Commentary
Commentary on Motorsport and
Driver-Athlete Research
T
his is an exciting time in exercise physiology. By
choosing to publish the three articles on motorsports
in this issue (1–3), Medicine & Science in Sport & Ex-
ercise has chosen to shine a light on an underrepresented topic
in sports and performance: motorsports and driver athletes. As
Downloaded from http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse by BhDMf5ePHKav1zEoum1tQfN4a+kJLhEZgbsIHo4XMi0hCywCX1AWnYQp/IlQrHD3i3D0OdRyi7TvSFl4Cf3VC1y0abggQZXdtwnfKZBYtws= on 10/18/2021
each of the articles mention in one way or another, this is an
area of scientific investigation that has historically garnered
little, to no, attention. Reid and Lightfoot (3) offer that between
1966 and 2019, there were only 46 reports of original physiol-
ogy research specifically addressing the driver-athlete. Al-
though some progress has been made to dispel the idea that
motorsports is not a true sport and that drivers are not truly ath-
letes, there is still a great deal of work that needs to be done to
raise the perception of these athletes and their sport to the level
of traditional sport, like football, baseball, or soccer. I have spent
a good portion of my own career pursuing this line of work, and
like Reid and Lightfoot (3), I am reminded of the quote by
Ernest Hemingway in which he famously says “There are only
three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering;
all the rest are merely games.” Each article does a very good
job of grabbing the bull by the horns and climbing the moun-
tain of working to overcome the stereotypes that driver ath-
letes do nothing more than turn left on most occasions and
that motorsports is just cars going round in a circle.
Reid and Lightfoot (3) begin the conversation with a very
thorough and comprehensive review of the physiology of auto
racing. Although most of us know what it takes to be a success-
ful traditional athlete, few truly know the conditions and chal-
lenges that driver athletes face while competing. Persistent
thermal stress, repetitive G-loading, unrelenting noise levels,
significant increases in metabolism, and carbon monoxide ex-
posure represent only a few of the challenges that driver athletes
encounter. These challenges become particularly relevant and
timely given the recent incident involving NASCAR driver
Denny Hamlin and the carbon monoxide exposure that lead to
the onset of nausea and double vision near the end of the race
in Dover, DE. Reid and Lightfoot (3) also briefly highlight
the changing demographics of the driver-athlete community, a
topic that Ferguson et al. (1) addressed directly. Ferguson et al.
(1) provide evidence that counters the long-standing stereotype
that women are at a disadvantage due to hormonal differences.
In addressing sex differences, the authors offer a glimpse
of where this line of inquiry needs to go moving forward.
2547
Copyright © 2019 by the American College of Sports Medicine. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
Considering that motorsports is no longer an exclusive domain
of men, that drivers are starting to compete at younger ages, and
that drivers regularly compete into their 50s (A.J. Foyt com-
peted in the ‘92 Indy 500 at age 57 yr), knowing as much about
driver athletes as possible becomes particularly relevant and im-
portant. To this point, McKnight et al. (2) sought to quantify the
fitness variables that have been identified as crucial for success.
More importantly, the authors examined these variables across
different racing series in an effort to make driver-athlete exer-
cise prescriptions more specific to the car and the kind of driv-
ing associated with the specific series.
Each of these articles is an exciting, necessary, and strong
step forward on the topics of motorsports and the driver athlete.
My genuine hope is that these articles serve as the stepping-off
point for future work in these areas. The scientific community
did not stop examining track-and-field athletes once Sir Roger
Bannister broke the 4-min mile, and we are still chasing the
sub-2-h marathon. Likewise, there is much yet to learn about
driver athletes. Additionally, nontraditional sports, like sport-
climbing and BMX cycling, are becoming more popular. With
athletes pushing the edge out even further, there are new areas
of exercise physiology just waiting to be explored. My hope is
that these articles inspire early-career and established re-
searchers alike to step outside the mainstream and to examine
new, different, and exciting topics.
Edward S. Potkanowicz, Ph.D.
Department of Human Performance and Sport Studies
Ohio Northern University
Ada, OH
DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002069
REFERENCES
APPLIED SCIENCES
1. Ferguson DP, Barthel SC, Pruett ML, Buckingham TM, Waaso PR.
Physiological responses of male and female race car drivers during
competition. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019;51(12):2570–7.
2. McKnight PJ, Bennett LA, Malvern JJ, Ferguson DP. V̇O2peak, body
composition, and neck strength of elite motor racing drivers. Med Sci
Sports Exerc. 2019;51(12):2563–9.
3. Reid MB, Lightfoot JT. The physiology of auto racing: a brief review.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019;51(12):2548–62.