Toyota goes the extra mile to help its drivers prepare for Mexico City altitude

NASCAR Cup Series teams and drivers are preparing for a number of different variables that come with racing in Mexico City this weekend, and that includes the altitude.

The circuit, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, sits 7,500 feet above sea level. It will be the highest-elevation race the Cup Series has ever experienced. And high altitude means thinner air.

Toyota wanted to make sure their drivers were prepared for any physical effects. At the Toyota Performance Center in Mooresville, N.C., the company, through Caitlin Quinn, director of performance at TPC, created an environment for drivers to train. It focused on being in a hypoxic environment, which means it has low oxygen levels. Stephanie Fernandes, the sports dietitian at TPC, also played a large role.

“It started with a question from one of our Cup (Series) drivers saying, ‘Hey, are we getting ready for Mexico?’” Quinn said recently. “I was like, ‘What do you mean?’”

Quinn started digging into research and the numbers as far as elevation. Once it was realized how high above sea level the track sits, she acknowledged “that can have a significant impact on performance. … It could have a pretty serious effect on some of the drivers.”

The ill effects that some might feel in high altitude can include headaches, shortness of breath, dizziness and nausea. All of the Toyota drivers were given the same information and chance to train. While all of them heard Quinn out, some went all in like Tyler Reddick on the Cup Series side, and others chose what would work best for them or how far they wanted to take the training.

The training started about nine weeks ago. Quinn didn’t go into specifics – understandably not wanting to give the proprietary information TPC has developed – about the training or nutrition program but she explained that some of it involved exercises to deal with heat tolerance and Fernandes provided supplements to help with the training effects.

Some of the issues that drivers might have to deal with behind the wheel include cooling, dehydration and even some inner ear or central nervous function. In other words, as Quinn said, all the things drivers need to do their jobs well. And so, Quinn wanted to find a way to expose the drivers to a lower oxygen environment or have them exercise in such an environment.

Reddick, for example, wanted to balance both training and sleeping in the hypoxic environment. His wife Alexa supported his taking the measures needed to prepare but being late in her pregnancy with their second child, the sleeping away from home didn’t thrill her.

“I definitely noticed a difference from the start until where I’m at now,” Reddick said. “It was fun. It was a new challenge, as well. I’ve always enjoyed training but doing this has been fun. The setting, atmosphere is all different and you’re testing yourself in new ways. Pretty early on I was starting to notice the benefits.

“I was really thankful for all the work that (everyone) was putting in, the sport’s dietician … helping out with all things we might need in our body to go with it. I really enjoyed it, honestly. It is different sleeping in a hypoxic environment but it’s really cool to see the changes so far and I’m excited to see what it’s going to be like when I get to Mexico City.”

The investment at the TPC will not go to waste on one race. Quinn explained there are plans to implement it in the future for drivers to use as a tool for other races, and not just one at high altitude. She also understands that while some drivers might feel negative effects in Mexico City, there will be others who will be fine without doing anything special to prepare for it.

“Maybe these guys are going to feel awesome and not just fine,” she said of the Toyota competitors. “It’s an advantage, potentially. Not necessarily that everyone will be at a detriment when they go. I understand that. We knew that from day one.

“It was (about), can we gain a competitive advantage from feeling really good there as opposed to just fine.”