CNN's Dr Sanjay Gupta and NASCAR

[Lugnut]

A documentary about the physiological impact of stock car racing on a race car driver was recently televised on CNN. Dr. Gupta, whose parents are both automotive engineers for Ford Motor Co., spent time at the race track and also took some laps in a Nextel Cup stock car. He was wired with monitors to measure his heart rate, body temperature and other body functions while he drove those laps to show viewers what happens to the body of a race car driver in simulated competition. He was also interviewed by Racing Milestones, a monthly racing publication. You can read the interview here.

http://www.racingmilestones.com/from_issue/12152005_1.shtml

snip:

Did you believe these guys were athletes before you shot the special?
Not necessarily. I’m being honest. I think that there was the perception that they were these beer-swilling, cigar-smoking, pot-bellied guys…the perception is that because that is the history. But it is changing…but not with everybody.
Tony Stewart, he laughed at us … obviously a great driver, but he’s also a gamesman and prankster and some people believe that Tony doesn’t let on as much that he is trying to be healthy. He’s clearly not as in shape as a Mark Martin or Carl Edwards, and when you saw him win at the Brickyard he couldn’t even speak when he got out of the car. He’s better shape than he lets on.

Do you watch races on TV whenever you can?
I do. Having worked on the documentary, you know I got to know some of these guys and, like when Rusty Wallace and the jack broke in that one race, you felt for the guy. Those are the striking things about NASCAR for me. I live in Atlanta. We have professional sports and I know who the guys are that play for the Hawks, the Falcons, the Braves. I know who they are, but I don’t feel as rooted to them. With NASCAR every single race is like an all-star game and you really start to feel connected to the drivers. Like Carl, just because I went mountain biking with him and I know him and he’s just a kid and he’s so mature and you just want to see him do well…I do watch and I root and my friends will look me and say, ‘I don’t get it, it’s a bunch of left-hand turns. What is that all about?’ Once you start to learn about NASCAR you really feel connected to it.