Is NASCAR bad for the environment?

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

I'm wondering. I can't see this being referred to as a sport. I'm not saying anything about whether it's a valid sport or not, I'm just wondering what the impact of driving in circles has on this planet. That goes for formula 1 as well.

[KamaAina]

1. Only when Bush* shows up and outgasses all that hot air

Talk about your global warming...

Seriously, a study years ago ranked auto racing something like 14th among all sports in use of fuel. True, it uses a lot more on the track, but team sports like baseball and football use lots of fuel on road trips, etc.

[Heyo]

2. Not another NASCAR bashing thread...

What about the tens of thousands of jobs it creates, and the fact that it entertains 75 million people...?

One days worht of transatlantic airline flights uses way more fuel than NASCAR's whole season..

Heyo

[Sandpiper]

11. The same argument can be made

What about the tens of thousands of jobs it creates, and the fact that it entertains 75 million people...?

For every major professional sport. The difference though is that during a football/baseball/basketball game, the players aren't wasting a limited resource and filling the air with toxic emissions.

[Zero Gravitas]

16. they do

many MLB/NBA/NFL teasm have their own planes. Mark Cuban bought a brand new 767 for his NBA team. I bet they use as much fuel going to and from one away game than NASCAR does for a race.

[Sandpiper]

17. The operative word here is

"During" the game

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

6. great point!!!

never thought of that. thanks!!! :toast:

[Heyo]

10. A little best-guess math....

The fuel cell on a NASCAR Nextel Cup car is around 22 gallons..

They refuel them about 4 times or so during an average race...

So lets say they use roughly 100 gallons per car per race (might be 110 or 115 but it makes the math easier)

There are 43 cars on the track at each race.

That's 4300 gallons per race..

With the Nextel Cup race, and Busch series race, and the Craftsman Truck Series ( those are the three main races they have each week) it's about 13000-14000 gallons of fuel..

Add in qualifying, 'happy hour' and practice.. add another thousand gallons or so....

So we're up around 15000 to 16000 gallons of racing fuel per week.

One flight from the US East Coast to the West Coast burns around 15,000 to 17,000 gallons of jet fuel.. ONE flight.

So one SINGLE cross country flight = NASCAR's entire week's schedule of events. (about 36 weeks a year, and then it's off season)

Think of the amount of airling flights.. cross country.... regional city to city... plus trans-oceanic flights and other flights abroad... plus the MILLIONS of passenger cars on the road.....construction equipment...

Racing hardly registers on the scale, if at all...

All my figures are best guestimates, so forgive me if they're not exact..

Maybe this will shed some light...

Heyo

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

12. another excellent point my friend!

Oy vey! thank's for your guesstimates :toast:

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

13. BTW - I had hoped that I had shown that I wasn't NASCAR bashing

it was a question. You answered it. Please don't start college basketball bashing or I'll have to come up with guesstimates of my own and my brain ain't up for it! :)

[Heyo]

14. right on...

:toast:

[arewethereyet]

3. yes but so is your Briggs and Stratton lawn mower

there are about 150 cars and trucks running for 2-3 hours on a weekend in the major racing series as opposed to millions of lawn mowers. You tell me ?

[EstimatedProphet]

4. It's no better or worse than other cars...

It's the Freepers that are part of the NASCAR crowd that are bad for the environment.
Notice I said PART of. I know that that's not all NASCAR fans.

[OneTwentyoNine]

5. Man am I glad we have that little box with the X in it.....Using it now...

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

7. what do you mean?

I'm confused

[Qutzupalotl]

8. I think OneTwentyoFive is hiding your thread

which can be done inside a forum by clicking on the X box next to the thread title. It's like the ignore feature, for threads.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

9. what can I do?

why would someone do that? I don't mean to be naive but WTF?

[AtTheEndOfTheDay]

20. Stress relief

It allows those who are so offended by a subject that even glimpsing it in passing causes difficulty, to preserve their delicate sensibilities.

[Zero Gravitas]

15. No it isn't

It would make more sense to ask whether NBA, MLB or NFL teams are bad for the envoronment as they often use provate jets to transport the teams which use far more fuel than a motor race does.

[Sushi_lover]

18. spectator sports

spectator sports that draw stadiums full of people are probably causing pollution

spectators burning fossil fuels to get there
sewage
land used to develop the facility
mountains of disposable trash

I can't think of any spectator sports that are GOOD for the environment.

But is NASCAR worse than other spectator sports? I doubt it. Transportation for NFL events probably spews more pollutants than all those folks trekking to NASCAR races.

Then again, NASCAR is not exactly a ringing endorsement of public transportation, is it?

Hey, you know all those pit crews worrying about fuel mileage? I wonder if they'll ever figure something out that goes back to the factory and ends up helping all of us. It would be their TANG, a justification of the whole NASCAR culture.

[SinkingInTheRain]

19. Yes and with an environmental president it could be banned or taxed

It wastes precious oil and is dangerous. The environmental groups with an environmental president would have enoug clout to either ban it or tax it to death.

[aldian159]

21. First thing first

ban/tax all SUV's unless the driver has a permit for ownership. 99% of SUVs are unnecessary and the only time they leave the road is when their driver's curb-check because they don't know how to turn the behemoths.

[SinkingInTheRain]

22. Fair enough

It would be tough medicine at first but I think most Americans would buy into it.

[Heyo]

24. Is this what a "troll" is?

n/t

[SinkingInTheRain]

25. No, this a sensible person that has no need for NASCAR and waste

It's my right to speak against anti-environmental activities.

[Stupdworld]

23. ill just say it now so it can get out of the way

jesus-loving, racist, redneck bastards

i was just sad that it took so long to say it. come on DU! YOU KNOW BETTER!