Cup driver consulting Virginia sports psychologist to improve attitude

A year ago, Denny Hamlin could do no wrong it seemed. He was on the way to an eight-win season where he finished second in the championship to Jimmie Johnson.

This season, Hamlin admits, has been frustrating. Two races into the Chase, he’s so far back that he’s all but out of it. His team has been up-and-down. The equipment has been inconsistent at times.

Hamlin has talked about the pressure he felt in last year’s Chase. Now comes the struggles this season, but Hamlin said he’s learning to better handle these challenges.

Hamlin said Tuesday that he has talked with Dr. Bob Rotella, the renowned sports psychologist based in Keswick, Va., who specializes in working with golfers on their mental approach.

Rotella has worked with such golfers as Padrig Harrington, Nick Price, Ernie Els, Tom Kite and Darren Clarke, who gave credit to Rotella after winning this year’s British Open.

Rotella also has worked as a consultant for athletes in the NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, PGA Tour, LPGA Tour and more.

This is what Hamlin said about Rotella:

“I’ve been working with a guy that has kind of worked on my attitude and outlook and I feel like if I would have known then what I know now about how to treat each weekend and having fun doing what I’m doing, then I would have been much better off last year.’’

How bad could things have been last year as he nearly won a title?

“I felt like last year I didn’t have a whole lot of fun,’’ Hamlin said. “I put so much pressure on myself to run a specific position every single race and I had a plan and executed. It almost worked, but I didn’t have fun. Maybe I would have had such a gap on (Johnson) by the time I got to Phoenix it didn’t matter if we ran out of fuel, it didn’t matter what happened, but I was so kind of conservative on restarts and things like that, I felt like I gave up 20 points here (under the old points system), 20 points there and it came back and bit us in the long run.

“When I get back to that situation, and, hopefully, its next year, I’ll be able to apply those things. I’ve got to treat each race as the same amount of importance as the previous one and the one that goes after that. I’ve talked to someone who is really, really smart and knows a lot about sports and how it works. Each race I’ve got to treat with the same importance. I can’t build myself up to believe that one race is bigger than the next.’’

In a way, what Hamlin is saying sounds much like some of the advice Rotella gave in a 2009 Golf Digest article that he co-wrote titled: “My 10 Rules on Mental Fitness.'' No. 8 in that article is titled: “Find peace on the course.’’

This is what Rotella wrote, using the golf analogy (but as you read it think how it could translate to racing):

“When you practice hard and admit to yourself that you really want to win, it's easy to build up a tournament into something so huge that you can't play. I've seen amateurs not used to competing arrive two hours before their tee time and try to rebuild their golf swings. They become panicked practicers and try to perfect every area of their game. They get themselves so tied up in knots it's ridiculous. Tour players do this, too. I've seen guys come to Augusta, rent a big house and invite their family and friends. When Thursday comes around, they start worrying: What if I miss the cut and disappoint everyone? The golf course has to be your sanctuary, the thing you love, and you can't be afraid of messing up. ‘’

Often the mental aspect of racing gets overlooked. A lot of drivers don’t like to talk about it. Some because they don’t want their secrets out, and some, maybe because they fear what others will think. It’s one of those areas that often stays in the background for many drivers but can be so important.

To understand the value of the mental aspect, I go back to a comment Brad Keselowski made at Richmond earlier this month about Jimmie Johnson. Keselowski said of Johnson and his team:

“The 48 is perhaps the mentally strongest team there is out there. I’m trying not to focus or prepare on just the 48. I think that’s where everybody screws up, personally. I don’t think we’ve seen anyone with the mental composure that the 48 has.’’

Keselowski also added: “I feel like we can execute at a very high level and have the mental focus that it takes to win the championship where we’re at right now.  I really do.”

Hamlin looks to be in that spot a year from now. This might help him get there.

 

 

 

 

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