CORE Skill 1 – Reducing the Sensation of Speed

Overview

The CORE skill of reducing the Sensation of Speed (SoS) serves as the central column of the spiral-to-speed; it is the structure upon which the other four CORE skills are built, and at the same time, sets the upper limit of performance (i.e. defines the potential ‘height’ of the whole spiral-to-speed learning structure at any given moment). In practice, what that means is that even if you have achieved an extremely high level of performance in the other four CORE skills, you will not be able to use those skills unless your SoS reduction skill is functioning at the same level or higher. For example, let’s say you are an expert intuitive driver who has mastered all five of the SoS CORE skills in a Formula Ford. If you step into a slightly faster car, it will take you some time to reprogram your SoS to compensate for the additional speed, and until you have reprogrammed your SoS, you will not be able to use all of your advanced capabilities in the other CORE skills. This is the case because you (as a race car controlling system) can NOT function properly/efficiently unless you can efficiently process sensory information; an elevated SoS = reduced sensory information processing capabilities.

If you don’t believe me, consider this quote by Dario Franchitti (from safeisfast.com) when asked about training the brain to keep focused throughout a race:

…For me, though, the first thing that happened when I drove the next level of car above – whether it was going from Vauxhall Junior to Formula Vauxhall-Lotus or the Formula 3 car or the DTM car or the Formula 1 car or the first time I drove a Champ Car, my brain was just trying to process the speed at which things came at me. It was like somebody took a DVD and fast-forwarded it and you were trying to process that information. That was the first thing to master, and then the focus over the race distance came along and then it was the ability to think about other things while you’re driving at that speed, that was the next thing.
— Dario Franchitti

Remember the last sentence of that quote when we move on to CORE Skill 2 – Increasing Sensitivity.

What is the Sensation of Speed?

The Sensation of Speed is exactly what the name states; it is how you experience speed… how speed feels to you. An elevated SoS is the feeling (the perception) that sensory information (primarily visual information) is coming at you so quickly that you cannot comfortably process it all.

What Does the Sensation of Speed Feel Like?

How a driver perceives speed (their SoS) varies depending on a number of factors, which include: their skill level, familiarity with the car and/or track, how they process information, and so on. However one of the biggest factors is how fast they are trying to go (how hard they are pushing), because this has a direct impact on all of the other factors.

Words can only go so far in describing the SoS, so I’ve tried to combine video and music to convey the idea in a different way. The video portion is intended to represent the rate at which the visual information stream seems to be coming at the driver for processing. The music portion is intended to give a ‘feel’ for the level of stress the SoS induces (or looking at it another way, the rhythm at which the driver must work to try and process the information stream).

I’ve created SoS videos for each of the learning stages listed on the Learning Stages page that show how drivers at a particular level might experience the SoS if they were pushing hard to try and go fast. However, the learning stage divisions are just for convenience; a driver at any learning level could experience the SoS of a lower level driver if circumstances cause them to feel overwhelmed. For example, if a Formula Ford driver who performs at the Master level, hops into an F1 car and tries to go fast right away, he would likely experience the SoS of a Novice or Advanced Beginner level driver. However, since he already knows what it’s like to have a reduced SoS (and instinctively knows how to reduce his SoS), if he took his time, he would adapt to the F1 car, and his SoS would reduce itself naturally.

Sensation of Speed Examples

Novice –Very high SoS, drives extremely slowly to avoid sensory overload.

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Advanced Beginner – High SoS, drives very slowly to avoid sensory overload.

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Competent – Neutral SoS, still off the pace, but working on improving feel.

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Proficient – Low SoS, almost fast; driving is becoming automated; refining skills..

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Expert – Very Low SoS (slow-mo), front runner; mostly automated driving..

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Master – Extremely Low SoS (super slow-mo), pace setter, automatic driving..

Why is Controlling the Sensation of Speed Important?

Controlling the SoS is the single most important skill for any racer PERIOD. If you don’t control the SoS you WILL be slow, VERY SLOW, and you will not improve until you get your SoS under control. Why? Because an elevated SoS draws ALL of your mental resources into trying to manage the flow of visual information, so there is nothing left to feel the car, sense traction, evaluate your performance, or even check your mirrors; you are essentially a passenger on a very expensive and potentially very dangerous ‘E’ ticket ride.

If you feel an elevated SoS, then there are really only three things you can do:

Ignore the message your brain is sending you, keep trying to go fast, and run the very real risk that you’ll experience sensory overload; the consequences of which are rarely good. Even if you don’t experience sensory overload, your performance will suffer badly because you will not have access to the full level of capability that you may have developed for the other four CORE skills. This is the case because effective use of the other CORE skills is dependent on having access to the mental resources that having the SoS under control provides. This option is, of course, foolhardy, and is almost impossible to do unless you have a profoundly underdeveloped self-preservation instinct.
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Slow down enough so that you can sufficiently manage the information stream, which hopefully will keep you out of the barriers. I believe this option is where a lot of drivers get stuck on the learning spiral. Lacking information to the contrary, and lacking the intuitive knowledge of how to reduce their SoS, they assume that ‘exciting and rushed’ is how racing is supposed to feel… at least how it’s supposed to feel for them. Therefore, they get trapped at a pace far slower than they could go if they understood and implemented techniques that would enable them to control their SoS.
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Adapt to the speed (reduce your SoS), so that you can regain access to your full capabilities for the other CORE skills. Intuitive drivers (really all levels of reasonably competent/competitive drivers) instinctively choose this option. They first apply option 2, and then set about the cyclical process of becoming comfortable (by reducing the SoS). They set a ‘reasonably safe’ pace, get completely comfortable at that pace, and then they up the pace until it starts to become uncomfortable (the SoS begins to increase), then they adapt to that speed… and so on until they reach their limit. For drivers who intuitively use this process, it is just a natural thing; it’s not something that they ‘do’, it just happens for them because it MUST happen for them to achieve their goal of going faster.

In the next section, we’ll look at what may cause some drivers to struggle with getting their SoS under control.

What Causes an Elevated Sensation of Speed?

An elevated SoS is the result of not taking full advantage of the brain’s information processing capabilities by erroneously using the inherently slow process of analysis (powered by ‘intellect’) instead of using the profoundly faster process of recognition (powered by intuition) to manage the torrent of sensory information that is produced when racing.

Our brains have many different functional/processing modes, along with various accompanying consciousness states. When using your brain for racing, it can function as a:

Serial processor – Uses intellect to analyze and interpret primarily visual sensory information.
(processes one thing at a time, but very quickly…. however, not fast enough for racing)
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Parallel processor – Uses intuition to do pattern recognition matching between reality and a ‘model’ of the track stored in memory.
(processes a massive amount of information simultaneously – holistically)
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Hybrid serial/parallel processor – using both Analysis / Intellect and Recognition / Intuition
(combining the strengths, and minimizing the weaknesses, of both)

Due to the rate at which racers must process massive amounts of sensory information, I believe a racer’s brain must function in a hybrid mode with something like 10 – 20% serial processing and 80 – 90% parallel processing (BTW these numbers are just a guess to provide some type of context from which to think about this).

When I say only 10-20 % serial (intellectual) processing should be used, that just applies to the actual act of driving (getting around the track). When much of the actual driving is being done with parallel (intuitive) processing, then the freed intellectual resources can be used for tasks to which they best suited, such as car/driver performance evaluation, race craft, etc.

Regardless of what the actual percentages may be, if the balance shift towards a higher percentage of serial processing (analysis), then the driver will experience an elevated SoS because, while serial processing has many strengths, it is just too slow to efficiently handle the amount of sensory information that must be processed when racing.

In parallel processing mode, massive amounts of sensory information can be processed every moment (by holistic pattern matching), which can allow for automating the task of driving around the track to the point where driving feels like it’s happening in slow motion. This can also free mental resources that can be used on all the other tasks related to racing, and for evaluating and improving performance. However, in parallel processing mode the brain has little if any capability for dealing with sequencing of information and timing of events (such as braking points and turning points). So both serial and parallel processing (analysis / intellect and recognition / intuition) are needed for optimum performance when racing.

There is also another, hopefully seldom used, ‘emergency’ mode that can be triggered when the feces hits the rotary atmosphere oscillator, which can cause an extreme slow motion, or even a stop-motion, SoS.

See Mental Processing Flow Charts for a high-level visual representation of information processing for Intellectual (serial) and Intuitive (parallel) modes.

Information Processing Examples

In this section I’m trying to visually show the differing information processing approaches used by drivers at the various learning levels. That is, I’m trying to show the information processing methods that are causing the different Sensations of Speed feelings as depicted in the videos above.

But first, to give you an overall perspective, this table is a guess at the type of mental processing drivers use for common driving actions, based on their learning stage (100% = all intellectual processing/focused concentration and 0% = all intuitive processing /holistic concentration)

Information Processing Images

The images in this Information Processing Examples section are screen captures from the video editing application that I used to create the corresponding ‘information processing’ videos.

The green line corresponds to the table above, and represents a guess at the driver’s mental processing from Start/Finish to the exit of Turn 5 at Laguna Seca. The top of the image represents 100% Intuitive processing / holistic concentration and the bottom of the image represents 100% Intellectual processing /focused concentration. Each point on the green line (or corresponding pair of points if the green line is not at the top of the image) represents something the driver must do (brake, turn, apex, exit, etc.), so if a point appears ½ way between the top and bottom of the image, then that task took a 50/50 mix if intellectual and intuitive processing to complete.

Information Processing Videos

The videos in this Information Processing Examples section attempt to visually describe the interaction between driving with analysis processing (intellect) and recognition processing (intuition) for each of the learning stages listed on the Learning Stages page.

In the videos, a full color image is used to represent 100% recognition/intuitive processing (and holistic concentration), and a black & White checker pattern is used to represent analysis/intellectual processing (and focused concentration). (The checker pattern was used for clarity sake, because for the more advanced learning stages, very little analysis is used, so I needed a way to make it stand out.) When the checker pattern is 100% opaque, then the driver is using 100% intellectual processing; when the checker pattern is 50% transparent, then the driver is using a 50/50 blend of intellectual and intuitive processing.

For all of the videos, a red dot appears in the upper-left corner each time an action must be taken (brake, turn, apex, etc.), so the red dot in a video represents the points on the green line for the corresponding information processing image.

All of the information processing videos, and their corresponding information processing image, shown below represent the drivers’ mental processing from Start/Finish to the exit of Turn 5 at Laguna Seca.

Information Processing Examples by Learning Stage

Novice Driver – Sensory information processing

As show above in the Sensation of Speed Examples section, novice drivers have an extremely high SoS, which is caused by processing virtually all of the sensory input from driving using the slow, but very accurate, Analysis processing method (powered by intellect).

The image, and the corresponding video, below represent a guess at a novice driver’s mental processing method.

As the image’s green line indicates, novices essentially drive from action point to action point, and they are always mentally busy because as soon as they finish doing something, they start preparing to do the next thing. Also, when they ‘do’ anything, it requires 100% of their attention/mental resources.

As mentioned in the Information Processing Videos section above, the checker pattern represents intellectual /analytical processing. The video shows that novice drivers spend so much time processing information with analysis, and inwardly focused (preparing to do stuff, or doing stuff) that they effectively drive by connecting brief flashes of the real experience of driving (represented as full color video).

Advanced Beginner Driver – Sensory information processing

As show above in the Sensation of Speed Examples section, advanced beginner drivers have a very high SoS, which, like novices, is caused by processing the overwhelming majority of the sensory input from driving using the slow, but very accurate, Analysis processing method (powered by intellect).

The image, and the corresponding video, below represent a guess at an advanced beginner driver’s mental processing method.

As the image’s green line indicates, advanced beginners also pretty much drive from action point to action point, and they still spend a lot of time preparing to do upcoming tasks (accept for when there is a long distance/time between tasks). However, they do start partially ‘automating’ less challenging tasks like shifting and non-critical positioning of the car on the track. So, while they are still very ‘busy,’ they don’t have to use 100% of their attention/mental resources for everything they do, which means that not quite all of their time is spent trapped in the slow intellectual/analytical process.

The amount of checker pattern in the video shows that advanced beginners, like novice drivers, spend so much time processing information with analysis, and so much time inwardly focused (preparing to do stuff, or doing stuff) that they effectively drive by connecting brief flashes of the real experience of driving (full color video). However, advanced beginners can accomplish some tasks without full effort, and they have brief moments of ‘downtime’ (when they are not doing, or preparing to do, something), so they get more flashes of the real experience of driving.

Competent Driver – Sensory information processing

As show above in the Sensation of Speed Examples section, a competent driver’s SoS is more manageable than an advanced beginner’s because they use a more balanced (but not yet optimized) blend of analysis/intellectual processing and recognition/intuitive processing.

NOTE: This is a critical point in a driver’s development because this is the level at which a driver’s intuition should start asserting itself. That is, intuition should naturally start taking over the tasks it is best suited for (like using recognition and holistic memory to perform the actual driving tasks), while intellect should stop trying to DO the actual driving and instead transition into more of a management/coaching/planning role (its strengths). If, for whatever reason, this natural ‘control’ transition does not begin, or if something happens that interrupts this transition after it has begun, then the driver will be hampered by an elevated SoS, and a lack of ‘feel’ until they take control of the situation and fix it.

The image, and the corresponding video, below represent a guess at a competent driver’s mental processing method.

As the image’s green line indicates, with competent drivers there is still a strong impression of action point to action point driving, However, the amount of time they spend preparing to do upcoming tasks is coming down (the flat lines at the top of the image). Also, all but the most critical tasks (hardest braking points) are becoming at least partially automated, with less challenging tasks taking very little intellectual/analytical processing effort. That means competent drivers are still fairly busy, but they feel far less busy/rushed than novice or advanced beginner drivers. While competent drivers have a manageable SoS when driving at speeds that are within their comfort zone, they will quickly experience an elevated SoS if they try to push for more speed.

The amount of checker pattern in the video shows that while the image for competent drivers still gives the impression of point-to-point driving, they clearly expend far less conscious/intellectual mental effort than advanced beginners. That means they have access to a lot more of the full sensory (holistic) experience of driving, which allows them to start to see driving as a complete task (instead of a bunch of individual steps), so they can begin to really feel the driver/car/track interaction.

Proficient Driver – Sensory information processing

As show above in the Sensation of Speed Examples section, a proficient driver can experience a SoS that is not only ‘manageable’, but is actually slower than reality (slightly slow-motion). I believe this happens when a driver transitions away from spending the majority of their time ‘sampling’ chunks of sensory information and assembling the chunks into a depiction of the real experience of driving (which they do using analysis/intellectual processing) and instead begins spending the majority of their time observing the flow of holistic sensory information (which they process with recognition/intuitive processing).

The image, and the corresponding video, below represent a guess at a proficient driver’s mental processing method.

As the image’s green line indicates, proficient drivers have habitualized, to a significant degree, all of the tasks of driving, so far less time is spent preparing to do the next task (unless required by the proximity of adjacent tasks). Therefore, the impression of point-to-point driving has been replaced with the impression of a driver with a foundation in intuitive driving (driving using primarily intuitive/parallel processing) who just briefly dips into varying levels of intellectual/serial processing when performing certain important driving tasks.

This is the first driving level in which the majority of time is spent using intuitive/parallel processing instead of serial/intellectual processing. The video depicts this as a significant reduction in frequency and opacity of the checker pattern that is used to represent intellectual processing. The change in primary processing method for the actual driving tasks means that significant progress has been made in the natural (and necessary) transition of control from analysis/intellect to recognition/intuition. The nearly constant access to the full sensory experience of driving means that proficient driver can feel the subtle signals that provide information about how energy, loads, traction, and forces are influencing the car.

Expert Driver – Sensory information processing

As show above in the Sensation of Speed Examples section, an expert driver can experience a SoS that quite a bit slower than reality (a significant slow-motion effect). This occurs because expert drivers spend the overwhelming majority of their time processing sensory information with the very efficient recognition/intuitive method. The exact cause of the slow-motion sensation is not known, but temporal awareness is not a strength of intuitive processing, so perhaps slow-mo is a beneficial side effect of using primarily intuitive processing.

The image, and the corresponding video, below represent a guess at an expert driver’s mental processing method.

As the image’s green line indicates, expert drivers have habitualized virtually all of the tasks of driving, so essentially no time is spent preparing to do the next task. The tasks just get done automatically (intuitively) when they need to happen, and they require very little intellectual effort to complete because almost everything is driven by recognition instead of analysis. Since temporal awareness is not really a strength of intuitive processing, I believe the little ‘blips’ of intellectual processing provide essentially a rhythm track for the driver/car/race track combination. The rhythm track helps synchronize reality (the flow of sensory information) with the driver’s stored ‘mental model’ of the track (the pattern recognition template) so that the pattern recognition process stays synchronized, which allows driving to be done via recognition rather than analysis. The ‘blips’ may also indicate critical areas on the track where more precise pattern matching is required.

The video shows that other than two critical tasks (hard braking and corner turn-in), intuitive processing continues with only low frequency and low intensity interruptions from intellectual processing (as the brief moments of very transparent checker pattern indicates). As mentioned above, these ‘blips’ of intellectual processing impart essentially a rhythm track to the intuitively processed sensory information stream. I think that the ‘blips’ may also function as a bit of a safety net; helping expert driver’s intellect (which likes to be in control) to still feel ‘connected’ with the driving and to feel comfortable with the fact that the actual tasks of driving are being done almost entirely by intuition.

Note: At the expert level, many drivers will shift away from using most of the ‘markers’ they had previously used to navigate the track; instead choosing to trust their feel, instincts, and the rhythm track mentioned above to position their car and time maneuvers. That said, most drivers will still use markers of some type for the most critical tasks, such as hard braking from high speeds, and turn-in points for ‘daunting’ corners.

Master Driver – Sensory information processing

As show above in the Sensation of Speed Examples section, a master driver can experience a SoS that is profoundly slower than reality (an ultra slow-motion effect). This occurs because master drivers spend essentially all of their time processing sensory information with the very efficient recognition/intuitive method.

The image, and the corresponding video, below represent a guess at a master driver’s mental processing method.

As the image’s green line indicates, master drivers are essentially constantly connected to (or perhaps that’s immersed in) the flow of holistic sensory information, which they process almost exclusively using recognition/intuitive processing. They still may take miniscule ‘dips’ towards intellectual processing for critical tasks, but if they do, the dips are so brief and shallow they essentially happen in the background of conscious experience. On the track they are very similar to expert drivers, but they seem to have just a bit of an edge in most aspects of driving: speed, consistency, feedback, creativity in passing/traffic, ability to avoid other people’s problems, ability to recover from their very rare mistakes or mechanical issues, etc.

The video shows that intuitive processing continues basically uninterrupted. I’ve added tiny (10%) blips into intuitive processing for critical braking and turn-in points, but it is entirely possible that a master driver may stay in 100% intuitive processing mode the entire time they are driving. Especially if their intellect has completely accepted it’s role, and the role of intuition, in the driving process.

Note: It is possible that master drivers may shift even farther away from using ‘markers’ than do expert drivers. They may even navigate the track entirely by feel and instinct, or perhaps they just look at ‘markers’ differently. We tend to think of ‘markers’ as things, but it’s possible for a master (and maybe an expert) driver that markers for them are particular ‘frames’ in the repetitive stream of holistic sensory information they experience as they drive around the track.

Information Processing Examples Summary

I must finish up the Information Processing Examples section by saying a few things:

It’s important to realize that the information presented above is not scientific fact. Instead it represents my experience and research, but is ultimately just theoretical guesses at the information processing used solely for performing driving tasks, by drivers on a clear track (not racing and not passing/being passed), because it would, of course, be impossible to try and interpret how all the variables of racing, passing, etc. might impact information processing.
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Likewise, information processing modes, concentration methods, consciousness levels, brain wave states, and probably many other factors are interrelated and interact so synergistically that it’s impossible to tell what drives what. For example, does holistic concentration drive intuitive information processing, or vice versa… or maybe it’s will/intention that drives brain waves that create a consciousness state that supports intuitive processing, or ??? Anyway, you get the point. That said, I don’t believe that you need all the answers (or all of the causes) to benefit from knowing the effect; there are some fundamental methods of information processing that have their own unique strengths and weaknesses when it comes to racing. So, my objective is not to try and be ‘right’ (because I recognize my own ignorance); I’m just trying to introduce the notion that one’s performance potential at any given moment is directly dependent on how efficiently they can process sensory information.
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Even though I’ve tried to identify the blend of information processing methods that I believe are used by drivers at each of the six key learning levels, separating drivers into skill levels is just for convenience and clarity sake. In reality, drivers can be anywhere on the continuum ranging from novice to master. Also, the development of information processing skills does not happen linearly, or on a simple curve; that’s why I say learning to drive is a ‘Spiral to Speed’… you make an advance in information processing, that opens doors to improve other aspects of driving, which can then provide the opportunity to further develop your information processing skills, and so on. However, the spiral can turn the other way as well, for example, if you change an important variable like the car or track, you may find that your information processing efficiency suffers until you can adapt to the change.
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While learning to process information efficiently should be a natural progression, there is no guarantee that it will happen for every driver, regardless of how much ‘seat time’ they may get. I have seen many drivers suffering the consequences of not efficiently processing information (e.g. being 6 – 8 – 10+ seconds off the pace, or being fast but making a lot of mistakes). However, I also know (base on the driver’s I’ve helped) that efficient information processing is a skill that can be improved by first becoming aware of the skill’s existence and importance to performance, and then by using some simple training skills.

What Causes Wrong-Mode Brain Function?

Generally, our brains just instinctively use whatever mode(s) are appropriate for the task at hand. However, certain circumstances can cause the brain to either:

Slip out of the correct mode (for drivers who have previously experienced, and maybe even have mastered, being in the correct mode).
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Refuse to switch into the correct mode (for drivers who have never experienced correct-mode driving – typically novice and inexperienced drivers).

I believe that there are three main reasons that a racer’s brain may function in an incorrect mode:

A significant synchronization error between what is expected (the track model & timing track) and reality.
I think that this issue is what the Dario Franchitti quote in the Overview section is talking about. A competent (or in his case expert/intuitive) driver, who has a solid, full-sensory model of the track stored in memory, but is driving a car that’s faster than he’s used to. In this situation, the ‘model’ of the track is still valid, but the ‘timing track’ (the temporal relationship between the serial/intellect processing tasks and the parallel/intuitive processing tasks) gets out of sync because of the increased speed. For intuitive drivers, recalibrating the ‘timing track’ happens quickly and naturally (just as they learned to do it when they first started racing).
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Insufficient information to perform in parallel processing mode (an incomplete mental model of the track).
This issued might be experienced by an expert/intuitive driver who is driving a familiar car on a new track. In that case, first a mental model of the track must be constructed. However, for an experienced driver, this does not have to be done from scratch because they can build an initial version of the model using similar turns from other tracks, and then quickly refine the model to match the new track. Once a reasonable model has been constructed, then the driver can crank up the speed and synchronize the model with the track. I believe that is what Jenson Button describes in this quote from safeisfast.com when he was asked; “What do you find to be the best way to learn a new track?”

We have the simulator – which is useful for set-up, but also for learning new tracks. But you mentally file away every corner and you just draw upon that resource when you learn a new corner. So you might remember a similar, high-speed, fourth-gear corner and use that as the basis for your approach, but, for instance, it might have a tightening apex and a big kerb at the exit, so you’ll draw on other experiences to fit that into your profile. But you learn them all quite quickly.
— Jenson Button

Actually, a simulator that most of us can afford could probably provide the visual information and some of the timing information needed to construct a ‘basic’ (visual) model for SoS reduction. However, ultimately intuitive driving requires more than just a visual (SoS reduction) model of the track; information from the other senses ‘the feel’ must be combined with the basic model to create a full-sensory ‘holistic’ model of the track. I believe that this is what Mr. Button is talking about, if you read between the lines. Anyway, we’ll get into adding the full-sensory elements to our model in CORE skill 2 – Increasing Sensitivity. Being hindered by an incomplete mental model of the track could also happen to an inexperienced driver who is working their way up the learning spiral. There may be portions of a track where they have constructed a model (or at least a partial model) and they feel comfortable enough in that area of the track that they can switch (or partially switch) into parallel processing. However, there might be other ‘scarier’ bits of the track where they are still busy hanging on for dear life so they have not yet been able to build a model for that section of the track.

A natural or learned disinclination to allow the brain to function efficiently (the way it wants to).
This issue is interesting because it seems to go against nature and self preservation. Probably everyone who starts racing feels mentally overloaded, and feels an elevated SoS. However, then they instinctively learn to adapt; their brain adjusts to use the most appropriate processing mode(s) for the task. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they magically start processing information like Dario Franchitti or Jenson Button, but they do move away from processing modes that are not working and towards processing modes that work better. However, for some drivers it is as though something inside of them (most likely their intellect) is overriding that natural inclination of the brain to adapt and optimize. Based on limited observation, this does not appear to be a ‘rare’ occurrence.
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At the two school Formula Ford races I attended in the mid 90s I would estimate that something like 20-30% of the drivers were experiencing at least some level of this, and had been for several races. They weren’t making any significant progress in spite of being told “just go faster” repeatedly by the instructors. I saw a similar situation when I was racing in the early 80s, and I would bet it is the same today. If you’re in this situation, you probably feel stressed and rushed when you drive, you have very little ‘feel’ for the car and tires, and you are probably 8-10 seconds or more off of the pace that your car is capable of. You may also have had some spins and/or crashes that further convince you that you are driving at the ‘ragged edge’ and that may be true for the way you are using your brain, but obviously it’s not true for the car or the ‘fast guys’. The losses of control are probably not due to ‘speed’ or ‘limits’, they are more likely the consequences of an overloaded brain that has no resources available for feeling and interpreting sensory feedback from the car/tires/track interaction. I don’t know if anyone really understands why some drivers become prisoners of unsuitable processing modes, but here are some ideas to consider (which are really nothing more than guesses):
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1. Excessively rigid adherence to instruction (valuing expert advice over your own intuition and feelings).
  If a driver goes to a professional racing school, then they are shown ‘the line’ and are given a sequence of rules to follow to get around the track in one piece. For example, for one turn:
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  - Look for the orange braking-point cone, and when you see it, check your mirrors, then when you get to it start breaking, and then look for the ‘turn in’ cone.
  - When you get to that next cone, turn into the corner and look for the ‘apex’ cone
  - When you get to the apex cone, start rolling on the gas and look for the exit cone
  - Shift at ‘this’ RPM, which means if you have nothing more important to do, pay attention to the Tach.
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  This is all good advice, and is prudent for a reasonably safe and successful learning process because it’s nature’s law that:
  
  A clearly defined, sequentially ordered, and rigidly structured process allows ‘intellect’ to ‘understand’ the task, to identify the key elements, and to categorize and name everything. In the background ‘intuition’ is learning how to actually drive the car; figuring out where all the controls are relative to your body parts, how they feel, and how to operate the controls to achieve the desired result as defined by the ‘process.’
  
  At some point intellect will get the process down, and intuition will feel comfortable controlling your body/car, so the next step will be to go faster; to ‘poooosh’ as Italian motorcycle racers like to say. When you start pushing, there comes a moment of truth, where intuition will try to take more control because it must in order to go faster; behind the scenes it may be telling intellect things like:
  - “You don’t need to look at the tach so much; I know when to shift”
  - “Don’t worry about the ‘exit’ cone, if we get to the apex OK, the exit will be OK.”
  - “Could you try to relax a little bit in between the ‘cones’, so I can feel the traction?”
  - “That line they showed us isn’t working at this speed; we need to modify it.”
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  Intellect (which optimally should be focused on the goal of getting faster) should recognize that these things are true, and should let intuition take charge of the things it is best suited to control. However, if Intellect sees the instruction it received as some type of gospel (valuing the instruction – the process – more than what intuition is feeling and telling/showing ‘him’) then intellect may refuse to delegate to intuition.
2. Intellect won’t delegate; has a need to control everything (perhaps due to a distrust of intuition).
  In many societies, the logic and process-orientation of intellect is highly valued, and therefore is nurtured from the formative school years throughout the entire educational process. Conversely, intuition (and imagination) is often treated as a waste of time and/or is ignored, mistrusted, or scorned even though some of the greatest minds in history have lauded its value.
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  ….“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant.
  ……We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
  ……— Albert Einstein
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  If you doubt the social bias toward intellect (especially in the USA), just look at what classes are cut when school budgets get tight; music, art, metal/wood shop, etc. To be a good racer, you MUST find a balance between being a soulless intellectual robot and a tachyon crystal wielding hipster intuit. If a driver has been taught that only intellect provides value, that only rigidly-structured processes are reliable, and that intuition is suspect, then they may feel that intuition needs to be carefully micromanaged. This is especially true in high-speed, high-stress that potentially dangerous situations, which is ironic because that ‘flakey’ old intuition is far better at dealing with the speed and stress thereby minimizing the danger.
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3. Their core personality is not compatible with racing.
  Even though racing (especially at the entry levels) is WAY safer than it has ever been, there is still an element of danger. If the level of perceived danger is not acceptable to a driver (is not compatible with their values and beliefs) and/or if improving at racing and becoming competitive is not one of their top priorities, it will be very difficult for them to do what it takes to improve.

How does My Brain Reduce the Sensation of Speed?

I don’t know exactly how the brain reduces the SoS, and based on internet research, I don’t think anybody really knows for sure. I’ve explained that the SoS is increased when intellect tries to use serial processing to analyze the sensory information stream, and it is reduced when intuition uses parallel processing to recognize matches between sensory information and expectations (the track model). So my guess is that since ‘time’ (temporal awareness) is a construct that is associated with Intellect, then if more intellect is used when driving, then more ‘time’ and speed will be felt, and if more intuition is used, then less speed will be felt because intuition functions outside the constraints of temporal awareness.

I also believe that the hybrid intellect/intuition processing method I described earlier (cycling back and forth between intellectual and intuitive processing) becomes a repetitive mental rhythm (lap-after-lap) that alters the driver’s brainwave state thereby inducing a meditative state (the Zone). For more information about this, see Concentration for Racers and Staying in the Zone.

I think an interesting ‘side effect’ of using a large amount of intuitive processing when driving, is that much of the actual experience/memory of the driving may tend to be less accessible to conscious awareness because it has been processed at a level below full consciousness. I know that in my own experience I don’t remember anything but ‘major’ events after a race. For example, another driver might come up and talk to me about some non-major thing that happened during the race, and I’ll have to struggle to piece together what he’s talking about. I’ll need to find a ‘major’ event as a hook into my memory stream, and then I can follow that to the event in question. Once I find the event, I have full recall. It’s like not being able to remember a piece of a song, and having to start from the beginning (or some recognizable intermediate point) to get to the ‘missing’ piece.

You may have experienced some of this before, for example during a long, boring freeway drive. Maybe your intellect takes a nap, you start daydreaming and lose track of time; it’s all very natural and relaxing. Then all the sudden intellect wakes up and wants to know what the hell is going on. How long was I ‘out’? I don’t remember anything. Where are we? Did we miss our exit? The one thing intellect doesn’t question is ‘who was driving’; he knows intuition is the driver.

How do I Take Control of my Sensation of Speed?

I think that I’ve pretty much provided the answers to this question above, but maybe not in a neat package. So to summarize; you MUST use efficient information processing techniques to reduce your SoS, and to do that, you must:

Create a full-sensory holistic model of the track in your memory. Your model will be used as the ‘template’ for intuitively performing pattern recognition matching, so the more detailed it is, the less you will have to use analysis to get around the track. For additional information, see the Memory for Racers, Types of Knowledge, Learning Strategies for Racers, Imagery Training for Racers and Race Walking pages.
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As much as possible, use holistic concentration, instead of focused concentration. I believe that concentration methods and information processing modes are two sides of the same coin, so I think both have to be working in harmony to produce a situation that is beneficial for performance improvement and SoS reduction. For more information about concentration, see Concentration for Racers.
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Habitualize (automate) the tasks required to drive around the track; stop ‘Doing’ everything… let it ‘happen’. Again, your model of the track is critical for this; it should contain all the tasks that must be accomplished, so as you drive, and the sensations of driving get matched to the model, those ‘actions’ should be triggered… IF, YOU get out of the way and let it happen. If you think you can’t do this, then you are WRONG; you do it all the time. Do you adjust muscle tension to move your legs, adjust your balance, and position your feet, or do you just walk? Sure, when you first start walking, when you learn any new movement skill, you have to ‘do’ it, but after the learning period, you have to get out of the way and let it happen, or you’ll screw everything up.

If you are having trouble with the three items above, check the What Causes Wrong-Mode Brain Function? Section to see if you recognize your situation there. I have found that for all of the people I’ve helped with SoS issues (but an admittedly tiny sample size), just learning that there is such a thing as the SoS, and that it can be controlled, went a long way towards sparking improvement.