Definitional Argument
Tori King
Mrs. Hawkins
Dual Credit English IV
27 March 2013
Race Car Drivers: True Athletes?
Most race car drivers are known to participate in the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, NASCAR, which are racing series. I have known a "true" athlete to be a person who attends a practice, works at said practice, arrives at a competition, competes at said competition and makes an income. There have been several debates and arguments about whether race car drivers can be dubbed "true athletes," but all of these turn into completely biased articles that eventually receive "hate" responses. Race car drivers are people who sit on the fence of being called an athlete, and not being called an athlete. Race car drivers, like all other athletes, go through physical conditioning. You can't just sit behind the wheel of a racecar and automatically know the ins and outs of racing. Not only does it take precision, but quick thinking and willingness to step into a world full of danger. "Car racing is a daredevil's game. It's fast and dangerous. Only the bravest and most skilled drivers earn the sport's highest honors." (A Daredevils Guide to Car Racing, Murray) As it may be, many race car drivers are people just like you and me. They have families and friends. People who worry about them while they are out on the track racing their cars dangerously as a living. Racing is how they earn the money to support their families with. Some racers have therapists for the things they see on the track while driving. "According to the Bureau of Transportation statistics the United States averaged 6.1 million traffic accidents per year over the period 2001–2008. This number includes minor fender-benders to major events. Those accidents resulted in an average of 42,000 fatalities per year. Meanwhile, NASCAR averaged about 220 crashes per year over the 9-year span of 2001–2009. Based on the ratio of one fatality per 146 accidents on U.S. roads, a similar fatality count in
Mrs. Hawkins
Dual Credit English IV
27 March 2013
Race Car Drivers: True Athletes?
Most race car drivers are known to participate in the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, NASCAR, which are racing series. I have known a "true" athlete to be a person who attends a practice, works at said practice, arrives at a competition, competes at said competition and makes an income. There have been several debates and arguments about whether race car drivers can be dubbed "true athletes," but all of these turn into completely biased articles that eventually receive "hate" responses. Race car drivers are people who sit on the fence of being called an athlete, and not being called an athlete. Race car drivers, like all other athletes, go through physical conditioning. You can't just sit behind the wheel of a racecar and automatically know the ins and outs of racing. Not only does it take precision, but quick thinking and willingness to step into a world full of danger. "Car racing is a daredevil's game. It's fast and dangerous. Only the bravest and most skilled drivers earn the sport's highest honors." (A Daredevils Guide to Car Racing, Murray) As it may be, many race car drivers are people just like you and me. They have families and friends. People who worry about them while they are out on the track racing their cars dangerously as a living. Racing is how they earn the money to support their families with. Some racers have therapists for the things they see on the track while driving. "According to the Bureau of Transportation statistics the United States averaged 6.1 million traffic accidents per year over the period 2001–2008. This number includes minor fender-benders to major events. Those accidents resulted in an average of 42,000 fatalities per year. Meanwhile, NASCAR averaged about 220 crashes per year over the 9-year span of 2001–2009. Based on the ratio of one fatality per 146 accidents on U.S. roads, a similar fatality count in