On the surface professional auto or motorcycle racing might seem much like Tennis, Golf or Boxing. They appear to all be individual sports that depend solely on individual achievement. Let me tell you that in each of them, the elite level requires great teamwork with others in the process to becoming great. Guys I work with such as Sprint car champion Joey Saldana, are only alone in the physical act of sitting in the seat and maneuvering their vehicle. Racing at the level of NASCAR for instance is actually a great example of a true team sport. The top drivers always had great teams that fit totally with their philosophy and driving style. The loyal fans of Kasey Kahne, #9 who can understand that racing is truly a team sport, will immediately understand why his move to Red Bull for 2011 and Hendrick Motorsport for 2012 is so exciting.
I am Russ Bohaty, and a lot people know me as “The Racers Trainer”, probably because that is my job. I am the fitness trainer for Kasey Kahne, the Kasey Kahne Racing Team, and Sprint car champion drivers Joey Saldana and Travis Rilat. I am just a small part of their larger team engine you might say. I have the specific task of creating a training programs for racers that maximizes the driver’s ability to compete and win. For a professional racer, the larger consideration is the team and sponsor affiliation and what car you will drive as a result. The question they ask is: will this situation give me the best chance to reach my goals for my career? I know from working with Kasey that the sky is the limit for him. He presently has 11 Sprint Cup wins, including 47 top 5s and over 80 top 10s. Throw in another 7-28 and 57 on the Nationwide race series and factor in his young age (just turned 30 in April) and this is a driver that is considered on the cusp of elite status.
Working out and the demands that it puts on the body and mind of an individual is something that is very telling as to the character of that individual. It takes the life’s law that you get out what you put into something, and boils it down to it’s bare essence. I see the man workout and I see the passion he has for doing things at the highest possible level. He is no phoney and he puts his expectations and those of his loyal fans right at the top of his priorities.
Edit this text Seeing him make these moves makes perfect sense. If he feels a team gives him the opportunity to fulfill his promise as a driver, he will commit fully to being a member of that team. Hendrick and their great stable of drivers will only cause the competitor in him to burn hotter than it already does. I say preparation is everything in life. In this case, Kasey has studied the situation carefully and he is very excited to be part of what the future has to offer and still grateful for the his great team that he has worked with to date.