Physical condition should be top priority for drivers

Watching the Cup race in Las Vegas last weekend was painful.

I'm not referring to the site of showgirls on pit road or the race commentary; I'm talking about the drivers who endured what they considered to be some of the hardest hits of their careers.

I winced at the site of Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart hobbling away from their wrecked cars, leaning on safety workers for assistance. For me, it was especially hard to watch because at times, I believe these men are made of steel.

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Their nerves are made of steel -- sure, that's more accurate -- but their bodies aren't and some are simply ill-equipped to handle impacts at nearly 200 mph.

Add more SAFER barriers, create a safer chassis, spent thousands of dollars on carbon fiber seats, but at the end of the day, the human body should merit as much preparation as the machine.

This is why I couldn't help but question whether or not drivers today take athletic conditioning and training seriously enough to endure hard crashes over long periods of time.

Are they in the optimal shape needed to sustain minor injuries, here and there, only to return to the car the following week, expected to perform their best, 36 weekends a season?

Odds are better for drivers who train routinely such as Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte and Carl Edwards, but I can't speak for the drivers who actually believe trolling around Lake Norman is effective cardio.

That's why I called premier coach Dean Golich of Carmichael Training Systems for some insight. He's also trains Carl Edwards and travels with the No. 99 team to most Cup events.

It is his job to make sure Edwards maintains a certain fitness level so the driver can toil through on-the-job adversities such as heat, exhaustion, mental fatigue and injuries more effectively than the competition.

Does he?

Well he can do a back flip after driving 500 miles in a more than 100-degree car, but that might be the adrenaline rushing through his veins; he only flips when he wins.

But after hearing Golich's explanation of why Edwards was able to drive a car with a dislocated thumb before the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard last season made me a believer.

I can talk on the phone, drink coffee and shift gears without crashing my car, but I need all my digits functioning properly.

Broken thumb noted, Edwards finished 18th in the Brickyard and fourth in the Nationwide race that weekend.

Golich said he was able to use other muscle groups to compensate for the ones he couldn't.

"He was able to shift normally, but he was able to change his position and use other grip strengths and arm strength," Golich said. "The stronger you are the better. It may not help you day-to-day, but you plan for the worse and hope for the best." (Continued)