With the 2008 Beijing olympics now under way, I was thinking whether we should petition the IOC and have stockcar racing as a olympic sport, it could be a demonstation sport next time Canada or the USA host the olympic games.
Before y'all laugh, in 1900 motorsports were a demonstation sport.
Here is a list of other olympic sports that have been discontinued by the IOC:
Not every Olympic event has been a success. Some, like live pigeon shooting and equestrian high jump, lasted just one year. Here's a look at some other sports no longer in the Olympic program:
Rope climb (1896, 1904, 1924, 1932): Using only their hands, competitors try to see how fast they can get to the top of the rope.
One-hand weightlifting (1896): Similar to the modern snatch event, but athletes were only allowed to use one hand.
Tug-of-war (1900-1920): Two teams of eight try to pull a rope six feet; if neither team reaches the mark after five minutes, the team that pulls the farthest wins.
Standing high jump (1900-1912): Same as the traditional high jump, only without a run-up.
Standing broad jump (1900-1912): The long jump without a run-up.
Standing triple jump (1900-1904): Also known as the hop, step and jump; started from a stationary position.
Underwater swimming (1900): Swimmers were awarded points for how far they went and how long they stayed under water.
Swimming obstacle race (1900): Racers had to swim through the River Seine, climb up and down a pole, then go over and under several boats.
Live pigeon shooting (1900): The birds were released and shooters tried to kill as many as possible.
Equestrian high jump (1900): Riders see who can jump the highest on horseback.
Equestrian long jump (1900): Long jumping on horseback.
Basque pelota (1900): A form of handball played mostly on the border of Spain and France.
Rugby union (1900, 1908-24): One of the most popular team sports in the world still waiting to get back into the Olympics.
56-pound weight throw (1904, 1920): A 56-pound weight affixed with a handle that's thrown over a pole vault bar.
All-around dumbbell contest (1904): Competitors performed 10 different lifts with dumbbells over two days.
Club swinging (1904): Similar to rhythmic gymnastics, only the competitors swing clubs around their bodies.
Plunge diving (1904): From a standing position, divers see how far they can go without taking a stroke.
Duelling pistol (1906): Shooters fired at mannequins wearing frock coats and bull's-eyes on their chests.
Motor boating (1908): Three categories of races in boats; IOC later decided against allowing anything with a motor.
Jeu de paume (1908): Similar to squash, only competitors use their hands instead of a racket to strike the ball.
Plain high diving (1912-24): Divers were not allowed to do any acrobatic moves; they just dove straight into the water.
Tumbling (1932): Athletes do flips and twists along a two-foot-wide strip; now part of the modern gymnastics floor exercise.
Solo synchronized swimming (1984-92): Swimmers were awarded points based on routines synchronized to music.
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Last edited by nascar_freak : 08-09-2008 at 02:14 AM.
So I was think while watching the Olympics that there should be some sort of motorsports competition like it
I mean stick and ball/ running sports have the olympics extreme sports have the x games why not something for motorsports
think of all the possiblities there would be different events for every type of track from 2.5 mile superspeedway to 1/4 mile dirt track to 23 mile road course
and each would have different types of cars compete on the different styles of track as different competion you'd have sprint car 1/4 mile dirt track to late model to stock car all on the same track to Indy and stock cars on a mile and a half
and not only would it just be races there would also be other competitions as well
ex.
pit stops
tire changing
engine building
the posiblities are endless
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"It's all fun and games until somebody wrecks a racecar" Larry McRenyolds
So after seeing the thread earlier about making nascar an olympic sport I got think forget one event make a whole event
you have the olympics for stick and ball sports you have the Xgames for extreme sports well how about a motorsports competition think of the different events
each track type would be a different event example 1/4 mile short track or 2.5 mile superspeedway and have different cars for different event 1/5 of a mile dirt car 1.5 mile open wheel car 3/4 mile stock car 1/4 mile sprint car
and it could not only be limited to cars and track how about
tire change
engine build (for each different type)
team pit stop
the possibilies are endless
Maybe it could be kind of like that Motorstorm game on the PS3!! That would be so cool!
So I was think while watching the Olympics that there should be some sort of motorsports competition like it
I mean stick and ball/ running sports have the olympics extreme sports have the x games why not something for motorsports
think of all the possiblities there would be different events for every type of track from 2.5 mile superspeedway to 1/4 mile dirt track to 23 mile road course
and each would have different types of cars compete on the different styles of track as different competion you'd have sprint car 1/4 mile dirt track to late model to stock car all on the same track to Indy and stock cars on a mile and a half
and not only would it just be races there would also be other competitions as well
ex.
pit stops
tire changing
engine building
the posiblities are endless
i thought i had written this a few days ago i just assumed it had vanished into cyberspace
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"It's all fun and games until somebody wrecks a racecar" Larry McRenyolds
Eddie Gossage can swivel in his chair, look out his office window and into the infield of Texas Motor Speedway, and visualize it. A podium, and fluttering high above, a white flag featuring five interlocked, multi-colored rings. A national anthem being played over the public address system as drivers are awarded medals of gold, silver and bronze.
That was the dream, at least, and it was every bit as big as the 160,000-seat racetrack in Fort Worth. For a little while, it seemed realistic -- even possible -- that NASCAR drivers might one day crash the Olympics. In 1997, the new president of the region's new speedway was part of a 50-person committee tasked with putting together a bid to try and bring the 2012 Games to the Dallas area. And in the immediate aftermath of his facility's ultra-successful opening, Gossage thought: why not attempt to include auto racing, even as an unofficial, demonstration sport?
The potential was dizzying. At the time, Gossage could envision drivers like Jeff Gordon, Michael Schumacher, and the late Dale Earnhardt walking into an Olympic Stadium for opening ceremonies. He could see drivers competing for their respective national teams. He could hope for eventual graduation from demonstration to official sport, following the same path taken by baseball, judo, badminton and tennis.
"How special would that have been?" he said, his enthusiasm for the effort still palpable even 11 years later. Some would dismiss it as another one of Gossage's promotional vehicles -- like offering a reward for any driver who throws his helmet, like trying to coax Dale Earnhardt Jr. into an IndyCar, like alerting the media after a storm blew down one of the track's scoring towers. But getting auto racing into the Olympics was no joke.
"Just because you have a colorful imagination, which I do, doesn't mean you're not honest or serious about it," he said. "Would I have loved to have gotten Dale Earnhardt Jr. in an IndyCar back in June? You bet. Would I like to host the Texas-Oklahoma football game here at Texas Motor Speedway? Absolutely. Would I want us to be the venue to host the first ever Olympic motorsports event? No question about it. All those things are legitimate. Now, trying to make them happen is tough. But if you can pull one off every once in a while, then we're all better for it. And I truly thought we had a legitimate chance of actually awarding gold, silver and bronze in Olympic competition to somebody in auto racing."
And why not? What started as the dream of a sales manager at an Arlington, Texas, trash-hauling company -- he figured, if Atlanta could get the Olympics, so could Dallas -- eventually turned into a serious regional effort to host a $2 billion Summer Games. Gossage said other members of the area's organizing committee liked the idea of including auto racing, seeing it as something that could set their bid apart. For NASCAR and auto racing in general, Gossage saw Olympic involvement as a way of capturing the worldwide audience that's glued to curling and gymnastics every four years.
I know I was particularly enthused at the prospect of not only hosting an Olympic event, but a unique Olympic event. Something that was historic and special," he said. "I truly believed it was something that was good for our sport in the long run. It would expose our sport to people who wouldn't normally watch it. I mean, I'm watching water polo, women's water polo, [recently], and I was excited about it. Just like that, I felt like it would expose motorsports to people who otherwise might not have been exposed to it. That would have been exciting."
But for motorsports to have any chance, the track president knew, he'd have to find a way to create one equitable competition out of all the disparate disciplines that exist around the globe. So he mailed questionnaires out to drivers in NASCAR, people in Formula One and World Rally, asking for ideas. He received almost all of them back.
"I vividly remember Jeff Gordon's response, because it was written, and it was pages," Gossage said. "He really spent a lot of time to give me thoughts on what the event should look like. Because we're unique in that we're an oval racing country, by and large. The rest of the world is road racing. I remember asking the question at the time, how do we convince Michael Schumacher and Dale Earnhardt to race against each other, and make sure it's all fair and even? That was a real tough balancing act, because of the international differences and the cultural differences in racing around the globe."
No surprise, but many of the drivers questioned thought their style of racing would be most fair. Gossage surmised that the final product might have looked something like the Race of Champions, an annual showcase that allows drivers representing different nations to compete against one another in identically prepared cars and on parallel tracks. Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have both driven in the event, which will be held in London's Wembley Stadium in December. "Over time, we realized, that's what we were developing, that kind of concept," Gossage said.
But the conceptual never became reality. The U.S. Olympic Committee found the Dallas bid to be short on specifics, and eliminated the city in late 2001. New York eventually won the American bid, but lost to London for the right to host the 2012 Games. The Dallas effort has since been shuttered, likely taking any hopes of auto racing Olympic medals with it. "It was a tough thing to manage all these communities to try and get a unified front," said Gossage, referring to the tensions that have always existed between Dallas and Fort Worth. "I think it could have happened. But it's going to be tough to get everybody back to that table again."
It might have all been for naught, anyway. Even if Dallas had won the right to host the 2012 Games, auto racing would have almost certainly been a hard sell to the International Olympic Committee, which has since eliminated demonstration sports in an effort to curb the sprawling size of the Summer Games. Of course, the IOC seems to have made an exception in the case of Beijing, which has added the Chinese martial art of wushu to this year's program. The 2008 Games also mark the debut of bicycle motocross. Can cars be far behind?
Maybe not. We'll likely never see Kyle Busch and Juan Montoya walk into an Olympic stadium alongside Kobe Bryant and Michael Phelps. But gazing out his office window at Texas Motor Speedway, Eddie Gossage can still dream.
"I can see the podium, and awarding of the gold, silver and bronze," he said. "To think about Jeff Gordon or the late Dale Earnhardt marching in with the U.S. Olympic team in the opening ceremonies ... I mean, how special would that have been?"
The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.
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"It's all fun and games until somebody wrecks a racecar" Larry McRenyolds
So I was think while watching the Olympics that there should be some sort of motorsports competition like it
I mean stick and ball/ running sports have the olympics extreme sports have the x games why not something for motorsports
think of all the possiblities there would be different events for every type of track from 2.5 mile superspeedway to 1/4 mile dirt track to 23 mile road course
and each would have different types of cars compete on the different styles of track as different competion you'd have sprint car 1/4 mile dirt track to late model to stock car all on the same track to Indy and stock cars on a mile and a half
and not only would it just be races there would also be other competitions as well
ex.
pit stops
tire changing
engine building
the posiblities are endless
This is a cool idea but if drivers from NASCAR were to compete they only have a small window of opportunity. Or were you thinking more just all around drivers not real professionals, just those skilled enough? Anyways it sounds good to me. Market it, you're young enough to develop this and make millions of $. And we can say we knew you when.
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"My wiener has never been so exhausted." - Kurt Busch
This is a cool idea but if drivers from NASCAR were to compete they only have a small window of opportunity. Or were you thinking more just all around drivers not real professionals, just those skilled enough? Anyways it sounds good to me. Market it, you're young enough to develop this and make millions of $. And we can say we knew you when.
thanks well it could be accomplished in as little as a week i think so not taking up to much time now to email Eddie Gossage since i think he'd go wit it the way the story i posted sounds
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"It's all fun and games until somebody wrecks a racecar" Larry McRenyolds
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