Lara Carlson attends 2016 NASCAR Summit; new documentary released on her motorsports research
Lara Carlson, DPE, FACSM, CSCS, associate professor in the Westbrook College of Health Professions and the Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences, recently attended the 2016 NASCAR Summit on January 10, 2015 in Concord, North Carolina.
The annual NASCAR Summit serves as the only annual meeting for representatives from the facilities hosting NASCAR events and addresses topics related to operations, security, risk management, training, fire suppression, extrication and emergency medical services.
Carlson, who presented her motorsports physiology research at the 2015 Summit, was invited again to attend this year’s event. Carlson published the first study that quantified the thermoregulatory and physiological challenges associated with competitive stock car racing, indicating that motorsport competition increases heat stress and challenges the cardiovascular system, which may lead to heat illness, as well as the impairment of muscle activation and mental alertness. These effects may add to driver fatigue and possibly lead to catastrophic injury.
While at the conference, Carlson had the chance to discuss her research with NASCAR driver David Ragan. She also had the opportunity to chat with former NASCAR driver Jeff Burton and former Crew Chief for Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Steve Letarte, at Hendrick Motorsports. Burton and Letarte are now sports analysts for NBC. Letarte was born in Cornish, Maine.
