Brandon Lee Nicholas Sulak

 Professional Athletes at any level for a sport:  Making a living off it  Athletes must have: ▪ Good eye sight ▪ Good reflexes and coordination ▪ Able to handle pressure ▪ Very competitive ▪ Very discipline

 The “steps” to becoming a professional:  Start young  Train rigorously  Maintain good health  Do well academically  Go to every opportunity to learn and preform  Remember you are in the spot light, act accordingly

Wikipedia.com

 Age range between 3-50 years old  Professional Racecar drivers still race for fun  Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Michael Schumacher, Denny Hamlin, Lewis Hamilton  All started at this level

Autoweek.com

 Start young- racing go-karts (100 mph)  Immerse yourself is the best way!  Read, go see a race, anything racing  Want to go fast, need to reflexes  Need to be smart so you do not die  Need stamina and upper body strength  Races are 4 hours and you need to fight the wheel  You need to be healthy, you will lose weight

 You got the job! Finally  Now you have to learn more, the techniques  Need hands on experience  Now put it all together with some money  Winners are experts in driving and techniques

Onursen.net

 Crashing in any car over 100 mph is dangerous  F1 cars are too-aerodynamic  Causing “disintegration” upon wrecking  Imagine at 220 mph  Stock Cars are designed to wreck  Still life threatening

Onursen.net

 Since Dale Earnhardt’s death in 2001, no deaths in NASCAR Sprint Cup  America-235 deaths since then in other racing types  IndyCar, dirt-track, sprint car, go-kart  This excludes F1!  Most deaths occur in F1 racing

 Formula-1 averages 3 deaths a year since 1953  4 deaths in 1958 season  Doesn’t slow down until early 2000

 Definition from Merriam-Webster:  A person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility or stamina

 Donavan McNabb, ex-NFL Quarterback  Ranked Jimmie Johnson behind Tiger and Kobe  Said he does not think he is an athlete-2013  After riding in a pace car- March 2014 said it’s a skill but he respect them  By definition they are athletes

 Graph showing: USATODAY.com

 True, Average NASCAR drivers spend little time preparing  Champion drivers work out as hard or harder than McNabb  Didn’t consider the abuse that the body goes through during a 4 hour race

 Jimmie Johnson and team training together  Sponsored by Gatorade Youtube.com

 Jenson Button (McLaren team)  Trainer and physiotherapy- Mike Collier  Jenson-Mike: 200 Days  Mike helps prepare Jenson for races, time difference  Mike does cardio exercises first, then increase body weight  Once season is close they cut to season shape

 Jenson Button (McLaren team)  Mike does neck exercises with Jenson ▪ 4-4.5g’s of force when breaking in a corner ▪ Car able to stop very quickly need to be strong to handle  Jenson-Mike have done triathlons to stay fit  This is one driver but many drivers train similarly

Menshealth.co.uk

 60 pounds of force on the neck alone  4+ hours of holding that weight  Arms and legs constantly working  No breaks

“Cockpit Athletes “

 Denny Hamlin Sports Science youtube.com

Nascar.com Formula1.com

 athlete. N.p.: n.p., n.d. merriam-webster.com. Web. 1 Apr  Bailey, Ryan. "Train like an F1 World Champion." Menshealth.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr  "Cockpit Athletes." Performance Sport and Fitness -. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr  "Denny Hamlin Sport Sciences ESPN." YouTube. YouTube, 07 Aug Web. 06 Apr  "Driver Fitness." Formula 1®. Formula 1, n.d. Web. 31 Mar  Driver's Workout Overview. Safeisfast.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr  "Formula 1." Formula 1. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr  Formula 1®. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr  Gatorade. Inside the Edge - Jimmie Johnson. Youtube.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr  Gluck, Jeff. "Donovan McNabb says NASCAR drivers aren't athletes, fans revolt." USA Today 16 Nov. 2013: n. pag. USAtoday.com. Web. 1 Apr  "How Becoming a NASCAR Driver Works." Howstuffworks.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr  "How NASCAR Works." Howstuffworks.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr  "How to Become a Professional Athlete." Howstuffworks.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr  "Kart Racing." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Apr Web. 21 Apr  NASCAR. A week in the life of NASCAR : a view from within : unrestricted access to the lives of teams, crews, and drivers. Chicago: Triumph Books, Print.  "NASCAR : NASCAR Drivers, Race Standings & News | NASCAR.com."NASCAR : NASCAR Drivers, Race Standings & News | NASCAR.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr  Spencer, Reid. "NASCAR." Sporting News (2009): n. pag. Rpt. in Sporting News. N.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.  Study: College Athletes Are Full-time Workers - USATODAY.com." Study: College  Athletes Are Full-time Workers - USATODAY.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr  "Why NASCAR Drivers Are Not Athletes." Jalopnik.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr