Want to hold your pace from lights out to the checkered flag?
We all know as racers that the final few laps are where the race is won. It’s not about who has the quickest car… It’s who can still drive well when your body wants you to stop. And here’s the issue:
Wheel-to-wheel racing punishes anyone who runs out of gas physically.
To be mentally and physically fresh for an entire stint, you need serious endurance. Endurance is predicated upon one thing that most drivers neglect. Learn how to build lasting endurance that won’t leave you pushing when others are speeding.
Let’s jump in!
In this guide:
- Why Stamina Wins Races
- What Makes Racing So Physically Brutal
- The Hydration Foundation
- Building Real Racing Stamina
Why Stamina Wins Races
Stamina is the thing that separates good drivers from great ones.
Consider this. Your car is fast for the entire race. Your driver isn’t. When you’re tired, your reactions become slower, your concentration falters, and your inputs become less precise. That’s when you miss a braking point, cut an apex, or give the position back to the driver behind you.
More stamina = More consistent laps.
Consistency is what wins championships. You have to be able to run lap 40 as fast as lap 2 if you want to collect trophies. The other guys are just filling out the field.
Creepy thing is how fast the body deteriorates inside a race car. Temperatures up top exceed 50 degrees Celsius. You’re trapped in a fireproof suit and helmet for hours. Takes a lot out of you.
What Makes Racing So Physically Brutal
Racing is harder on the body than most people think.
Driving a car doesn’t seem like a very physical exercise. But head-to-head racing challenges your body in ways comparable to actual endurance athletics. The disadvantages you have to overcome include:
- Extreme heat — the cockpit becomes an oven
- G-forces — your neck and core fight constant load
- Fluid loss — you sweat buckets under all that gear
- Mental load — racing demands total concentration
Let’s cover the most important thing that most drivers don’t think about… Fluid Loss. When you sweat like that for that long you start to breakdown. According to Motorsport UK, drivers can lose up to five percent of their body weight in one race.
It’s a lot of fluid. And every ounce you lose makes you weaker, slower and less focused behind the wheel.
Why is hydration so important? Dehydration messes with your reaction time, focus and worse-case scenario…makes you dizzy and start cramping. None of those are ideal when riding with someone beside you going 150mph.
The Hydration Foundation
Ok, let’s not beat around the bush… You cannot increase stamina while being dehydrated.
All the work you’ve put into getting fit means nothing if you turn up to the race dehydrated. Hydration is where it begins. But hydration doesn’t stop there, and this is where most drivers make their mistake. As you sweat, you lose more than just water. You lose salts, and getting those electrolytes replaced at the correct ratio is what will keep your muscles contracting and your brain functioning throughout a stint.
Sodium is the biggest salt you lose. Achieving the proper sodium concentration in your drink can mean the difference between crossing the finish line and cramping up on your last lap. Screw it up and plain water won’t help.
How much sodium? Studies indicate that athletes can lose between 200 to 2000 mg of sodium per liter of sweat. Yikes, that is a BIG RANGE! What this means is that every driver is unique. Some of you guys are “salty sweaters” and require significantly more sodium than the athlete in the adjacent garage.
The goal is to figure out your own numbers and replace what you lose.
Getting your sodium right does three big things:
- Keeps your muscles from cramping
- Protects your reaction time and focus
- Helps you actually absorb the water you drink
That brings us to the last point. Sodium allows your body to retain and utilize the water you consume. If you drink plain salt-free water (lots of it), it simply passes through you. The proper concentration of sodium will turn your H20 into useful stuff.
Building Real Racing Stamina
Okay, now for the fun part. After you’ve got your hydration out of the way you can begin constructing the engine.
You don’t wake up with stamina. You develop it after weeks and months of intelligent training. This is how.
Train Your Cardio
Cardio is the base of everything.
When your heart and lungs are stronger you are able to handle heat/stress better. Cardiovascular fitness just means that drivers who train aerobically can drive longer. You should be jogging/ biking/rowing several times a week to develop some base cardio. Trust me when your sitting sideways and everyone else is dropping like flies you will thank me.
Build Neck & Core Strength
Your neck and core take a beating from G-forces.
Each corner taxes your body. Weak necks go anaerobic quickly. That’s why most racers do neck and core training. When strong, resisting your head from whipping around isn’t tiresome. You can focus that energy into driving.
Get Used to the Heat
You can train your body to handle heat.
The phenomenon is known as heat acclimatization, and it really works. If you train hot, your body learns to dissipate heat more efficiently and retain fluid. Do it leading up to a key event and the cockpit won’t feel like such a gut-punch.
Crossing The Finish Line
Now you know what it really takes to last a full stint.
Let’s face it endurance racing isn’t easy. There’s no magic wand to wave and no pill you can pop. You’ve got to do the cardio, build the strength, and treat hydration like the performance enhancer it should be. But here’s the good news:
Every driver can build this. It’s not about talent, it’s about the work.
To quickly recap what it takes:
- Build your cardio base with regular training
- Strengthen your neck and core for the G-forces
- Get your body used to racing in the heat
- Nail your hydration and hit that optimal sodium concentration
Do all of the above and you will still be kicking when the field begins to wilt around you. That’s how you win the wars that are won late.
