What is a "professional" race car driver and why the people you think are pros probably aren't.

Of course, there is so much racing out in the world that it's impossible to explain all of the different scenarios. All levels of motorsports have insanely talented people, and a surprising amount of what you think is "pro" racing is just the same thing you'd see at your local NASA or SCCA weekend event but with 10 times the money. There are some lucky and talented people that are skilled enough and marketable enough to be paid simply to race the car fast, but that is rare, and a surprising amount of people you see on TV racing would not be doing so if they weren't bringing a lot of money to the table.

If you're ever sad that you're not fast enough to race at the top level, at least take solace in the fact that you're too poor to race at the top level too!