Granted not all drag racers experience extreme G loads during their runs, but the demands of the NHRA’s 23-event race schedule extends beyond the quarter-mile.  And because there are no sick days for professional drag racers—unless they red light—the need to be physically fit never has been greater. 

It’s because of the increased physical, mental, and even logistical demands of a nine-month race season that today’s drivers are lifting weights, running on the treadmill, and even counting calories to ensure that the difference at the finish line doesn’t reside in their waistline.

So why do drag racers turn to physical fitness?  Well, the answer to that question is as varied as the "exercise equipment" sold on television at 2:30 AM.  For some, it’s a necessity to cope with the physical demands of driving at more than 330 mph.  For others, it’s way to handle the physical and mental strain of a long race season.  No matter the reason, the drivers who dedicate a portion of their time to physical fitness believe the benefits are evident both on and off the track.

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If anyone doubts the physical demands of driving a Top Fuel or Funny Car, then consider this: A driver accelerating to 330 mph—and then rapidly decelerating back to zero—experiences extreme G loads that are double those encountered by Shuttle astronauts.  When the injector butterflies open, the driver encounters 6 Gs pushing him into the seat.  Four and a half seconds later when the parachutes are deployed, the driver experiences negative 6 Gs trying to pull him out of the seat. 

So what do 6 Gs at the starting line and negative 6 Gs at the finish line feel like? 

"It’s like a bad commuter flight that you aren’t piloting," Funny Car "pilot" Ron Capps said.  "It absolutely takes your breath away.  I sure wish that there was something that could emulate it for the fans without putting them in the danger we are in."   

For the 2005 Winternationals Funny Car champ Tommy Johnson Jr., the G-force loads are even more dramatic.  "It’s almost like you have a car wreck every time you throw the chutes out.  I told the guy from HANS it’s like we test the thing every run."

It’s because of these simulated wrecks that both Capps and Johnson have turned to exercise to combat the affects of driving a Funny Car.

For Capps, a former high school wrestler, physical fitness is nothing new.  But wrestling a 2,400-pound Funny Car down the quarter-mile has convinced him that staying in shape is a necessity.

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"I realized that even though we are drag racers, I needed to get myself back in shape," Capps said. "And so I started a pretty serious regimen.  We have an anti-injury workout.  Really working on the areas that take a toll with my shoulders, back and neck.  We do a lot of strength training."

Johnson’s workout regime, however, is an anti-ache approach.

"That’s one of the reasons why I started doing this because my back was bothering me so bad," Johnson said.  "I hurt my back in a tire shake one time when I drove Alcohol Funny Car, and I’ve had back problems ever since. So I did it mainly to try and get it where I wouldn’t hurt so bad after a weekend.  On Monday and Tuesday, you know what you did that that weekend."

Perhaps the best example of physical fitness in drag racing is Funny Car driver Whit Bazemore.  An avid cyclist, he probably has covered nearly as many miles on his bike as he has in his Funny Car.  And for Bazemore, exercising not only prepares him for the race weekend, it also provides him an opportunity get away from the stress inherent in the sport. 

"If I go two or three days without a good workout I start to feel weird," Bazemore said. "You depend on it. They say a healthy body helps make a healthy mind. When you go out, in my case, for a sustained bike ride, say two or three or five hours, whatever it might be, it definitely relaxes you and takes your mind off any other stress that you might have.

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"Having good fitness and being healthy is a way of life," Bazemore continued. "It's not just about being better prepared to drive a race car; it's about being healthier and feeling better all the time.

Bazemore’s fitness routine hasn’t gone unnoticed by his competitors.  Fellow Funny Car driver Eric Medlen has observed an improvement in Bazemore’s performance.

"You watch, like [Whit] Bazemore has always been an unbelievable, really, really good driver: always on time, just a really good driver," Medlen said.  "Well, the last couple of years—I just watch people—and he's been getting into cycling. He rides his bike a lot. The last year and a half—if you go back two years and look at his reaction times to this year, they're totally different. This year [2004 season] he's been really, really good.

Although that observation hasn’t sent Medlen to his local cycle shop, he does recognize the perils of being out of shape.

"You get run-down and you can just tell," Medlen said. You're just not as good. You don't feel like doing this, and you don't feel like doing that. It's pretty hard to make yourself do something when you should just do it."
 
It’s no surprise that 2004 POWERade Top Fuel Champion Tony Schumacher—driver of the U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster and nicknamed "The Sarge"—considers physical fitness essential for his sport.  But he also recognizes the role exercise plays in his mental fitness.

"Mental fitness comes from physical fitness," Schumacher said. "When your body is in good shape, so is your mind.  And when you’ve got to make decisions in thousandths of a second, you better be on the ball."

Greatly hampered by the metal plate in his leg—a result of the broken leg suffered in the horrendous accident at Memphis in 2000—Schumacher still manages to participate in low-impact exercises such as sit ups, push ups, and riding a bike.

And while he said that being in good physical shape helps him with the mental aspect of drag racing, Schumacher also stated that it has helped him avoid injuries more serious than a broken leg.

"We’ve had two different crashes: The first one the car disintegrated and broke my leg; I was back in the car in two weeks.  If I was not in good shape, that might have killed me.  That was a beating that no nobody in this world should have to take.  The second crash, when the car broke in half, it sprained my knee and I was back in car ten hours later in the morning for another qualifying run and ended up winning the race."

For Schumacher, the need to stay in shape is not limited to his occupation.  He’s also aware that his U.S. Army sponsorship carries the unique responsibility of representing the men and women of our armed forces.  You might say he considers it his duty to stay physically fit. 
 
"The soldiers, when they look at me, they look at me as part of them, Schumacher said."  And to be in good physical shape, to resemble what they stand for, that’s my job.  I have to be in good shape."

Another driver who has to be in good shape is 2004 Speed Channel Driver of the Year and 2004 Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson.  But unlike Schumacher, Anderson’s motivation for being physically fit has nothing to do with his occupation or sponsor. 

While some might believe that Anderson has a horsepower advantage over his competition, what they might not know is that he actually has a health disadvantage.  Diagnosed with Addison’s disease—a hormonal disorder that causes muscle weakness, low blood pressure and fatigue—Anderson has to take special care of his health throughout the season.

"It’s the type of deal where if I do burn the candle at both ends—I work around the clock, I don’t get the proper sleep, I don’t get the proper food—then I become more susceptible to having one of these episodes where your body shuts down," Anderson revealed. "For that reason, it’s more important than ever for me to eat properly and sleep properly.  And it’s hard in this game, because you want to work every hour of the day because you know that’s what makes the cars better and the engines better and that’s how you win."

So is Anderson’s life in danger if he overextends himself during a race weekend?

"It’s not a life threatening deal, I don’t think, as long as you keep it in check," Anderson added.  "But it can be real scary if you abuse yourself and let your body run down; and in this game, that’s easy to happen."

For New York mortgage broker and 2004 Pro Modified champion Mike Ashley, burning the candle at both ends is unavoidable.  Whether he’s in New York City or his Gotham City Racing 1967 Shelby GT500E Pro Modified, his busy schedule affords him little opportunity to exercise.  But he knows that investing a small amount of time into staying fit will pay large dividends at the office and on the track.

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"I do mostly cardio," Ashley said.  "I’m not looking to be real muscular; I’m just looking to be physically fit.  I spend anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour running or using an elliptical machine.  I want my engine to be well oiled and running good at all times." 

And to ensure his engine is functioning properly on race day, Ashley has a pre-race routine that he adheres to faithfully.

"When I know I’m going to race, I will not get in the race car unless I know that day I’ve exercised and listened to some personal development CDs," Ashley said. "My routine is I work on my body and my mind if I want to race.  You know, racing to me is a reward.  I love to race.  If I want to be able to reward myself, the very least I can do is take care of my physical body and take care of my mental state."

You can’t talk about physical fitness without mentioning that dreaded four-letter word: diet.  And in drag racing where the only acceptable form of losing is losing weight, some teams now have a chef to travel with the race team.  Eddie Angell, whose official title for the Bernstein team is hospitality manager, and Nicky Morse, chef for the Jeg’s Team, are two such examples.

Because eating healthy on the road can be such a challenge, these men are given the difficult task of cooking healthy and tasty food for the entire team.  It’s not an easy job when the dietary requirements of a team can range from a low-carbohydrate diet, a low-calorie diet, or a low-fat diet.

So what are the benefits of having a health-conscious chef travel with the team?

"You don’t have to eat track food; that’s the number one benefit right there," Angell joked. "A lot of the teams have chefs.  And some of the teams that have chefs, you can look at their crew members and they are a little bit on the heavy side.  So there are different kinds of foods that chefs can make.  And the benefit to having somebody that is fitness-conscious is to restrict their diet and get them the proteins and fruits that they need for their everyday lives and the energy that it supplies to your body."

Morse sees the benefit of having a team chef as someone who can alter the team’s diet according to the circumstances. 

"Sometimes during lunch I’ll give them more of a low-carbohydrate meal because a lot of times carbs will drag you down," Morse said.  "And if we are there late at night, sometimes I’ll beef up on the carbs to knock ‘em out at night to give them a good night’s rest."

But Morse recognizes a hidden advantage that he provides the team.  "It’s definitely a benefit because these guys can go back to the hotel and they can be in bed an hour or two earlier than the other team."

While some may take offense to the perception that drag racing is not physically demanding, this view does have its up side: At least the NHRA doesn’t have to worry about a steroid scandal. The only performance-enhancing substance in this sport is nitromethane.  Now how much nitromethane should be used is another issue entirely. 

Whether drag racers need to stay physically fit to perform their job will be debated among fans and drivers long after the next diet craze.  But everyone should agree with Top Fuel driver Doug Herbert when he said, "The better shape you are in, the better conditioned you are, the better you’re going to perform…in anything."