Sport Psychology Case Studies - Mental Training Requirements to be an Elite NASCAR Driver
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: What It Takes to Mentally Train to be a NASCAR Driver
Part I. The Connection Between Work Ethic & Mental Performance In NASCAR
Part II. Developing Sport Psychology Interventions To Offset Whiplash Syndrome In NASCAR
Part III. Using Exercise Psychology & Pre-Performance Routines Before NASCAR Races
Part IV. The “Before & After” Results With The NASCAR Driver
Disclaimer: The personal information of this athlete has been changed to protect their identity and the content from this study has been approved by the athlete for disclosure. The situations described in this case study are common experiences this athlete population experiences and is meant to provide insight into what Ben’s approach looks like.
Introduction: What It Takes to Mentally Train to be a NASCAR Driver
Many of the top NASCAR drivers have elite psychological processing skills that most experts in the field of sport psychology would consider “God-given talent”. For instance, some of these drivers spend very little time doing sim training or strength & conditioning, yet on a weekly basis produce top 5 finishes in the Cup series, Xfinity, Trucks & ARCA. Because so many up-and-coming drivers in the sport want to produce identical psychological traits as these drivers, there is an “arms race” within the world of human performance training on how to help NASCAR drivers acquire these skills. I have been fortunate in my career to work with some of these drivers as well as those who do not possess the natural “God-given talent”.
While it has been an honor to work with some of the most elite drivers in the sport, my work with up-and-coming drivers is oftentimes far more intensive due to the fact that there is so much they have to learn in terms of social, physical and mental preparation. But when I have worked with drivers who were able to put their ego aside and utilize my specific skill set, we were able to work together and help them achieve their performance goals. For this issue of the Training Report, I wanted to provide a case study on work that I did with a new driver in the sport and review what it took to help this driver learn how to properly train physically and mentally to become an elite driver in NASCAR. Let’s begin by introducing the case study.
Part I. The Connection Between Work Ethic & Mental Performance In NASCAR
I started working with Reese in 2018. Reese had been competing in Karting and motorcross since he was 8 years old and was still relatively new to the professional motorsport’s world. He had been racing late models, ARCA and was about to begin his next season in Xfinity. Reese was not with the Toyota or Chevy Performance Center but had the financial backing to surround himself with the resources he would need to properly train. The only problem was that he didn’t know where to start. Reese’s uncle had heard of my work and reached out to me to start working with his nephew. His uncle and I set up the initial assessment for Reese to come to my office, and then I would coordinate services exclusively with Reese moving forward. Reese was living in Mooresville which was not far from my office which is based near the Toyota Performance Center, so commuting to see me was not an inconvenience. When he arrived at my office location, I greeted him at the front door and we stepped into my private office room to begin the assessment.
When going through the assessment I always have several goals that I try to accomplish with drivers in the initial appointment. My first goal is to get to know the driver as an individual, and for the driver to get to know me. Reese and I spent time learning about where each of us was originally from, hobbies that we had outside of our respective careers, and also learning about what his long-term goals were. I then reviewed Reese’s injury history (e.g. how many wrecks he had been involved in, or other sport-related injuries), what types of psychological skills training he had been using, what types of strength & conditioning he was utilizing, how he approached nutrition, sleep habits, and the quality of his social relationships both inside and outside of NASCAR. When I finished the assessment with Reese, I asked him what he hoped to accomplish in our work together. Like almost all drivers I work with specifically in NASCAR, his dream was to hopefully compete in the Cup series and consistently finish in the top 5 in all series that he competed in.
Because people are investing their time and money with me, I always make it a point to be very transparent with my athletes on what they need to improve on. After completing my assessment with Reese, it was apparent that he had needed to improve his training habits in many areas. Like the majority of drivers I work with, he had experienced a high volume of crashes which left him dealing with the symptoms what appeared to be whiplash syndrome. Reese also had poor training methodologies which included the following: not doing any form of heat training, using the incorrect strength training approach, not going to sleep at a regimented time, not regularly practicing karting, exhibiting poor nutrition habits (e.g. not hydrating with electrolytes before a race), and not showing up on time for important team meetings and marketing events. I explained to Reese that based on his current trends as it related to his training habits, he had no chance of reaching the Cup series, but that if he made serious commitments to changing his training, he would have better odds of achieving his goals. We needed him to stop being a “paid athlete” and transform into a “professional athlete”.
Part II. Developing Sport Psychology Interventions To Offset Whiplash Syndrome In NASCAR
The first steps we had to focus on with Reese were to help him reduce the negative side-effects associated with competing in NASCAR. In all motor vehicle collisions, approximately 18% of individuals will experience what is known as whiplash syndrome. Because standard cars travel at speeds faster than humans can naturally process sensory information, when our brains experience car collisions they can remain in a “confused” state. In the book The Body Bears The Burden by Robert Scaer, the author provides in great detail how we understand what Whiplash Syndrome is and how it affects individuals neurologically: Patients suffering from even a minor to moderate velocity rear-end MVA often suffer from a confusing variety of symptoms. Not only do they ‘have the typical complaints of headache and neck pain and stiffness, they also often complain of emotional symptoms, depression, and anxiety. Neurological complaints are common, ranging from dizziness and vertigo, ringing in the ears, blurred vision, fainting spells and balance difficulties to remarkable problems with thinking, concentration, and memory. Rather than making a steady recovery like a comparable sports-related accident, whiplash patients often pursue a slow, unpredictable course. They often take several years to improve, with episodic periods of worsening that don’t make sense when related to other types of soft tissue injuries. Long-term studies in whiplash patients in general show that a majority (70 to 80 percent) returned to normal activities in six months. On the other hand, in other studies, persistent chronic pain has been noted in 18 percent of victims at three years and up to 40 percent to ten years.
The previous excerpt is based on commonly experienced motor vehicle accidents. Collisions in NASCAR are even more disorienting for drivers, and in my experience close to 18% of drivers I work with experience similar issues. To offset these problems with Reese (and other drivers I have worked with), I used two methods as a regular part of his mental training: Brainspotting and biofeedback. Brainspotting is a specific type of focused mindfulness that helps athletes directly access the regions of the brain that are responsible for causing the symptoms associated with Whiplash syndrome and bypassing the areas of the brain that are not associated with this issue. Biofeedback is a process that uses computer hardware and software to analyze the athlete’s breathing patterns and train their bodies to remain in more of a parasympathetic nervous system state (remaining relaxed and calm). Reese would come to my office one time per week, and we would spend approximately 50 minutes doing Brainspotting training with the last 15 minutes focused on using Biofeedback work. We primarily focused on this approach for the first seven sessions, tracking Reese’s process by evaluating decreases in whiplash syndrome symptoms as well as the speed of his recovery from workouts. After we felt like Reese was in a good rhythm to maintain some of this training on his own, we began to focus on helping him psychologically prepare using racecar driving mental skills to help him improve his focus, aggression as well as decision making. We used a combination of exercise psychology techniques, pre-performance routines, and other mental coaching approaches.
Part III. Using Exercise Psychology & Pre-Performance Routines Before NASCAR Races
Reese had been doing typical cross-fit workouts as his only form of training but was very inconsistent in how frequently he trained. Because I had extensive experience as a USA weightlifting Level 2 coach and as a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength & Conditioning Association, I was able to help Reese design a program that was focused on properly training his body to withstand the physical demands of the cockpit while improving mental concentration cues unique to driving. With Reese’s permission, I coordinated services for him to design a team of experts that would guide his training protocols at an affordable cost. First, we connected Reese with a local sports nutrition expert that helped him improve his diet and learn how to properly hydrate before races. We also connected Reese with a local strength & conditioning expert whose focus was on prehab style training. We also had Reese secure a membership to have regular access to a dry sauna and Karting. Reese met with his strength coach 3 times per week, used the sauna 3 times per week, and was Karting at least 3 times per week. These resources allowed for me to focus on his mental training in other ways.
Following the completion of Brainspotting training, we began implementing pre-performance training habits for Reese to mentally prepare for races. First, we had Reese develop what I refer to as a TCP (time-controlled plan). A TCP is a step-by-step process of what he would be doing down to the minute when he was at the racetrack. Everything he did needed to have a purpose and ultimately needed to help him become psychologically prepared to enter the cockpit. For Reese, he needed to spend time both making sure his body was relaxed but also aggressive. We also spent time helping Reese develop pre-performance routines unique to helping him be focused for qualifying. Once Reese and I had helped him develop his pre-performance routines, we reviewed how to help him be a better team leader and also how to implement tactical problem-solving strategies. Part of Reese’s leadership training included educating him on the science of sport culture and how to manage people through smart communication strategies. In terms of tactical problem-solving strategies, we explored ideas around driving “not to lose” vs. “driving too aggressive”.
Part IV. The “Before & After” Results With The NASCAR Driver
Before Reese came to work with me, he had goals of wanting to compete in the NASCAR Cup series, but had unrealistic expectations of the work he would need to do to get to that level of competition…he was a paid athlete, not a professional athlete. Reese thought that his current work ethic would suffice, but after speaking with me he learned that he needed to significantly increase his workload. Reese was still dealing with symptoms of whiplash syndrome from previous crashes he had sustained in ARCA, karting and late model racing. He had poor physical conditioning, was not committed to his physical recovery, and had no pre-performance routines for qualifying or the rest of the race. After our work was “complete” Reese was a much more committed athlete. We reduced his symptoms of stress and anxiety related to his whiplash syndrome, his work ethic had intensified greatly as evidenced by his commitment to his training and was almost “religious” in his dedication towards implementing his TCP (time-controlled plan) during races. He also significantly improved his average qualifying times.
After we completed his mental training routines, Reese wanted to work with me as needed. We agreed to meet on a bi-weekly basis so we could review his progress during the season as well as process the regular stressors associated with training. Because Reese frequently had to deal with the “politics” of race team culture, he needed an unbiased resource where he could both vent about his frustrations with the sport as well as receive unbiased feedback on where he needed to improve versus where he was succeeding. Reese was surrounded by people who either overly criticized him or always told him how “amazing” he was. Continuing to work with me offered him the relief he needed to truly gauge how he was performing. We were also able to review personal struggles he was experiencing outside of the racetrack. Reese’s case study is a textbook example of how I typically work with NASCAR athletes competing in ARCA, Trucks, Xfinity and the Cup series. If you are a NASCAR athlete looking to gain a mental edge over your competition, read more below to learn more about my services!
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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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