Ryan Blaney on the “Different Kind of Requirement” of Fitness in NASCAR

Even though it has gone down in the last few years, there’s still a big notion out in the world that in order to drive in NASCAR, a driver doesn’t need a high level of physical fitness. Of course, it’s pretty far from the fact that driving in NASCAR requires a very high level of fitness. But it’s a different type of fit, one that Ryan Blaney explained earlier this year.

During a conversation with Tom Segura, the current NASCAR champion opened up on the meaning and requirements of fitness in the sport. He said, “I think it’s a different kind of fit. All of us or none of us are really big. We’re all fairly short, fairly skinny, lean. You don’t see a bunch of us buff because you don’t really need to be. It’s a different kind of requirement for what we do.”

“When we’re in the car, it’s our shoulders, core, and heart rate.”

Blaney claimed drivers in NASCAR have to do a lot of training to keep their heart rate in check in an extremely high environment while they’re tired and faced with the need to focus. “I do a lot of training like that. Kick my a** in the workout, get me really tired and now it’s like, alright, we’re doing a drill on focus on another task while you’re struggling,” he added.

Ryan Blaney’s friend in NASCAR also opened up on the importance of fitness

Earlier this year, Bubba Wallace, who is also a good friend of Ryan Blaney, opened up on how being more attentive towards his physical fitness has helped him. Wallace said, “I enjoy working out now. But before I was tired of going into it, I was tired… It didn’t feel better, like, Oh, this is a waste of time. And I didn’t see anything out of it.”

“I’ve been working out eating better, trying to cut a little bit of weight.”

Wallace claimed that working on his fitness has helped him improve his physical and mental self, something that also played into his results, which for his pal Blaney, was that he became the NASCAR Cup champion.