Christopher Ryan

Are NASCAR Drivers Athletes?

THE QUESTION of the week is: “Are NASCAR drivers athletes?” This week, our guest artist and philosopher is Christopher Ryan. Chris is a very thoughtful, kind, and considerate 10 year old, who lives in St. James, Long Island and Silver Beach , the Bronx . Although he can be very serious, Chris also has a fabulous sense of humor. He is a 5 th grader at Mills Pond Elementary School in St. James. His teacher is Mr. Thornton.

Christopher's favorite subjects are math and social studies. He loves to play all sports, especially baseball, football, and hockey. He also likes to watch sports. In the summer, he enjoys going to Yankee Stadium with his dad to watch the Yankees play baseball. His favorite football team is the New York Giants. His favorite hockey team is the New York Rangers. And, his favorite baseball team is the New York Yankees. Chris likes watching movies too. Recent favorites include “Remember the Titans” and “ Madagascar .”

The question Chris took on is: Are NASCAR drivers athletes? My discussion with Chris was the most in-depth interview, thus far, with THE QUESTION. We talked for over one hour, and we could have gone on for much longer. Chris defended the view that NASCAR drivers are athletes. Simply put, his argument for his conclusion is that NASCAR is clearly a professional sport. All people who play professional sports are athletes. Therefore, NASCAR drivers are athletes.

Chris skillfully defended his view from several objections. One objection I raised for him is the following objection. “In order to qualify as an athlete, a person must demonstrate physical agility, be coordinated, and be in good physical condition. Driving a racing car requires none of these qualifications. Therefore, NASCAR Drivers do not qualify as athletes.” Chris had two responses. Chris maintained that these standards are probably too high. According to these standards, many golfers, football players, baseball players, etc. would probably not count as athletes. But, according to Chris, they obviously should count as athletes. Chris also pointed out that driving a race car for hundreds of miles does require enormous stamina, physical fitness, coordination, and a reasonable amount of agility. So, even if those standards were appropriate, NASCAR drivers could all easily pass the test. Driving a race car does not require the sort of aerobic fitness required for marathoners, but Chris pointed out that different sports require different types of physical fitness. For example, a linebacker needs to be strong and agile. He would not need to have the aerobic capacity to run a marathon. A marathoner needs the capacity to run 26.5 miles, quickly. However, she does not need to be able to stop a 500+ lb. stampede of football players. Marathoners tend to be lightweight and thin. Being lightweight and thin helps marathoners excel in their sport. Being thin and lightweight would not be much help to a linebacker. In fact, being thin and lightweight would be a great disadvantage to a linebacker. One need not be light and thin or be of linebacker strength to be an excellent race car driver, but one does need to be in “car driving physical shape” to be a NASCAR driver. Drivers need to be able to withstand the physical challenges of dealing with extreme heat and the challenge of physically handling a race car going over one hundred miles per hour. NASCAR drivers need extremely sharp reflexes, endurance, courage, and split-second decision making skills.

Another objection Chris considered against his own view is this one: “If NASCAR drivers are athletes, then so are all chess players. But, clearly not all chess players are athletes. Therefore, NASCAR drivers are not athletes.” Chris's response to this attack on the athleticism of NASCAR drivers is that “Unlike NASCAR driving, Chess does not require any kind of physical fitness, physical strength, or physical coordination (other than what is required to move a chess piece.)”

Chris also stressed his simple, original, argument, which is that people who play sports (at a certain level) are athletes. He did not say that people who play games are athletes. Since chess is a game, but not a sport, he would not be stuck with the conclusion that chess players are athletes. Chris is only stuck with the conclusion that all people who play professional sports are athletes, and he is happy to be stuck with this conclusion.

(FYI: Chris's brother, Kyle, was chiming in throughout the interview. When we were discussing the chess objection, Kyle maintained that the World Chess Championship should count as a sporting event. It should count as a sport that requires absolutely no athleticism. With this comment, Kyle raised an interesting objection to Chris's claim that anyone who plays a professional sport is an athlete. Of course, now we have a new philosophical question: When is a game a sport?”)

Keep thinking!

I am proud to reveal that Christopher Ryan is my nephew.