How to Focus for Car Racing

"TINA STULL: Hi. I'm Tina Stull, and I drive the Top Dragster for Interstate Batteries. On behalf of Expert Village, I'm going to share my thoughts on being mentally prepared for a run. Right before a run, I like to really try to get focused. I've been taught that just knowing what you--when--from the pit all the way to the staging lanes, all the way to the starting line, you need to know where you're at and that everything's taken care of. You need to know that all your equipment is there. And I always establish a routine of making sure my helmet is always on the roll cage. I keep my arm restraints always in the car and I keep my gloves always in the car. And the only thing I take inside is my suit and--suit and shoes. And so, before a run, I put on--do the same thing every time. I put on my shoes, put on my suit, I go to my car. I make sure all my equipment is still there because sometimes they'll fall off or things get crazy after a run and you may not realize that you didn't get everything back in there. If you get up in the staging lanes and you realize you're missing equipment, how can you focus on your lane? 'Cause now you're worried about getting that--getting back to the pit and getting there to race."