Kris Johnson: Who knew NASCAR was so cerebral?

By Kris Johnson - Associate Editor

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

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You meet some interesting folks in the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage.

Dr. Terry Lyles is one of them.

Lyles is a behind-the-scenes player, working as he does for Gillett Evernham Motorsports. While a lot of teams employ strength coaches, Lyles works more on the minds of GEM drivers, including Sprint Cup Series rookie Patrick Carpentier.

Like Carpentier, Lyles came to Cup from the open-wheel world.

“The biggest thing here is everything is new,” says Lyles. “There’s a lot of differences between open-wheel and this division here in NASCAR. The more you can get out of left brain, the better you are, but that just takes time. Time and skill all come together over a period of time.”

Learning the nuances of stock-car racing has much to do, he says, with the left brain, where data is stored along with logic and time cognition processing. In addition to the physical challenges of Carpentier’s transition – heavier car, etc. – Lyles says Carpentier is also making the grade on the mental side.

“I think he’s right at probably an A-,” Lyles says. “Ideally what you have to have is a learning experience that logs all the data and puts it under the surface so you don’t have to bring it up and think about it. Because If you have to [do that], it’s your focus. So now you’re probably dodging things you shouldn’t be dodging. The more you can reload information in the left brain and let the autonomic nervous system hold it, now you can creatively and cognitively just think about staying in the moment.”

If that rings too deep, here’s a translation: “It’s like going through school, you have to learn the information before you can ever pass the test. The test better be flow state because if you don’t know it by then, it’s too late.”

Carpentier’s test is ongoing, but the affable Quebec native is making strides.

“It’s so easy to be confident when you’re P1 on the board, but when you’re last and still think that you’re just as good as them or better, that’s when it’s hard,” he said.

An Indiana native, Lyles worked with drivers accustomed to being P1 on the board – Emerson Fittipaldi among them – during his open-wheel days.

Lyles is asked if it is possible for a driver to get by on superior hand-eye coordination regardless of his mental state.

“No. You have to have that squared away. Because what happens is … what I refer to is a flow state, which is right brain, there’s no time cognition, your visualization is there, visual acuity, imagination, creativity all the cool stuff is on the right side of our brain,” Lyles says.

Who knew the act of wheeling a 3,500-pound stock car around the track was such a cerebral endeavor?

Lyles, for one.

Stay tuned to SceneDaily.com and NASCAR Scene for the story of another behind-the-scenes player who makes sure the minds of competitors are where they need to be to ensure optimum performance.