I tuned in to watch some NHRA drag racing last night because one of my Pro-Stock Motorcycle mental coaching students was racing in the final. What caught my interest was the Funny Car final between John and Ashley force – a father-daughter duel.

What a unique situation… Ashley Force was racing to be the first woman to win a national race in Funny Car. And father John Force was trying to notch his 1000 round.

Ashley won in a dramatic final. She beat her father, John Force, a legend in drag racing. John made an unexpected mistake when he lost traction at the start of the race.

What I found interesting from a mental game perspective was John’s emotions before the race. He did a TV interview and was obviously torn up inside…

“There are a lot of mixed emotions. When I turn off the switch. If I win, that’s great but if she wins, that’s something really special, too.” ~John Force, prior to the final round

John Force is a legend in the sport, but I think he lost focus because of the situation. Sometimes it’s hard to not let your emotions and distractions get to you – instead of focusing just on your lane.

I also know he was concerned with the grip in the left lane prior to the run. Almost as if he got it in his head that he would have grip issues. Was the grip issue a prerace excuse for not getting it done? Was the grip in the left lane a real concern? Did it affect his focus on the hole shot and cause him to spin out?

No one really knows but John Force, but I think it got into his head.  Any time you are worried about something that might block you from success, such as your grip, a hole in the track, a massive rut you have to negotiate for example, you focus too much on what you don’t want to happen. This is a mental game boo-boo.

RacePsych Mental Coaching Program Update:

On May 6, 2008, I launch my RacePsych MentalGame Formula.
I will be teaching only 10 people my top mental game of racing
strategies – live via teleconference.

I promised to give you a few details of my brand new live coaching program for racers only. I have decided to do a 12-week live group coaching program. This allows you time to put your new mental strategies to work and make any adjustments that are needed too. 

Here are a few more details of the program:

• You will take part in 10 one-hour mental coaching sessions

• You will get MP3 recording of each session for your review

• You will get a 10-chapter workbook to guide your through my

• system

• You get email coaching between sessions and for a two-week

• follow up

• MP3 audio and transcripts of interviews I have conducted with

• top auto and motocross racers on the mental game of racing.

I’ll spill all the details next week on May 6, 2008. However, I have a lot of interest in this program.

If you want to “get in line” please send me an email to put you on the list. This way, you will have the first option to be a part of the 10 racers in the program!

That’s all for now. Don’t forget to check out my new racing psychology video on my blog:  http://racingpsychology.com/blog/?p=9

My recent racing psychology survey suggests that the biggest challenge for motor sports racers is how to take practice or qualifying speed into races on race day. Here is an example of the questions I received in the mental game of racing survey I conducted: 

In drag racing, how can you maintain focus from qualifying to eliminations? In motocross, how can you maintain focus for all three motos in a race? In auto racing, how can you maintain focus from qualifying though the entire race weekend? I answer these questions in today’s racing psychology blog.

Your ability to stay focused from practice to qualifying to later rounds or motos is very important to your performance. I want you to understand that you don’t need to be dialed in or focused every single minute you are at the track – it’s really impossible. You could actually spend your mental energy worrying about the upcoming elimination or moto. You want to “reserve” your focusing powers for when it’s needed.

Besides working with many racers, I also specialize in working with golfers. A round of golf can last up to five hours including a warm up routine. No golfer can focus effectively for five hours straight and you can’t either during a race weekend! You would be spent mentally at the end of the round and not be able to focus your best.

I instruct my golf students to relax their focus between shots and only tighten their focus when needed to hit a shot. When they do this, they are saving their mental energy for when it’s critical – the 30 seconds needed to prepare for one golf shot. You can apply the same strategy to your racing. If you are a drag racer, you only need to be focused for a few seconds prior to your run and a few seconds during the run. Same with motocross… You only need to be focused for your prerace routine and a 20-minute moto.

You should “save your concentration” between motos or eliminations. And when it’s time to race, you want to get your game face on.

I know some racers that become so worked up or worried about the final moto or elimination rounds that they cannot focus their best when needed the most. They already are spent thinking too much about the podium possibilities or outcomes. You can tighten yourself up into a ball of knots and spend too much energy fretting about the upcoming round or moto.

The bottom line… You should relax your focus between motos or elimination rounds. Save it for your pre-run or pre-moto routine. However, you need to have a key to help you get dialed in again. This is a trigger to help you get your game face on when it’s time to go into the next round or moto.

So hang loose in the trailer or at the pits. Shoot the stuff with your team or buddies. Try not to focus on the race until you are ready to get your gear on.

Please leave me any comments or suggestions for articles below!

Patrick Cohn, Ph.D.
RacePsych by Peak Performance Sports

One of my biggest challenges for racers is the ability to bring their physical skills or ability to the track on race day. Do you look like a star in practice when it dosn’t really matter, but then under perform on race day because now it matters? If you answered “yes” this is the number one sign that your mind is getting in the way of your performance. You must have both confidence and trust to perform your best on the track.

You might under perform in racers for many reasons. Some racers put too high of expectations on their performance and then over-drive or try too hard on the track. They become over-aggressive, make mistakes, and then lose time. Some racers perform too tentatively in races and are afraid to race on the edge for the fear of making mistakes or wrecking. If you hold back, avoid mistakes, and are overly reserved on race day, you don’t trust what you have practiced.

A few of my race students focus too much on results and getting on the podium. They put the cart before the horse as we say. Their mind races ahead to what others might think if they lose the lead or choke in the last two laps of the race. You can’t race your best when your mind races ahead to the podium and you leave your body in the car or on the bike with three laps remaining.

You have two options to help you take your practice skills to race day. The first option is to practice in a way that helps you compete better. The second option is to change your thinking on race day…

Option one is easier for most racers to do, but might not solve the dilemma of under performance on race day. The objective is to make every lap in practice like a lap in the race. You must have the same intensity and focus in practice as you do on race day.

Option two – change your attitude on race day – is more difficult to master because you first have to uncover exactly how your mind is sabotaging your performance. Once you know how you undermine your performance with faulty thinking, you are in a position to change and improve your mental game of racing.

In the next few weeks, I will be launching a new mental coaching program for racers to help you identify mental barriers and help you take your physical skills to the track without needing seat time or practice. You will learn the top 10 mental toughness skills for racers.

Right now, please leave your comments about how your mental game changes from practice to races. For example, do you get tight in races, try too hard, lose your focus, become more tentative, or something else?

I recently received a question from a kart driver about how to improve a driver’s concentration on the track in motorsports. Here is the question…

“Hi Patrick, firstly I’d like to thank you for your 10 week mental training e-course for racers. The information is already making a difference in my driving. I’ve been racing karts now for about six months and have been learning and improving heaps. However, one thing I find holding me back is my level of concentration. When I’m in my kart, I find it hard to keep my concentration over the time of a race (or even just in one lap) so if you can help me with that it would be greatly appreciated.”

Most racers can focus well even for one lap. You have the ability to concentrate on the track. What most likely happens is you become distracted or you focus on the wrong stuff.  For example, you might have been thinking about how important the race is for you or worried about what fast guys are coming into your mirrors.

Distractions can come from two places – the outside, from the environment such as the weather, track conditions, or from other competitors or the spectators. Another type of distraction are internal distractions. You can also be distracted by your own thoughts that flow freely into your mind, unbidden, when you least need them. You make these up all on your own. Internal distractions are things such as thinking about the past lap, worrying too much about results, or focusing too much on past mistakes.

What distractions break your concentration? Most likely, you have your own specific distractions, which differ from the next person. Some racers have a low tolerance for visual distractions, such as things going on around the track. However, the hardest distraction to break when you are racing are your own internal distractions – focusing on the last lap or mistake you made in turn number two, for example.

In order to improve your focus on the track, you have to define what’s important to focus on during a lap. What is relevant to racing only? Many of the racers I work with divide corners into sections such as entry, apex, and exit. What do you have to focus on in each section of the corner to execute your best? I consider these performance cues, such as focusing on your break point. I also want you to be aware of your own internal distractions on the track.

Your most important task to improve concentration is to refocus when you get off task or distracted. You need to recognize first that your mind has wandered away from performance cues. As soon as you become aware that you’re off-task, you need to adjust your focus so you can get back to focusing on each corner of the track.

Refocusing is the most important step in concentration because it takes awareness and commitment on your part. You will get distracted on the track because you are human. You can’t be perfect with your focus. Your key to optimal concentration on the race track is to refocus as quickly as possible, so you don’t let the distraction or irrelevant thought cause you to lose valuable time. Here is a summary of the process:

1. Identify the performance cues that are relevant for driving.

2. Immerse yourself in the task-relevant cues you identified in number one.

3. Recognize when you are off-task, distracted, or not focused on driving.

4. Create a strategy to help you refocus on your driver cues. This is the most important step in dealing with distractions and breakdowns in focus.

Sign up for my 10-week mental training e-course for motorsports to improve your self-confidence in racing.