Hard Turn
by Jeff Owens
Why isn’t racing an Olympic sport?
April 17, 2008
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Kris Johnson’s blog about NASCAR racing in China got me to thinking. The Olympics are coming up this summer in China. Why is there no racing on the schedule?
With auto racing as popular as it is worldwide, why isn’t it considered an Olympic sport?
Wouldn’t it be neat to see America’s top race car drivers – a mix of NASCAR and American Indy car stars – competing against the best drivers in the world?
Wouldn’t you like to see Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and others competing against stars from Formula One and sports car series from around the world, with each driver representing his own country?
What if they competed in several different events, using different cars on different tracks, with the drivers and teams scoring the most points taking home the gold, silver and bronze?
You could even see some of the NASCAR’s newest stars – Juan Pablo Montoya (Columbia), Dario Franchitti (Scotland), Patrick Carpentier (Canada) – competing for their home countries.
I know it sounds a bit like IROC, but nothing adds more intrigue and excitement to a routine sporting event than the patriotism and pageantry of international competition.
I recently attended the men’s Davis Cup tennis match between the United States and France in Winston-Salem, N.C. I have watched plenty of tennis, but never have I seen a crowd as raucous and rowdy as that one.
Pitting country against country, no matter the sport, adds a whole new element. Why not add it to NASCAR and auto racing?
With auto racing as popular as it is worldwide, why isn’t it considered an Olympic sport?
Wouldn’t it be neat to see America’s top race car drivers – a mix of NASCAR and American Indy car stars – competing against the best drivers in the world?
Wouldn’t you like to see Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and others competing against stars from Formula One and sports car series from around the world, with each driver representing his own country?
What if they competed in several different events, using different cars on different tracks, with the drivers and teams scoring the most points taking home the gold, silver and bronze?
You could even see some of the NASCAR’s newest stars – Juan Pablo Montoya (Columbia), Dario Franchitti (Scotland), Patrick Carpentier (Canada) – competing for their home countries.
I know it sounds a bit like IROC, but nothing adds more intrigue and excitement to a routine sporting event than the patriotism and pageantry of international competition.
I recently attended the men’s Davis Cup tennis match between the United States and France in Winston-Salem, N.C. I have watched plenty of tennis, but never have I seen a crowd as raucous and rowdy as that one.
Pitting country against country, no matter the sport, adds a whole new element. Why not add it to NASCAR and auto racing?
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