Are NASCAR Drivers athletes?

As the clock ticks away on the 2013 NASCAR season concluding at Homestead this weekend, a hot debate has been brought up.  Jimmie Johnson is likely to be crowned with his sixth Championship on Sunday. That'll make it a whopping  6 championships in 8 years which is in  most eyes, and astounding accomplishment.

As the sports world looks back on Jimmie Johnson's remarkable success in his career it has been debated if he is the most dominate athlete of the decade. To those who disagree with such a statement they've made it very clear why. They don't believe drivers are athletes. Ex football star turned Fox Sports 1 analyst Donovan Mcnabb had this to say Friday night when asked  where he ranks Jimmie Johnson on the list of "Greatest athletes" of this decade.

"I put him third and I like what he has been able to do you gotta give him a little credit Do I think he's an athlete? Absolutely not". Charissa Thompson obviously taken back by such a statement asked for clarification. Donovan didn't hold back. "He sits in a car and drives that doesn't mean your athletic".Donovan went on to say he thought Jimmie was "extremely talented" and "elite". He went on to rank Jimmie behind Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant.

Elite is right. Since entering the NASCAR Sprint Cup series in 2002 Jimmie Johnson has racked up 4 Brickyard 400 wins, 2 Dayton 500 wins, 66 wins(8th all time) and 5 straight championships(only trailing Richard "the king" Petty and the iconic Dale Earnhardt Sr). Assuming he wins the championship on Sunday that would give him 6 championships trailing Petty and Earnhardt only by one.

Jimmie Johnson cant fly through the air like Michael Jordan, He isn't a athletic monster such as the 6'8 250 pound LeBron James. He doesn't hit game winner after game winner as Kobe Bryant does. He isn't taking hits on the football field as all NFL players do. He isn't throwing 99 mph fastballs or scoring the next winning hockey goal or soccer goal, He is driving a car.

If you came to me and told me drivers such as Travis Kvapil or Danica Patrick our athletes I'd most likely laugh in your face. But as elite as Jimmie Johnson? Yes. I know the work Jimmie Johnson puts in, I know the 40 miles he runs every week, the weight lifting he does, the constant information he studies and learns about each track. He knows every detail about  his race car there is to know and  feeds that info back into his partner in crime Chad Knaus. Jimmie is one hard working man.

Jimmie Johnson and all elite NASCAR drivers have the concentration and patient to race a car at 200 mph for 4 hours or more every Sunday. That's talent. That's skill. That's an athlete. Maybe Jimmie Johnson cant jump shoot or throw like the athletes Americans enjoy but that doesn't make him lesser of an athlete than other men/woman who do different sports. He just uses different skills in his sport. There needs to be more respect for the sport of NASCAR which at times is questioned wither it is a sport or not. Every professional sport has its challenges and NASCAR's is different than most.

Do I think all drivers are athletes? No I do not. Is Jimmie Johnson? yes he is, and a darn good driver too.