If participants aren't hitting, kicking, running, punching, cycling or catching, then it ain't sports. Guys as old as 49 are not athletes, the refrain goes, they are relics. Women, who have made significant contributions in drag racing, are hardly a presence in stock car racing. It's one of the last refuges of male-dominated sports. It's also a Southern phenomenon.
Some purists are still upset about what's happened to stock car racing.
Today's stock cars bear no relation to the stuff in the showroom. The engines and much of the drivetrain would be closer to cars sold decades ago. Without getting too technical, the most important working parts of a stock car have not advanced as they have in cars in dealerships. For purists, this has taken some of the fun out of this form of racing. Since millions are tied up in these cars, they are not driven as ruthlessly as they were.