NASCAR Cup Series drivers have always been at it, explaining to the world that a racecar driver’s job is as physically taxing as any other professional athlete’s pursuit. Team Penske racer Joey Logano pitched in recently, trying to educate the uninformed people about the physical toll racing exacts, and the high level of conditioning needed to withstand it week in and week out.
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The #22 Ford Mustang driver was dumbfounded when he was asked whether NASCAR drivers get enough credit for being athletes. “The fact that they even ask us is a little ridiculous, in my opinion,” replied the three-time Cup Series champion ahead of the race at Phoenix.
The Connecticut native compared different sports, ranging from stick and ball genres to motorsports, to explain how players from each sport would not be able to perform at a high level in another discipline.
“In the same way that if you give me a basketball, I’m not going to be that great with it, it’s the same way you put an NBA player in a NASCAR race car, and they’re not going to be that great either. So, are you going to tell me now an NBA player is not an athlete because he can’t drive a race car? Probably not,” elaborated Logano.
“So then, why would you call me not an athlete? It’s an uneducated question from people that don’t understand our sport is what it is,” he added.
Logano also touched on the stresses a driver in the top three nationwide series of stock car racing undergoes during a race that could last upwards of three hours. Apart from the constant heat and immense focus drivers need to keep, they also face a challenge in the form of physical endurance.
Races that are 500 or 600 miles long often come down to the wire where the driver has to be sharp both mentally and physically to make the winning move. A case in point is the Coca-Cola 600, one of NASCAR’s crown jewel events that requires immense grit to win.
Lack of firsthand experience prompts people to not accept drivers as athletes
Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez, the sole Mexican in the field, seems to understand why people from outside the sport have a hard time grasping the concept that racecar drivers are also athletes.
He touched on how driving a car at the limit is something only a few laypersons would have experienced, while stick and ball sports such as basketball have more accessibility. People often relate to what they have experienced firsthand and thus respect the athletes of that sport more for what they do on the playing field or court.
“The problem is that not a lot of people know or understand that because they don’t have an experience in racing. They do have an experience in soccer, baseball, basketball, everything else,” said Suarez.
Given the nature of motorsports worldwide and the limited access the masses have to racetracks or race cars, they will never be able to fathom the physical and mental strength required to race at a competitive level. That makes it paramount for drivers to speak out more often about what it takes to be a racer.
