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Jamie McMurray, who turned to fitness to help get out of a 5 year slump earlier in his
career, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Daytona 500
Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Jamie McMurray wins the Daytona 500, with Dale Earnhardt Jr right behind. It's not because of their fitness workouts...but those workouts have given these champs important attributes.
When Junior Johnson uttered the famous words, "Gentlemen, start your engines" the excitement began for the 52nd Daytona 500.
But for drivers like Jamie McMurray, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnheardt, Jr and Carl Edwards the engines never really stop - the revving up happens every day in the gym.
(Bay area fans - be sure to stop by the midday rally February 17 at Willie Mays Plaza in SF, with the winner of the 2010 Daytona 500).
Fitness, workouts help Jamie McMurray, Jimmie Johnson, create an ideal NASCAR body and mind
Jamie McMurray says in a video, "[when] I had a really bad year, I knew the one thing I could be in control of was my body." He got a trainer, started taking yoga, and changed to healthy eating habits. He told Men's Fitness after his win at the Pepsi 400 in 2007 that he had started, "...getting up at 6:30 in the morning and working out every day."
Today it paid off big as McMurray captured the checkered flag at Daytona 500.
For Jimmie Johnson, frequently mentioned as a top athlete among all competitive sports men, it's about weight work workouts, and a consistent commitment to working out daily. He told Men's Fitness that he uses weights (four times a wee) to work the different muscle groups. For him, it's about endurance not mass. He also works his heart rate through jumping rope between weight lifint sets.
He sprints, runs and in general, tries to teach his body to elevate his heart rate and recover quickly so that he'll have more energy and can perform better..
"I also love to cycle," he told the magazine, "but it takes so long to get a good ride in — between that and the gym it's like a three- or four-hour commitment."
It's not just the big muscles that are in play for NASCAR drivers. Marty Smith, writing for ESPN.com, talks about the small muscles of the hands, an often overlooked point of fitness that Smith refers to as a driver's "paycheck." Smith describes the hands and forearms of NASCAR drivers as "nutcracker strong" and that they are developed over thousands of miles of "wrestly ill-handling machinery."
So far as the grip, he points out:
Their grip on the steering wheel is firm yet fluid. Too tight, and the driver might miss something the car needs him to know. Not tight enough, and he might wreck it.."
NASCAR drivers are learning that fitness workouts help them win
Fitness is becoming the norm, rather than the exception, to this activity with roots that go more to moonshine runners and cigarette sponsors than fitness. But according to Nascar.com "Today a majority of the top-tier performers ...[find] that workouts can in fact enhance performance on the track....
Carl Edwards is no longer the lone gym rat on the circuit flying the fit freak flag. He has company by way of Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton and, more recently, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.."
Edwards is frequently cited, because over the past decade he has been a major advocate for serious workouts - cardio, weight work, and driving-specific workouts. He has also trained with Chris Carmichael (better known for his training with Lance Armstrong) .
Fitness makes a difference no matter what happens on the track
Danica Patrick is a great example of how her workouts and training helped ready her for whatever happens on the NASCAR track. In Saturday's race, when she was headed into a spectacular crash, her lightning-quick reflexes and mind under control helped impress even the most jaded NASCAR fans.
The races are long, hot, and the drivers are in crowded conditions going 180-miles-an-hour. A lapse in concentration, momentary muscle fatigue, an uncontrolled twitch can make the difference. It's a good bet that the coming years will bring even more emphasis on workouts and training.
You might also enjoy these:
- Indy 500 driver Helio Castroneves - athlete, driver, dancer
- Check out the photos of Helio after his 2009 win
- Ryan Briscoe - competitor on and off the track
- Milka Duno - smokin' hot Indy driver, actress, author
- Heather Mitts - Olympian, inspiration
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