Does it take real talent to be a race car driver?

May be...

That Question came up years ago when Dan Pastorini retired from the NFL and stepped into first drag boats then NHRA fuel classes, if memory serves he had a Top Fuel dragster about the time Shirley Muldowney was tearing up all of the records. At any rate Pastorini rips off a couple of wins at either national or regional events and the question came up how hard is it to compete in this sport? The answer was a professional quarter back with the reflexes that came with it and who could afford it, and a young lady who had grown up around cars just like most of the rest of the top wheels of the day. As for Formula 1 you don't want to know.

Imagine this. Sitting strapped into a vehicle for two hours or so. Driving at high speeds, sometimes over 200mph. You have 27or more people around you. G-forces are throwing you against your restraints. You have to keep your eyes on what is going on with your car, in your mirrors and what is going on around you. You have no power steering, meaning you must physically manhandle the car. Your feet get blistered from the heat of the gas and brake pedals. Not to mention the mental strain of no timeouts, no halftime, no breaks until the end of your race.

Does it take real talent to be a race car driver? What do YOU think?!

It takes alot of talent because just being able to control a car at the speed there usually going is tough! So to answer your question yes

it does, but it is'nt this "fairytale" first go, and hey presto! you are kicking some serious ***! life is'nt like that, one thing you haveot remmeber is that a lot of these race drivers have been practicing for years, in go karts, midgets, then into cars proper. money does play a very big part, some people get the breaks, some don't, there are people who get the breaks but blow it.

overall, drivers are talented at what they do, but they aren't good by luck, it is the natural aptitude for driving fast aligned with (in some cases) hard work at improving their driving. however, becasue motorsport costs a lot of money, you aren't going to see someone from downtown detroit, who lives in a trailer park win the INDY 500, or somebody who has grown up in the bronx winning the Daytona 500, or to give this question an european flavour, you wont see someone from peckham in london winnign the F1 world championship.

There schools you can go to. It would take some training--such as this:
http://www.skipbarber.com/
http://www.jeffgordonracingschool.com/
http://www.racingadventure.com/
You would probably have to do good in a school and get seen by possible sponsors.......

YES IT DOES. DANICA PATRICK WORKS OUT REGULARLY TO HAVE ENDURANCE AND STAMINA TO BE ABLE TO RACE FOR THAT LONG. CHECK OUT THIS SITE http://www.indycar.com/tech/physical.php

Looks like the Blue Falcon strikes again! I couldn't say it any better. It's funny that baseball is a sport but not racing when most of the time you are standing around in the outfield waiting to go sit down in the dugout. Yawn.

Always

I have been looking at the requirements and backgrounds of race car drivers and it seems like it is for someone who has lots of money or connections. It doesn't look like alot of people even take up the activity as drivers school is expensive and there are few tracks. Of course it is daring but does is it really that physical and if so, does the physical skill only have to be somewhat better then the few that even consider taking up the sport? Are these drivers just marginal fish in a small pond?

Which racing series are you referring to? Some series is more about money and connections, especially open wheel racing in America. And, yeah, some in stock car racing as well. But the majority do not come from wealthy families, at least in NASCAR, and believe me, there are plenty of racers in this country. Just about every city has a local dirt track that runs races at least once a week, usually more. There is never a shortage of talented drivers looking for a shot at one of the top three NASCAR series.

About the physical part... It's a very physical sport. I remember Kyle Busch had salt crystals on his uniform from sweating so much during a race. The talent part also includes reflexes, reaction times, and that sixth sense of knowing what you can and can't do with your car at any given moment (car control). You can teach car control to an extent, but some people have a knack for it at a level you just can't teach (Kyle Busch comes to mind).

So, it really depends on what racing series you're looking at. But regardless, it takes a lot of skill, trust me. Try racing some on a PC or a console, and you'll see what I mean.

The answer is yes and no. It definitely takes talent to do what they do. I hate when people say they could hop in a car and be just as fast. Thats ignorance. But racing IS hard to get into. Thus the amount of people you have to be better than is significantly less than it would be in other sports where many more kids can and do participate in. And because so few people actually ever get to race a car, they dont appreciate the talent required to do so.