Lara Carlson appointed to American College of Sports Medicine Motorsports Committee

Lara Carlson, Ph.D., FACSM, CSCS, UNE assistant professor applied exercise science, was recently appointed a member of the American College of Sports Medicine Motorsports Committee until 2013. The charge of this committee is to develop, disseminate, and apply knowledge of proper biomechanical and physiological principles to the field of motorsports so that the performance and safety of the participants, crews, and fans are optimized.

Carlson, a NASCAR fan, said her work on the committee is as much pleasure as it is business. Two summers ago, Carlson made a trip to Hendrick Motosports in Concord, N.C. to work with pit crew teams on strength and conditioning and to begin piloting her research regarding the physiological demands on drivers and pit crew. Hendrick Motorsports is the home of big name drivers Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and the unprecedented 5-time consecutive Cup winner Jimmie Johnson.

Motorsports are the second highest viewed sports on television in the United States, yet, she says, there are literally only a few published studies regarding the physiological demands placed on motorsport athletes.   “High-speed auto racing has been shown to stress the cardiovascular system, challenge thermoregulation, and induce driver fatigue, which is a major risk factor that can result in injury and death,” she explains.  Related issues that need study include grassroots motorsports safety, especially with the thousands of weekend racers in the United States.

A partial list of the ten committee members include: Dr. J. Timothy Lightfoot, Chair (Professor at Texas A&M); Dr. Jeff Zachweija (Gatorade Sport Sciences Institute); Dr. Jacques Dallaire (Performance Prime); Michael Fisher (NASCAR Research & Development Center); Lance Munkksgard (Red Bull Racing); Greg Miller (Michael Waltrip Racing).

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