is just as demanding.

By JOANNE KORTH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 21, 2003

ST. PETERSBURG -- Oriol Servia will speed down the airport runway at about 185 mph. Inside the cockpit, he will brace himself for the sudden pull of powerful G-forces.

A pilot?

No, Servia is a racecar driver. And it's a good thing he did all those abdominal crunches this winter.

Today, when practice begins for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Servia and others in the Champ Car series will muscle their way around the twisting, turning, lurching 1.85-mile temporary street circuit along the city's downtown waterfront and Albert Whitted Airport. It is a pursuit requiring the strength of a gymnast and the aerobic capacity of a basketball player.

Yes, drivers are athletes.

"Some people do not think racecar drivers are athletes," Servia said. "They think that because they drive their car every day, and sometimes they go fast, they don't have to be in any special shape. But I always give the same example: Play any racing game on PlayStation, and after 30 minutes, you end up sweating."

A recent medical study found the fitness demands of Champ Car drivers comparable to participants of more traditional sports such as soccer or basketball. The results, according to the researchers, put to rest the issue of whether drivers are athletes.

Still not convinced? Take a few laps and see for yourself.

"You undergo tremendous G-forces, laterally and longitudinally," said 37-year-old Jimmy Vasser, the 1996 CART champion. "Your heart rate is about 145 for 21/2 hours, there is heavy steering and high heat. All those things you need to train for. You certainly can't come straight off the couch and do it."

Dr. Steve Olvey, CART's Director of Medical Affairs, argued for years that drivers were athletes, but people were hard to convince because Olvey had no proof beyond his observations.

Now, he does.

Olvey and an associate in the University of Miami Medical Center's department of neurological surgery, Dr. Patrick Jacobs, published a paper in the December 2002 issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, detailing their findings during an in-depth study of what happens to the bodies of racecar drivers.

The doctors used metabolic monitors to test seven experienced CART drivers during practice sessions on the oval at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the road course at Sebring International Raceway and an exercise treadmill. They found the drivers' oxygen uptake and heart rate levels were similar to those of other world-class athletes.

"Most sports settings are characterized by large muscle actions, that is dynamic movements of the arms and legs, which obviously require oxygen to fuel these muscle actions," Jacobs said. "We were very surprised and excited, once the first few test results came in, to see some numbers which were in the area of what you would see in many of the traditional sports settings, say soccer, basketball and baseball."

Stresses on the muscular system in a racecar relate to resisting G-forces, with the demands being greatest on a road course, where drivers turn right and left, accelerate fast and brake hard. Drivers must have strong midsections to remain upright in the cockpit. Jacobs compared it to a gymnast holding an iron cross.

"Your abs is what holds your body all the time," said Servia, 28, a fitness fanatic who works out twice a day during the offseason with a trainer in his native Spain. "You have to be strong."

For years, skeptics associated drivers' increased heart rates with anxiety, sort of an adrenaline release. By their account, racing was no more an athletic endeavor than, say, shoplifting. Olvey's study linked increased heart rate to physical exertion.

But there's more.

Because tired muscles affect concentration, physical conditioning also plays an important role in a driver's ability to make good decisions near the end of a race.

"What you see when fatigue sets in is the driver starts to lose his ability to concentrate and to anticipate things as well as react to things in front of him," Olvey said. "There is a definite increase in the accident rate of fatigued drivers.

A few years ago, driver Paul Tracy took up cycling and has since lost 35 pounds. By decreasing his body fat, Tracy is better able to withstand the extreme heat in the cockpit, especially during summer events, and stay sharp mentally.

"It's a very specialized sport," said Tracy, 34. "Maybe a racing driver can't play hockey or football all that well, but I will challenge any other athlete from any other sport to come race me."

Physical fitness in racing also is a significant safety precaution. Drivers in peak condition are better able to tolerate crashes, Olvey said. They are less likely to sustain serious injury because of their increased flexibility, and recover more quickly.

So imagine what it must be like for Servia today when he comes to the end of the airport runway and slams on the brakes to make it through Turn 1. Consider the side-to-side forces as he zips around from First Street through Turns 4-9 to Bayshore Drive -- right, left, left, right, right, right.

An athlete?

Have no doubt.

"I think the fact that we did the study and got it published in such a wide-ranging journal pretty much lays to rest, scientifically, the question," Olvey said. "If there are doubters out there, I think they probably have some hidden agenda or something, because they're just not wanting to face the facts.

"It's pretty indisputable at this point."

[Times art: Jeff Goertzen]

Imagine lying in a cramped wooden crate traveling at speeds of more than 100 mph through the streets of St. Petersburg while holding a 25-pound dumbbell in each hand. You're dressed in a business suit trying to read your laptop as you get thrown from side to side. It's120 degrees. Your eyes are full of sweat and the constant vibrations impair your vision. After two hours, you've lost 7 pounds and you're physically and mentally exhausted. This is what it&#8217;s like to be a CART driver. And according to driver Mario Dominguez, even one hour of cardiovascular training and two hours of weight training a day doesn't keep him from feeling the effects of a race.

http://www.sptimes.com/2003/02/21/Grandprix/Fit__fast__and_for_re.shtml




And there you have it...if you argue against what I've posted, you're arguing against nothing but facts. It's a credit to the NASCAR guys that they make the oval racing look as easy as they do, particularly when those cars are way down on downforce and grip compared to open wheel cars.

Now having said all that, a lot of racing does come down to how good the car is. Racing is as much about technology as it is the driver. But the notion that DJ is presenting is that any redneck could get off the street, climb into Jeff Gordon's 24 and rip out competitive laps in no time. Nothing could be further from the truth. Hell, even F1 driver Juan-Pablo Montoya couldn't master Gordon's car when the two swapped cars for a day at Indianpolis a few years ago.

BTW, who the fuck called Dale a hero? Or even mentioned him for that matter? I only mentioned that Dale Jr (his son) will likely be one of the top three most popular athletes in America within the next five years. I have huge respect for race car drivers, but I don't regard what they do as being anything heroic. If you die in a race it's sad, but it's simply part of the deal. Hell, I don't even regard cops or soldiers who die on the job as a big deal...that's just part of the gig. Same with cave workers, sailors, whatever.

And NASCAR is the #2 spectactor and TV sport in America now...has been for a few years. To say it's watched by nothing but rednecks is just more ignorance. Unless of course most of America are indeed rednecks, which I guess would explain a few things. :lol

 

[Willco]

To say it's watched by nothing but rednecks is just more ignorance. Unless of course most of America are indeed rednecks...

... uh, duh?

NASCAR is by far, a very redneck sport that's supported by legions of rednecks. And - yes! - most of America is rednecks. It's amazing what they can do when they put their minds to it.

I mean, have you seen our President?

 

[Boogie]

Shinobi has completely and utterly owned the racing haters. :lol