A Man who Drives a Car in Circles was AP's Athlete of the Year.

[MadBadger]

Jimmie Johnson of NASCAR won the AP's athlete of the year award. He drives a car in circles, or ovals i guess if you want to be more specific. Apparently he is an "athlete"

[Iggo]

1. More than a golfer.

[Renew Deal]

2. His achievement is remarkable

And unprecedented. There was a lot of promise for his career and it has worked out. He reminds me of Tiger Woods in that way. He's better than the hype.

[Cetacea]

58. More remarkable than breaking Pete Sampras all-time record?

Or is this an American only deal? Roger Federer broke the last remaining tennis records this year and left little doubt that he is the greatest player of all time.

[Renew Deal]

64. I'm not comparing

Obviously there are other contenders including Federer, Tiger, Kurt Warner, Jeter, Cristiano Ronaldo, and probably others. They all had amazing years. I don't know who I'd pick without looking at them more closely.

[berni_mccoy]

3. Don't knock the athleticism of a sport. Tiger Woods knocks a ball around a yard

And Horseback riders let the horses do all the work

And don't get me started on those Olympic archers and riflemen.

See how easy it is?

Athletic control of the body is more than just how many calories are exerted.

[flvegan]

4. Sweet. We haven't had a NASCAR thread in a while.

:popcorn:

[TheCowsCameHome]

18. Extra butter on mine, please.

[lpbk2713]

21. Let's start one about NASCAR cars ...

... that have Confederate flags on them. And Olive Garden logos too. :eyes:

[TheCowsCameHome]

23. Cool. Why don't they have decals plastered on their windshields?

I never understood that.:rofl:

[CBGLuthier]

5. Bent over Backwards not to pick Tiger Woods

Even without winning a major he dominated his sport like no one else did this year.

[KamaAina]

33. When you think about it, Tiger really did give the best all-around performance of the year

by quite a long shot. :evilgrin:

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

37. You mean Golf? or Broad Jump?

But he won't win any prizes for driving a car.

:hi:

[tonysam]

6. That's not nearly as outrageous as when Sports Illustrated

back in 1973 named Jackie Stewart as "Sportsman of the Year" because Stewart decided to quit auto racing.

This was outrageous in light of the fact 1973 was the year of Secretariat's sensational Triple Crown campaign. Few people remember Jackie Stewart; millions upon millions of people, horse racing fans and the general public, revere Secretariat as the greatest racehorse of all time.

[dmallind]

7. No doubt you will be told this is a demanding unpleasant activity

And it is. There's some pretty high temperatures, uncomfortable gear, and bodily demands. Not to mention the constant attention, focus and risk.

Of course the same could be said of working in a steel mill. Both jobs have rigorous demands. Neither is an example of an athlete. Some people tend to confuse the two.

[Bluzmann57]

8. I don't really follow NASCAR

although I don't begrudge those who do. And I have questioned whether or not these guys are athletes. Having said all that, the question onwe should ask oneself is, "Could I do that week after week?' Drive around 170-200 mph and be literally inches from others who are doing the same thing. My answer is "No I couldn't". So congratulations to Jimmie Johnson.

[liberal N proud]

9. Have you ever listened to NASCAR on the radio?

He's making another left turn....

[LiberalFighter]

16. So isn't NASCAR a liberal sport?

Maybe they should have NASCAR for liberals where they go around the track counter-clockwise (the right way). Because all races are (that I know of) run counter-clockwise.

And they should have NASCAR for conservatives where they go around the track clockwise.

[liberal N proud]

55. Te US is the only place racing is counter clockwise

[Walk away]

25. Well, I thought it was funny! nt

[joeunderdog]

50. There's some actual audio here...

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/nascar_coach_reveals_winning

[ZombieHorde]

10. Women who give birth should win Athlete of the Year. nt

[snooper2]

11. growing up in the backwoods of the shithole called Missouri

I can honestly say NASCAR sucks ass...



Had he been in motorcross racing that would be a different story :P

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

12. I find NASCAR boring, but auto racing IS a sport. These guys ARE athletes.

The training of a F1 driver, for instance, is brutal.

[alfredo]

13. There was a time when a "burly" rustic could make it in

auto racing, but now they can't chance an out of shape driver bonking 300 miles into a 500 mile race.

A lighter driver puts less strain on the car. 30 lbs could make a big difference on fuel milage in a sport where they know exactly how much fuel is being used. 30 lbs can give or take away that extra inch that can win a race.

A fitter driver can better handle the physical stress. They have more endurance so they will be sharper come the end of the race. They won't be missing a turn because they are so exhausted they lose concentration.

Remember when Indy Car drivers were upset that Danica had an advantage because she is so light?

[jmowreader]

60. A lighter driver gives the crew chief more options

A NASCAR racecar weighs 3400 pounds--3200 of that is car, 200 driver. If the driver weighs less than 200, they add 10-pound lead weights to bring the car up to its proper weight.

Here's the catch: they don't tell you WHERE the weights have to go, just that when they put the driver in the car and push it onto the scale, it better weigh at least 3400 pounds. This lets the crew chief put the weights where he thinks they'll most benefit the driver.

[alfredo]

61. I'm waiting to see what Danica does in the Nationwide series.

I hope she takes to it. She is a hot head so I don't know how she will cope with being in a contact sport.

[Spider Jerusalem]

15. You have to be an athlete to handle the G-forces in cornering, etc

and...NASCAR is boring; next F1 season should be interesting, though--I expect that Alonso is going to find out that the move to Ferrari won't be what he was expecting, especially if Massa is back on form; and the lack of in-race refuelling will make things all about tire management...not to mention the expanded grid (assuming all the new teams make it to the start of the season).

[Johonny]

36. I agree

Don't care about it, but I understand the guy did something truly unique in his sport. At the same time his dominance has sort of hurt his sport since the new format was suppose to make the sport more exciting at the finish and thus rope in more casual fans. Instead he has simply flat out taken most of the made for TV drama out of the sport. Fun, fun.

[Walk away]

14. NASCAR is "the people's sport" so maybe it's about the recession.

I believe you have to be in pretty great shape to drive on a competitive level. On top of that you need to have incredible hand/eye co-ordination and excellent focus.

NYC is my home town so we only acknowledge Basketball and Baseball as sports but NASCAR makes a lot of folks happy.

[taterguy]

20. Ever try to book a hotel in a city hosting a NASCAR race?

People's sport my ass

[Walk away]

24. what on earth does that have to do with it? Maybe "The People"...

...stayed in the local hotels. Or are you implying that thousands of elitist NASCAR fans/Metro sexuals are buying up hotel rooms to shut out regular folk? If you are....that's funny!

[taterguy]

27. I'm inplying that live NASCAR is too expensive for regular folks

Like everything else, money grubbers have ruined it

[jmowreader]

62. No...you're coming right out and saying it. And you're right.

Tickets to the Coca-Cola 600 run anywhere from $49 to $139 a head. Add food, drinks, probably a hotel room for at least one night...you're looking at five, six hundred dollars for a weekend's entertainment. You might also want to attend qualifying, and they sell tickets to that. If you want to go to the Nationwide race the day before, that'll cost you.

What I think is neat about racing: it is the only sport around where every team in the league plays on the same field on any given weekend. Plus, there's no homefield advantage. Did Miami beat New England at home because they're a better team, or because they were playing in Land Shark Stadium? If they would have played in Foxboro would it have made any difference? If the Patriots would have played the Jets this weekend would they have won? You guys who love football can argue this to excess; NASCAR fans don't have to worry about it. If Gordon, Harvick, Stewart and Johnson roll off the trailer in Bristol and Stewart wins, it's because Stewart's operation ran a better race.

[wilt the stilt]

17. My brother works for Porsche

and the thought is that NASCAR is the least interesting of the racing groups. It dumbs down the advances we have made in engineering and the thought is to make everyone equal so everyone is on the same lap.

[Godhumor]

19. A) His achievement is a pretty remarkable run B) Drivers are definitely athletes

I don't follow the sport, but I do know that Johnson's streak is extremely impressive in any light, especially considering the lengths that NASCAR goes to keep car performance on a relative equal footing.

That said, I have also read that drivers can lose almost 20 pounds in water weight from the heat, constant concentration and sheer amount of muscle movement in one race. I certainly think there is some athletic prowess going on there.

[Realityhack]

31. There absolutely is.

Drivers need to be very physically fit.
On the other hand I am not sure that just needing to be physically fit to compete makes something an athletic activity... and thus the participant an athlete.
I can see both sides of this one.

[Saboburns]

22. I really enjoy the sport of NASCAR

There's quite a bit of teamwok in this sport. There's quite a bit of NAscar hate around here, and mucho stereotyping as well. My absolute favorite vacation of the year is taking a camper to Charlotte every Memorial Day for the 600 miler. We camp in a field with a couple of hundred thousand fans who have such a good time. NASCAR fans are some of the kindest, curteous, fun-loving people anywhere. And the race is so
ething to behold.

I understand NASCAR isn't for everybody buy I must admit I don't like the horrible stereotyping about it here on DU. And I would encourage folk to go take in a race in person, I think that would open a lot of eyes.

BTW not that it means anything but I love soccer, ecspecially English Premier League and Champions League matches. I have coached High School Football for 19 years and I say NASCAR is a sport with incredible competition.

I'm no Jimmy Johnson fan but what he's accomplished the past four years with the level of competition is very deserving of this award.

[Initech]

26. At least I'm glad it wasn't Alex Rodriguez.

[madinmaryland]

28. His achievement is incredible! BTW, HOW ABOUT THEM COWBOYS!!1!!

:woohoo:

[KamaAina]

39. Not that Jimmy Johnson, ding-dong!

:P

[oldlib]

29. One way circle?

I've always thought, that to make NASCAR more interesting, they should have half the drivers drive in one direction and the other half drive in the opposite direction. This would make the race look more like the freeways that we drive daily.

[frylock]

30. tell you what sport..

this ain't like driving down to the grocery. why don't you see how you hold up driving for 3.5 hours in a 120 degree cockpit at 180+ MPH. hell, i'd like to see how you'd do on the simulators. of course, i already know you'd be riding the wall like a drunk.

[grahampuba]

32. all "athletes' are over rated imo.

basketball,.. meh.
football.. little more skill.
soccer,.. theres some endurance for you..

but the most under rated of them all..

big mountain snowboarders and surfers.



if you want to see some others, check out 'Terje' 'First Descent'

slightly short of superhuman.

[Cetacea]

57. Agreed. Except of course Roger Federer. He really is supernatural.

And the proper Athlete of the Year. Actually, of all time is more like it.

[CoffinEd]

34. Sorely Disappointed!

I thought the AP would award the honor to a bocce ball player. Beats golf in my opinion. B-)

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

38. Or Bocce's weird cousins, Curling and Feather Bowling

Some sports just go better with beer.

:hi:

[CoffinEd]

51. There you go!

And I'll drink to that! :toast:

[Judi Lynn]

35. Bowling is the sport of rulers.

http://seesdifferent.files.wordpress.com.nyud.net:8090/2006/07/nixon_bowling1.jpg

Bowling, and Demolition Derby.

http://www.woodbooger-demolition-derby.com.nyud.net:8090/images/demolition_derby_photo3.jpg

[DatManFromNawlins]

40. The best NASCAR driver...

... probably couldn't even qualify for a Formula 1 race.

[jayfish]

44. How's Juan Pablo Montoya Doing?

Other than winning an outright F1 championship he is one of the most accomplished drivers in all of motorsports. How come in four seasons running NASCAR he only has one win? How many open wheel drivers claimed an IROC title?

Jay

[LisaL]

41. Hey.

Some people can't manage to drive it out of driveway without crashing it into a fire hydrant, so what are you complaining about?

[MindPilot]

47. DUzy!

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[MadBadger]

56. Best Post Ever

[Orsino]

42. Delete. Redundant. n/t

[madmom]

43. My daughter was laughed at in high school when asked what sport she played and she replied..

I dance. So I guess if all the requirements from above are what makes an athlete, she was most definitely right.

[npk]

45. Most sports are based on simple concepts

Shooting a ball into a basket isn't exactly profound. Neither is hitting a golf ball, running or catching a football. So a NASCAR driver should be no different than any other athlete as far as awards go. It is a dangerous sport and a lot of concentration goes into driving around those ovals over and over again. And just for the record, not all NASCAR tracks are circles. There are some road courses on the schedule as well.

[ohheckyeah]

46. Websters defines an athlete as

: a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina

Yes, Jimmy Johnson is an athlete.

[Subdivisions]

48. I dare you to try driving 500 miles in 3 hours in a 110+ degree cage. I double-dare you. n/t

[REP]

63. I would freaking LOVE to take that dare!!

I'm seriously considering getting a 4-point harness for my car and trying amateur autocross. Whee!!

[bigwillq]

49. So try it.

And then let us know how many races you win. Good Luck! :hi:

[HuckleB]

52. Get a life.

I'm not a fan of NASCAR, and I'm even less a fan of Johnson, but his run is remarkable, and auto racing is a sport, whether you like it or not.

[spanone]

53. some people just throw balls around....and some just run.

[sendero]

54. With some posts...

... it's impossible to tell if the poster is stupid or just ignorant.

[KittyWampus]

59. Aw, and I was rooting for Michael Vick. After all, he said he was sorry.

[tabasco]

65. One thing I like about NASCAR is that it started with bootleggers.

Nowadays it just has no appeal for me.

But I would enjoy a dirt track race.