My thoughts exactly. What talent does it take to go in a circle (besides a tolerance to dizziness)? Anybody can mash a gas pedal to the floor..
Take rally racing. THERE'S a real driver's sport. Those guys are going like mad down country roads, in the snow, on pavement... Add in an occasional passenger car (with non-professional driver) out to get groceries (or whatever,) or even a horse-drawn cart, and you get a 100% difference between circle track and rally racing. You don't know what the next turn is like, you don't get 200 laps practice at perfecting the turn, and you spend a significant amount of time in flight!
You need a strong co-driver too. Man, I get ill looking at a map while driving straight down the turnpike, but these guys look at the notes for a long time without getting nauseous.