Thank you to all of those who sent in your questions last week. We will be doing more of these so if you have a question, post it in the comments! This will be the first of a multi-part series.

Question 1, from Tyler Swartz, “When can we swap seats for a day?"

Well, if we could pull off something as organized as the Tony Stewart/ Lewis Hamilton stunt I would be all for it. What would be interesting is if you stopped by for one of our races in Indianapolis this year.

We have the Indy GP and then an Oval race at Lucas Oil Raceway. Since it’ll be my first time on an oval in a formula car, I’m sure you could give me some great advice! In return, we always bring a 3rd car to the races. Now I’m not saying you can take it out on track, but there is a 3rd car…

 

Question 2 is from Aaron Meyer. He asked, “What kind of training regiment do you do to stay in shape through the year?"

A lot of the training I do to stay in shape is cardio. The minimum weight in these cars is 1,220 lbs. That means the drivers wet weight (weight with all his gear on) has to be anywhere between 165-175 lbs in order to not be too far over the minimum weight. As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, I had to lose nearly 20 lbs in order to not only be in good condition to race, but to also not be a hindrance to the performance of the car.

That being said, I still have a bit of work to go. I usually run and bike on a daily basis. For me, it is definitely not the most fun thing to do, but at the same time I think of it as the more weight I lose, the faster I go in the car! Living 15 minutes from the beach also helps as it is always a nice view to run or swim at the beach. It is also key to make sure the I am strong enough to push the car to its limits for the entirety of the race.

Back at the end of 2015, I first tested in the USF2000 car with Afterburner Autosport and realized how much more physically demanding these cars were compared to say the Skip Barber Formula 2000 cars or the Mazda Spec Miata. I was really feeling sore in my shoulders, forearms, and neck. There are some good workouts that help muscle groups like these, so I followed specific training regimens until my test in February. I felt much better in the car and was able to run more consistent lap times. Jim Leo from PitFit Training works with a lot of top level racing professionals, and while I haven’t been able to work with him much, he would be my number one recommendation for any drivers wanting to up their physical game.

 

Stay tuned for more answers, and don't forget to send your questions!