yup.. i made that comparison.
i don't have solid numbers to back it up, but i'd bet it costs as much to put on a NASCAR Sprint Cup race as it costs to launch the space shuttle.
figure how much the 43 teams that enter cars each week spend in preparation. then add in how much NASCAR and the track owners spend on promoting and getting everything ready. also add in how much the network covering it has tied up in setting up for it, and it becomes a not to very cheap Endeavor (pun kind of intended).. and they do it 35 times a year.
also, think about where the heart of NASCAR country is and overlay that with where the heart of NASA country is, and i'd bet there is a good chance that a lot of people that work for a NASCAR race team has a relative that works for NASA.
i didn't say a $150,000 race car is the same thing as a $1.5 billion (or whatever they cost) shuttle.. i said the preparation for a race is similar to the preparation for a shuttle launch.
if you don't like NASCAR, then slip in the words "Formula 1" and my point still stands- except for the "overlapping of countries" part.
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