Being a NASCAR driver means you have to travel across the country to race tracks every weekend. The challenge doesn’t end with driving cars. You meet people, eat alongside them, and use the same restrooms as they do. This is far across the line that RFK Racing co-owner Brad Keselowski draws when it comes to personal sanitary standards.
Advertisement
During a 2018 interview with Jeff Gluck, Keselowski revealed how he used to get sick because of such habits when he drove in the Xfinity Series.
He said, “In the early days of my Xfinity career before I had a motorhome, I would get sick at the racetrack almost every weekend. I’m absolutely convinced it’s from shaking hands and then eating — or from the bathrooms.”
It was only after he’d been able to afford a motorhome and began using it that he stopped getting sick before races. He added about the importance of portable residences, “That’s a big deal. You don’t want to be sick in a race car or during a race weekend; it hinders your ability to perform. So I try to use my motorhome for those things.”
Motorhomes are generally considered a luxury in racing circles. But there are practical applications to them, as Keselowski pointed out. Many drivers, including Chase Briscoe, Corey LaJoie, and Aric Almirola, bring their motorhomes to particular fixtures on the schedule today, depending on the ease of getting them to the tracks.
How NASCAR is more extreme than the NBA or the NFL
Keselowski continued to point out something he found strange about NASCAR in his interview with Gluck. He said, “It caters to having money and expensive things like that and then (also has) the blue-collar (experience), camping in tents — but nothing in between.”
He noted that this was different from what is seen during basketball, football and hockey games. The accommodations and other facilities are neither high nor low in standard – they are “right in the middle.”
“You could get a suite, but you’ll see a (celebrity) sitting courtside, and it’s just a normal chair. It’s not like he’s got a La-Z-Boy sofa or anything like that. Motorsports is set up so much differently. It’s so strange to me.”
NASCAR events are a weekend-long celebration unlike the games in other sports, which run for a few hours at most. It is not only the drivers but also fans who set up camp at race tracks for the entire weekend.
It is a way for them to connect with the community and nurture tradition. When it comes to this, comfort takes a back seat for many. Perhaps this is one of the reasons for the disparity that Keselowski spoke of.
