Mindfulness in Racing: Training the Mind for Flow, Pressure & Peak Performance

In racing, physical preparation alone isn’t enough. The best drivers separate themselves with mental precision—staying composed under pressure, recalling flow state on demand, and making split-second decisions with absolute clarity. While nothing can replace the experience of competing at a high level, mental training accelerates your ability to access peak performance. Over the past four years I have embraced a disciplined approach to mental preparation with the guidance of some of the best of the business and I am hear to say it is a game changer!

The mind is a muscle. Just like physical training, mental preparation must be intentional, intense, and tested under pressure. Here’s a few exercises that have helped me sharpen my mental edge. Everyone is different so, find what is best for you and make sure to document your progress.

1. Meditation: Building Mental Endurance

Meditation isn’t about relaxation—it’s about control. It trains your ability to stay calm in high-stress situations, process information faster, and reset your focus after a mistake.

Exercise: Breath-Focused Meditation

• Sit in a quiet space and close your eyes.

• Breathe deeply (fill the belly)—inhale for 4 seconds, exhale for 6 seconds.

• Focus only on your breath. If your mind wanders, let the thought come and go.

• Start with 10 minutes and extend to 25-30 minutes over time.

• On race day: Use 3 deep breaths before getting in the car to reset your focus.

• Choose a method to recall focus—holding onto the roll bar or door handle, lowering your visor, engaging the pit limiter, etc.

2. Visualization: Recalling Flow State on Demand

Top drivers don’t just practice on track—they rehearse every lap in their minds. Visualization strengthens neural pathways, helping you access flow state faster and with more consistency.

Exercise: Multi-Sensory Track Visualization

• Close your eyes and mentally drive a lap of your next track.

• Once you have the track down in your mind, use a stopwatch to see if your visualization is close to an ideal track time.

• Feel the weight transfer, hear the engine note, and visualize your braking points.

• Add emotions—scenarios of pressure from a car behind, trying to beat a seemingly impossible lap time, or driving in wet conditions.

• Do this before bed, after workouts, or before a sim session.

• Advanced version: Visualize race scenarios—passing under braking, defending on cold tires, reacting to an unexpected yellow flag. Then draw the track with your eyes closed and see how close it is to the actual track map.

3. Training Under Pressure: Strengthening Mental Agility

The brain needs stress inoculation—training under fatigue and discomfort to simulate real race conditions. This forces your mind to stay sharp when it wants to shut down.

Exercise 1: Cognitive Stress Test (Counting Backwards During Training)

• Run a qualifying sim or consistency sim session after a workout, during the session count backwards from 300 in 3s (300, 297, 294…). Once that becomes too easy, count backwards in 7s or so on. (There was even a driver I knew who could count backwards in 11.3s! Don’t ask me how :) )

• If you make a mistake, note it and focus solely on the next corner—forcing precision under exhaustion while engaging your muscle memory to perform.

• This strengthens mental endurance, keeping your cognitive functions sharp during long stints.

Exercise 2: Sim Racing When Fatigued or Unwell

• Train on the sim when exhausted or slightly ill.

• Focus on maintaining consistent lap times and avoiding mental lapses.

• Track your average lap time to your newest slowest laps—over time, you will bring your worst laps very close to your best ones.

Why it works: In a real race, you’re never at 100%. These exercises train your brain to perform under less-than-perfect conditions—just like in competition.

4. Stress Management: Resetting After Mistakes

Mistakes happen—what separates the best is how quickly they reset and refocus.

Exercise: The (3) Second Rule

• When you make a mistake on track, give yourself a second to process it. In racing 3 seconds is way too long when behind the wheel.

• Take a deep breath, acknowledge it, and immediately shift focus to the next corner, lap, or session. Out of the car identify the mistake, acknowledge it, learn from it and move forward.

• This prevents negative spirals and keeps you locked into forward-thinking performance.

5. Bringing It All Together: The Mind of a Champion

Mental training isn’t optional—it’s a competitive advantage. The best drivers don’t let pressure dictate their performance—they train to thrive in it.

Apply these techniques consistently, and you’ll notice:

- Faster access to flow state

- Sharper decision-making under fatigue

- More consistent lap times—even in high-pressure conditions

- The ability to reset quickly after setbacks

Racing isn’t just about speed—it’s about precision under pressure, control in chaos, and clarity at full throttle.

Train your mind. Sharpen your edge. Become untouchable.

CQ

From Adams Motorsports Park to the World Stage: My Early Karting Journey

When most kids my age were glued to the TV for Saturday morning cartoons, I was at Adams Motorsports Park in Riverside, California, before the gates opened at 5:30am learning to drive a kart under the expert guidance of Troy Adams. Those early mornings, when the air was still crisp and the track was just coming alive, became the foundation of my dream—a dream to become a professional racing driver.

For my 7th birthday, I got my first kart. It was old Top Kart (Pop Tart) and the chassis flexed like a wet noodle but it was mine and I loved it and Adams Motorsports Park was my proving ground.

I spent countless hours practicing in every condition imaginable: blistering heat, biting cold, and pouring rain. Some of those mornings I was sharing the track with now IndyCar driver Colton Herta who was in a junior kart at the time while I was putting around in a 50cc kid kart.

My Dad and I would go to the track rain or shine. Out of all the conditions it was in the wet where I felt most at home, mastering car control on slick tires and finding speed where others struggled. Rain is not common in Southern California so the days it did rain we were at the track. Out of all of the drills Troy had me practice and there was a lot, it was braking drills in the wet on slicks to learn how to modulate and control the kart while maintaining momentum through the corner. It is a skill that has served me extremely well throughout my time in karts and into formula cars overseas. Troy’s mentorship during those years was invaluable, teaching me not just the mechanics of karting but the discipline and mindset needed to excel.

Old Blue my first kart

Climbing the Ranks: From Local Cadet to National Champion

My dedication paid off as I moved through the cadet ranks, competing at the local level in organizations like Tri-C Karters and the Los Angeles Karting Championship (LAKC). My weekends were consumed by races, the braap of two stroke engines, the sweet smell of exhaust and real hard racing. Each event and the incredibly talented drivers (and there were a lot at LAKC) I competed with pushed me to be better. If you sucked at racing it was on clear display every race weekend in front of all of your peers and the families who attended. So, you better get your stuff together if you’re going to run upfront. It took more than just running fast laps like some sim racer, it took skill, precision and balls because the intense competition forced you to earn every position. This is where FAFO was clearly defined before it turned into a meme. Out of it came respect. Whether you liked the rival or not there was a clear on track respect if it was earned. This is where I grew up and am thankful to all that pushed me to do better, be better and work harder. No excuses.

LAKC (CalSpeed) was officially my home track and I loved it. It was my second home where I was always excited to see my karting family at 2Wild Karting, Doug Fleming, TruTech, the Crew at Calspeed, and Ryan Perry Motorsport. Speaking of Doug Fleming, he was technically my first sponsor and helped my dad and me with motors and carb tuning. The guy is a genius and has more experience than anyone I know when it came to karting. We had a lot of fun and went through more fuel and tires than I can count…which resulted in a truck load of trophies.

As I improved, I moved onto the national stage with Charlie Swayne at Iron Rock Motorsports, competing coast to coast in the United States Pro Kart Series (USPKS) and Superkarts! USA (SKUSA) events. Charlie was tough, demanded a lot of effort and perfection. He’s smart, a great coach and can really tune a kart. His mentorship helped fine tune my skills to compete at the national level. We had a lot of fun on the road and a ton of success. The clean sweep of the SKUSA weekend in Oklahoma was one I’ll never forget. These higher levels of competition challenged me to refine my craft even further. My hard work culminated in some of my proudest achievements, including winning the IKF Duffy Junior 1 Grand National Championship, the LAKC Cadet Championship and numerous national podiums. Good times!

2015 IKF Grand National Champion Junior 1 with the iconic “Duffy” trophy

Taking on the World: European racing, Stitches, and Grit

In 2014, I got my first taste of international racing, representing Team USA at the Rok Cup in Lonato, Italy. Stepping onto the grid with some of the fastest young drivers in the world was an eye-opener. The level of professionalism, the competition, and sheer intensity was incredible—I was hooked.

By 2018, I was racing for the legendary Ward Racing Team in the WSK Super Master Series (OKJ class). Joakim Ward is a master at extracting every ounce of performance from both the driver and the kart. It was fascinating to experience how they developed excellence. Unless you were within 0.5 seconds of the leader, they left the kart in a standard setting for the conditions, only rewarding you with slight changes once you fixed your driving.

This is where I learned to focus on the minute details of driving—an essential skill, considering the gap from first to fifteenth in qualifying was only 3 to 4 tenths of a second. Plus, the way Europeans qualified was completely different from back home. We would sit in pit lane until the final five minutes of qualifying, then everyone would go out to put in a flyer—basically two hot laps and no mistakes This was a stark contrast to the U.S., where we used the entire qualifying session.

There was no room for mistakes, and the competition was brutal. The karts were insanely fast. And then, in La Conca, I got my first real taste of European adversity.

During Thursday practice, a kart behind me lost its brakes, flew over a curb, and landed on my right hand. A bolt from the undertray pierced straight through the space between my thumb and index finger. I remember my mechanic, Dominic, sprinting to me as blood soaked my glove. He wrapped my hand and rushed me to medical.

The hospital? Let’s just say it was spartan—no fancy equipment, and definitely no numbing medication. I gritted my teeth through 12 stitches, my mom somehow communicating with the Italian doctor in broken Italian. The doctor said, “No racing.”

Yeah, right.

I told my mom, “I’m racing. Period.”

On Friday, I was back at the track. The team rigged up a custom grip on the wheel so I could hold on despite the pain. LaConca is the most brutal, high-grip track in the world, where karts bicycle on two wheels through corners. With my stitched-up hand throbbing, I qualified 47th ugh. By the semi-final, I had fought up to 28th, set to transfer to the final—until I got taken out on the last corner.

Tough break.

The stitches held, and I was off to Sarno for the final round. It rained in the semi-final, and I started deep in the field. I gained 12 positions in the wet and made the Final! Every painful braking drill we practice at Adams had paid off.

Later that same year, I represented Team USA in the FIA Academy Trophy alongside my teammate Jak Crawford and my Ward Racing mechanics Kacper, Dominic and Tomi. We competed in France, Italy, and Belgium, facing off against the top young drivers from around the world in similar karts. I ultimately finished 14th after the final race in Genk, Belgium. Not bad considering every race was an arrive and drive for me due to budget and travel from the US. I’ll do a deeper dive into this experience in another blog, there is just too much to unpack in this one. Each race was a learning experience, and every lap helped me grow as a driver.

2108 FIA Academy Trophy Genk, Belgium OKJ

More Than Just Racing—It’s a Life Built on Grit

My journey has been anything but easy. It has been early mornings, late nights, sacrifices, setbacks, and relentless determination. While other kids my age were at high school dances, football games, and hanging out with friends, I was on the road or on a plane, racing against the best all over the world. No excuses. No shortcuts. Just hard work.

From the back of a pickup truck in Riverside to racing on the world stage, my journey has been fueled by grit, passion, and an unbreakable drive to succeed. This is just the beginning.

When you’re built for racing, you don’t stop until you reach the top.

Welcome to My Journey: From Karting to Open Wheel

Spa Francorchamps 2024

Hi, I’m Colin Queen, and I’m thrilled to welcome you to my official blog! As I sit down to write this first post, I’m reminded of just how far my journey in motorsport has taken me—from those early days at Adams Motorsports Park in Riverside, California, to racing on the world stage in GB3 (formerly British Formula 3). This blog is where I’ll share my story, lessons learned, and insights into the world of professional racing..

A Passion for Speed: How It All Began

My motorsport journey began when I was just a kid, learning to drive a kart under the guidance of Troy Adams. Early mornings spent at the track taught me the value of hard work, discipline, and perseverance. Racing in every condition imaginable—blistering heat, pouring rain, and freezing cold—honed my skills and prepared me for the challenges ahead.

From competing in local karting championships like Tri-C Karters and the Los Angeles Karting Championship (LAKC) to competing on the national scene in USPKS and SKUSA, I steadily climbed the ranks. My proudest moments in karting included winning the IKF Duffy Junior 1 Grand National Championship, representing Team USA on the international stage at the Rok Cup in Lonato, Italy and the FIA Academy Trophy. Racing in Europe was a completely new world with Ward Racing in the WSK series and the FIA Academy Trophy further sharpened my skills and gave me a taste of the intensity of global competition.

The Next Steps: Formula Cars to Slicks and Wings

After a successful karting career, I left the comforts of home in the US at age 16 to live on my own in the U.K. to transition to formula cars. This is a significant milestone for any aspiring professional driver. One hundred percent commitment and dedication to achieving my goal. During my 4 years in the UK, I successfully competed in FF1600, GB4 and GB3. I’ve won the Triple Crown, David Leslie Trophy and Jim Walsh Trophy in FF1600, which all three were a first for any American driver. In GB4 I landed on the podium 10 times with track records and a 20,000 GBP scholarship to compete in GB4. The entire experience has been incredible —the speed, precision, and strategy required at this level are unlike anything I’d experienced before. GB3 is next level, period. Working with mega downforce and pushing it to the limit at circuits I’ve only seen on television is any drivers dream. Racing as a rookie with limited seat time against a field with a lot of experience in GB3 was a huge boost in confidence and a topic that I will be diving into in future blog post. I’m continually learning how to maximize every aspect of my performance, both on and off the track.

What’s Next?

My ultimate goal is to compete at the pinnacle of motorsport. With full focus racing in IndyCar and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and I’m working every day to make that dream a reality. Whether it’s through refining my driving skills, improving my physical and mental fitness, or connecting with the right opportunities, I’m committed to giving 100% to this journey.

What You Can Expect from This Blog

This blog is more than just a platform to share my racing story. It’s a space where I’ll dive into the many facets of life as a professional racing driver, including:

• Travel Adventures: Racing takes me to incredible places around the world. I’ll share behind-the-scenes insights into the destinations and cultures I experience.

• The Business of Motorsport: From sponsorships to team dynamics, I’ll explore the intricate business side of racing.

• Health and Wellness: Staying in peak physical and mental condition is essential for success. I’ll discuss my routines, tips, and the importance of balance.

• Mental Preparation: Racing is as much a mental game as it is physical. I’ll talk about focus, resilience, and handling pressure.

• Track Reviews and Insights: Every circuit has its own personality. I’ll provide detailed reviews and share what makes each track unique.

• Comedy: What's a journey without a bit of comedy? I have some of the funniest stories from behind the scenes that are just too good not to be shared. Buckle up!

Join Me on This Journey

Whether you’re a motorsport enthusiast, an aspiring racer, or someone curious about what it takes to chase a dream, I hope you’ll find something valuable here. My journey is just starting, and I’m excited to bring you along for the ride.

Thank you for being part of my story. Stay tuned for future posts, and let’s embrace this incredible journey together!