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    Athletic Training ConceptsTM  
               and NASCAR




    I’ve been an avid NASCAR fan for a long time, here’s our story...................by Phil Horton

    In the spring of 1998, I received a telephone call  from NASCAR Cup Driver Ernie Irvan
    inquiring into the possibility of becoming his personal trainer.  two years  earlier I was the Athletic
    Trainer with the NBA Milwaukee Bucks but had just re launched my independent contractor
    business in personal training as well as working at a sports medicine clinic in Shelby, North
    Carolina.

    Ernie worked out at a local gym in Cornelius, NC owned by Walt Smith who additionally was
    recognized as one of the best Jackmen in the business, we all hit it off pretty quick.   Ernie
    and I wanted to explore various ways to train race car drivers so we tried every type of training
    method imaginable, I had a lot to learn about NASCAR drivers and he was eager to teach me.  
    It was only three years earlier that Ernie survived a near fatal crash at Michigan International
    Speedway, at the height of his career.  Ernie was big time.

    I trained Ernie for about four seasons and it was a sad day when he retired at Darlington in the
    fall of 1999 after his second near fatal accident at Michigan International.  Ernie continues to be
    an inspiration to me and probably the most influential individual in my NASCAR career.


    The Beginning of the ATCTM  Pit – Stop Philosophy

    As things progressed with Ernie, I expanded my work to include pit-crewmen.  While in the NBA,
    I worked with some of the best athletes in all of sports, now the challenge was to turn five
    ordinary mechanics who had limited-to-none athletic ability into athletes……what was I thinking?  
    As it turned out, these bunch of guys had MORE athletic talent than one would think, but the
    real asset  that they had and could not be coached was the ability to perform under pressure,
    this would later become the foundation of the ATCTM  Philosophy.

    Ryan Pemperton, Ernie’s crew chief at the time asked me to evaluate the footwork of the crew
    and provide a recommendation that would make them better.  The first pit-stop I ever witnessed
    was at Bristol and my first thought was ‘this is crazy’, followed by my next thought….’why would
    anyone want to do this, let alone get better?’ In addition, much to our surprise we found out
    that stick and ball techniques did not apply to pitting a car and even further there were no
    “norms” available, at least none with a rational base available to learn from.

    I met Mike (Tiny) Houston a former college football player and avid pro wrestling fan who had
    just turned pit-crewman. Tiny was an outspoken (young and dumb) individual just like I was at
    his age, however I immediately liked him because he was hungry to learn and wanted to get
    better, so we formed a think tank with the goal to perfect the pit stop.

    We began by breaking down each position with a new scheme and I would either shoot it down
    or give it support based on the ergonomics of human movement.  Of course we fought like dogs
    over the smallest of things and in return we helped each other and also shorten the learning
    curve needed by all.

     As an example, let me share the story of when Tiny came to us with a new way to carry.  Tiny is
    big…in fact he’s huge, so the only way to put a tire on his way…was to be Tiny’s size.  In short,
    he wouldn’t listen after I repeatedly explained to him that people would get injured using his
    approach and sure enough we had three injuries within three months using his technique.  We
    eventually figured out that the technique was indeed good however you must find bigger and
    stronger carriers, the end result changed the shape and size of carriers from that day on.  
    Similar instances occurred frequently until we came up with a finished product that is currently
    in place today.

    It took about three years to cover all the important areas; technique, weight lifting, race day
    strategies, etc., and the members of the ‘Think Tank’ have moved on to new and better
    situations, but our core philosophy which was created continues to live on today.

    Contributions to ATCTM
                                                                                         - Co-Author
                                                                                             Lavern Bridges 2007

NASCAR Pit Crew Coach, Athletic Trainer & Motivational Speaker