Sport Psychology Tactics - Why WRC & Rallycross Mental Training Is More Demanding Than NASCAR
About the Author
Ben Foodman is a licensed psychotherapist & performance specialist. He owns his private practice located in Charlotte North Carolina where he specializes in working with athletes to help them overcome mental blocks (the yips), PTSD, ADD / ADHD and achieve flow states through the techniques of Brainspotting & Neurofeedback. If you are interested in services, use the link here! Enjoy the article below!
Table Of Contents
Introduction: WRC & Rallycross Drivers Are The Most Psychologically Elite Athletes
Part I. Differences In Psychological Demands Between WRC, Rallycross & NASCAR
Part II. How Elite Rallycross & WRC Drivers Train Different From NASCAR Athletes
Part III. What NASCAR Athletes Can Learn From WRC & Rallycross Mental Training
Introduction: WRC & Rallycross Drivers Are The Most Psychologically Elite Athletes
In the world of motorsports, some of the most elite drivers compete in NASCAR, IndyCar, WEC and IMSA. I have been fortunate to work with athletes that have competed in all of these different racing series. These individuals were elite both mentally & physically and were some of the most focused athletes I have ever had the privilege of working with. But in terms of which racing series is the most psychologically demanding category, World Rally Championship (WRC) and Rallycross drivers compete in one of the most mentally brutal competitions in all of professional racecar driving.
Because I have worked with many athletes from rallycross, WRC and NASCAR since 2018, I wanted to take the time to review the differences between these competitions. For part I., I will first review the key differences between NASCAR, WRC and rallycross competitions that demonstrate the challenges WRC and rallycross drivers experience compared to NASCAR athletes. In part II. I will review what specific mental training strategies WRC and rallycross drivers engage in compared to NASCAR athletes. Finally, in part III. I will discuss tools all athletes could use from rallycross and WRC driver mental skills training.
Part I. Differences In Psychological Demands Between WRC, Rallycross & NASCAR
The competition setup differences, along with the rules and demands for each sport will make it apparent why WRC and Rallycross is arguably the most demanding motorsport competition on the planet. Rallycross drivers compete on short circuits with a mixture of asphalt, gravel or dirt. When competing on these dynamic courses, drivers need to maintain the highest speed possible in the car while also maneuvering between tight corners. Unlike NASCAR these races are short, usually only lasting for several minutes which can make it feel as if you are repeatedly “qualifying” as you would in NASCAR. The vehicles in rallycross are also unique compared to a standard NASCAR stockcar. Rallycross vehicles are smaller, more agile, and while they may not reach the top speeds that a stockcar does in NASCAR, they can execute incredible maneuvers such as drifting and handling the compression forces from big jumps. While there are many similarities between rallycross and the world rally championship (WRC) competitions, there are some important nuances between these two events we need to review.
Like rallycross, world rally championship (WRC) drivers compete on diverse road conditions. WRC drivers also compete on a mixture of asphalt, gravel, dirt but will oftentimes also race on ice and snow which is not as common in rallycross. This means that the driver needs to have an insane ability to adapt to different road conditions and drive the car accordingly. WRC competitions are held on public roads with no group starts and have a time trial format whereas rallycross drivers compete on short, closed circuits with group starts. These competition demands are significantly different than those of NASCAR races. NASCAR drivers compete on a closed circuit, typically an oval track which emphasizes the importance of maintaining high speeds and perfect maneuvering when making turns in the corner. Another critical component to being a successful NASCAR driver is how successful they are at qualifying before the race. The conditions for competing on a NASCAR circuit are predictable but require high quantities of high-quality training reptations on simulators and karting. One of the main reasons though that WRC and rallycross are more mentally challenging is due to the unpredictable nature of these competitions.
In NASCAR, the drivers are well aware of what the conditions of the track will be, the perfect race line to follow, and who their main competitors will be. The drivers can visualize and simulate almost every aspect of the race before it ever happens. In rallycross and the world rally championships this is not necessarily the case. The conditions of the course are always changing, there is no way to simulate what to expect, and the dynamic environment of a WRC and rallycross race is so unpredictable that the driver’s reaction speed is constantly tested…they never are able to fully predict or anticipate the way a race will go (having to drive the car differently on different road conditions…dirt vs. ice). This means that the drivers will need to place an extraordinary amount of time developing their reflexes, response time and processing speed to handle any type of chaos that will come their way. Quite simply…there are too many problems that need to be solved in the car that cannot be prepared for, which in my opinion makes this type of motorsport competition significantly more psychologically complex. With that being said, let’s review how elite WRC and rallycross drivers need to prepare for this.
Part II. How Elite Rallycross & WRC Drivers Train Different From NASCAR Athletes
The NASCAR driver development programs such as the Toyota Performance Center and the Cheverolet Performance Center have some of the most elite training methodologies in the world of motorsport athlete conditioning. These facilities are typically outfitted with NSCA Registered Strength & Conditioning Coaches (a superior certification to the CSCS), licensed nutrition experts, bio-mechanists, sport psychologists, heat rooms, advanced training stations with Sorinex-level equipment and other tools needed to develop the mind and body of a racecar driver. These are carefully designed facilities that perfectly train NASCAR drivers to be successful in NASCAR events and are the gold standard for athlete training programs. While many of these approaches could help WRC and rallycross drivers improve their physical conditioning, there are still additional tools that would be needed to help prepare these athletes for the demands of a WRC and rallycross competition. For example, many of the drivers I have worked with (and other drivers that use sport psychology experts) have begun to tap into mental training technology that can potentially increase their processing speed. A new tool that is beginning to be used more frequently is a DARPA protocol. DARPA stands for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a United States agency that develops new technologies for national security. One area that DARPA has begun utilizing are different forms of technological interventions that can help paramilitary units increase focus and awareness. Specifically, one of the more popular interventions is TCDS (Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation).
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation has been defined as a neuromodulator technique that delivers low-intensity, direct current to cortical areas facilitating or inhibiting spontaneous neuronal activity. In the research article Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Use in Warfighting: Benefits, Risks, and Future Prospects, by Davis & Smith, the authors state the following when describing what TDCS is and how it can be used for performance enhancement: TDCS is a non-invasive technique that modulates cortical tissue excitability, increasing or decreasing cerebral activity by applying a very low direct current (usually no more than 2 mA; 0.06 mA/cm2 over a 35 cm2 pad) from electrodes placed on the scalp. Approximately half of the current delivered to the head reaches and stimulates the brain. Research has shown a wide range of cognitive effects, mainly dependent on the site and polarity of stimulation (the montage), and duration and pattern of current flow (the protocol). Generally, brain function is increased under the positive anode, with either little effect or decreased function under the cathodal placement site. TDCS does not directly cause or block the firing of neurons; the immediate effects are thought to be a result of polarity-specific shifts in resting membrane potential. Enhancement effects of TDCS last beyond the duration of stimulation and can be detected up to 24 h after stimulation (depending on the montage, protocol, and cognitive aspect tested). The mechanism for these enduring effects is thought to be a result of long-term potentiation and long-term depression of neuronal synapses. In addition to TDCS, these drivers use other techniques to enhance their processing speed to deal with the demands of WRC and Rallycross.
The athletes that I have worked with have also tapped into the benefits of using Brainspotting. Brainspotting evolved from a technique called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). In the book Emotional Healing At Warp Speed, by Dr. David Grand, he provides detailed insight into what EMDR is and why it is one of the most effective psychotherapy techniques on the market outside of Brainspotting. The author states the following: EMDR is essentially a body-oriented treatment. The purpose of the step-by-step protocol, proceeding from target image to cognition to emotions, is to arrive at the container of the body. Once the patient has reprocessed an experience, the final step validating the completion of the healing is to scan the body. Is there any tension left? Any discomfort or uneasiness? A newborn baby cannot differentiate between body sensation and emotion. Hunger, being soiled, fear, frustration, and contentment are all felt in the body and are differentiated only as comfort and discomfort. The reptilian brain and the body are acting as one. Discomfort is discomfort, whether it’s emotional or physical. The same thing applies to comfort. EMDR itself is centrally located among the various forms of psychotherapy. If you imagine a wheel with all other psychotherapies as its spokes, EMDR can be found at its core. Thought, sensory memory, emotion, and body experience are all components of psychological life and cannot be separated. If you ignore the body in trying to understand emotion, you lose the resonance of the feeling. How we demonstrate our emotions through posture, facial expression, and ‘body language’ is as crucial to communication as spoken words. No social contact, no intimate relationship, no business exchange exists without body language. For it is here that the unconscious, unspoken, underlying feelings are expressed.
Brainspotting follows many of the same core principles of EMDR with some important differences. As previously mentioned, Brainspotting is a modified version of EMDR that is specifically tailored to address athlete mental training in a way that EMDR is unable to do. This is because Brainspotting is less focused on exclusively helping athletes develop “grounding” skills and more focused on helping athletes become comfortable with discomfort, while also helping athletes target the regions of the brain that are specifically responsible for the generation of dysregulation behaviors. This is critical for WRC and rallycross drivers because oftentimes these athletes have experienced severe collisions that leave their brain in a type of “confused” state, otherwise known as whiplash syndrome. These drivers are also constantly having their boundary perception challenged due to the depth perception changes that continuously happen during a race. I have discussed this extensively in previous Training Reports, but unless this issue is dealt with ahead of time, the symptoms of this “confused” state will slow down a driver’s reaction time. This is because the athlete’s brain has so much information that needs to be processed during a WRC and rallycross race that if any part of the mind has an unresolved issue or is overloaded by the psychological stress experienced in the cockpit, these regions of the brain that create “confused” states become activated and generate error-signals that prevent the driver from giving full focus. Brainspotting is a mental training approach that targets these regions of the brain and helps drivers enhance their peak focus potential.
Part III. What NASCAR Athletes Can Learn From WRC & Rallycross Mental Training
As I have previously mentioned in the article, NASCAR drivers are elite motorsport competitors and high-level athletes deserving of respect and admiration for their performances. But having worked with many NASCAR drivers and WRC/rallycross drivers, in my professional opinion the psychological demands required from rally and rallycross races exceed those of NASCAR. You could train your average WRC/rallycross driver to withstand the demands of a NASCAR race AND be competitive. You could not train your average NASCAR driver and expect the same results. There are certainly a few drivers that have made the crossover, but they are the exception to the rule, not the norm. So, what should NASCAR athletes (and all athletes for that matter) take away from this? Because the skill sets from WRC and Rallycross translate well into other motorsport series, the training habits of ALL the WRC and Rallycross drivers should be studied and implemented.
When you study the training habits of athletes training at different driver performance centers, they are using high-level, evidence informed training approaches such as heat training, cardiovascular conditioning, and other interventions. All of these training habits to a certain extent are necessary, and for new drivers that are up and coming in NASCAR, this is probably a critical part of early athlete development. But as these drivers become more senior, what they need to learn is that you can over train in these areas, and that if you want to be different from your competition, you need to find alternative training methods that your peers are not using. Athletes from all sport populations would benefit from studying elite WRC and rallycross driver preparation strategies and implement those processes into their own regimens to separate themselves from their competition. One technique I would recommend athletes begin to look into is Brainspotting. Use this link to learn more about this approach.
Note To Reader:
If you are an athlete reading this segment of the TRAINING REPORT, hopefully this content was helpful! I put the Training Report together because I felt like many of the discussions on issues such as the Yips/mental blocks, strength training & other subject matter on athlete performance concepts were really missing the mark on these ideas (e.g. how trauma is the direct cause of the Yips). If you are interested in learning more, make sure to subscribe below for when I put out new content on issues related to sport psychology & athlete performance! Also, if you are looking to work with a mental performance specialist, you are in the right place! USE THIS LINK to reach out to me to see if my services are the right fit for your goals!
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