Admit it: You think driving a race car is easy. With closed tracks and all that horsepower, who needs talent — let alone athletic prowess? But unless you've trained your heart like a distance runner, built your muscles like a football player, and conditioned your body to withstand 150-degree heat, you'd probably kill yourself and several bystanders by the third turn.

Dishing out inertial forces of up to 5 gs, racing is one of the most grueling tests your body can endure while seated. Success demands a rare ability to stay calm and focused for hours while piloting a screaming land rocket mere inches from other victory-obsessed psychos. The best way to prepare is in an actual race car on an actual racetrack. But track time costs tens of thousands of dollars a day. To keep fit without bankrupting their backers, drivers spend hours in front of simulators, log hundreds of human-powered miles, and go turbo at the gym. Here's a look at the anatomy of an auto racer.

I tried to do 60 minutes on-track @ full speed during a 90F degree day, while wearing long pants, a long sleeve t-shirt and race helmet. After 40 minutes I almost passed out. Then again I don't have the body of a heavy lifter, more like the body of a heavy reader.

Anatomy of a Racer: Only Elite Athletes Can Vanquish Rivals at Triple-Digit Speeds