Number 2 in a countdown of things racers must do to be successful is to be mentally tough, shutting out outside influences in order to concentrate on the job at hand.
Seldom do the things you want in life just land in your lap. Success requires a lot of hard work. It also requires giving some things up. Racing happens on weekends, often far from home. So travel and a lot of missed events are part of the lifestyle.
A racing driver better be prepared to hear about all the great parties, the weddings, the life, they’ve missed. A racing driver who wants to make it to the top better be hard. A racing driver has to be mentally tough.
“You’ve got to think of it this way: There are a lot of drivers out there what would kill for this ride,” says Tristan Nunez, driver of a Mazda SKYACTIV Prototype int he TUDOR United SportsCar Championship who, at 19, is at an age where most of his peers are in college and living the associated lifestyle while he’s been pursuing this dream for years. “I’m very fortunate to be where I am. The things that I missed out on – like prom or a regular high school experience – it doesn’t really faze me. I have a lot of passion for this sport, what I do, and I wouldn’t give anything up for it. But, again, there are a lot of life lessons I haven’t learned yet. Being thrown into a professional atmosphere, and being thrown into the business side of it as well, without having a full college degree – or just life skills in general – it’s been a challenge.”
Kenton Koch is also a young racing driver on his way up, balancing college as business student at Cal State Fullerton while racing in the IMSA Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda. He know he’s missing some things, and will continue to do so in the future. He knows that not only does he have to be mentally hard, he’s going to have to have a tough and understanding family to accommodate the racing life.
“I want to have a family and I want to continue racing,” he says. “Racing is an extremely important part of my life and it’s a busy thing; I want to have family that can understand and travel and do the things I want to do. It’s part of the journey. That’s kind of how I like to picture things. Obviously it’s far down the line – I’m only 20. But it’s one of the things I’ve looked at.”
Koch also points out mental toughness is part of the sport inside the car as well. A driver has to keep the demons out of his or her head if he or she is going to win.
“If you go off track, drop two wheels or someone is trying to get in your head, you can be mentally shaken. If you’re not one that’s very focused on what you need to do and not let your mind stray from what your doing, then you’re going to screw up and he’s going to get by you,” Koch explains.
He adds that confidence is a big part of it as well and played a huge role in him winning the 2014 Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich® Tires. “If you’re confident that that you can be better than anyone else you most likely can be better than anyone else. But there’s being cocky and overconfident, too – you’ve got to find the right balance,” he says.
Of course, it’s easier for most people to be mentally tough when they’re immersed in the task at hand. It’s a lot like going to the gym – once you’re there and working out, it’s all good; it’s tearing yourself away from the TV, work or wrenching on the racecar to go in the first place that’s the hard part. There are always tradeoffs and in doing one thing you have to give up something else. The decision to make is whether it’s worth it or not.
“There’s a lot of college experience – a lot of high school experience – I’ll miss out on,” says Nunez. “I wouldn’t give up [a career in racing] for the world. I’m already at a head start compared to those college kids. They’re still in college learning what they’re going to do int he future, and I’m already pursuing my career. I like to think I’m one step ahead of them being 19-years old. I just look at it as a blessing.”