Soaring temperatures outside and inside NASCAR cars can be excruciatingly harsh, often beyond one’s imagination. Most drivers, Noah Gragson included, have endured this to a varied extent.
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No amount of hydration or cooling is sufficient for the drivers, particularly during the summer months. Gragson, too, has encountered this challenging aspect of racing, as he disclosed in a recent interview with Jeff Gluck.
In the 12 Questions segment of The Athletic, when questioned about his most brutal ordeal inside the car, he pinpointed an incident from last year’s race at the Circuit of the Americas.
He detailed, “About midway through the race, my stomach started boiling. Like “Man, I’m going to s— all up my back right now.” I got a few more laps in, and it’s just daggers in my stomach.”
He continued, “Had to just make it to the end of the race and try not to focus on my stomach… But then you’re like, ‘Man if I just s— myself, will it be better?'” He even admitted to inquiring of his crew chief, Drew Blickensderfer, whether his motorhome was nearby — proof of the severity of his discomfort.
Noah Gragson also disclosed that with every corner he maneuvered, the intensity of his discomfort varied significantly. Within the confines of the car, he resorted to taking a Tums, which his pit crew provided during a stop, offering him brief relief. However, merely two laps later, the discomfort would resurge.
When probed about the possibility of consuming something unusual, the Front Row Motorsports driver explained that his meal was the usual fare from Terry Black’s BBQ the evening before the race, which ordinarily did not cause him distress.
Drivers undergo heat training before advancing to the NASCAR Cup Series, yet one can only speculate whether such preparation is sufficient for the extreme conditions often encountered inside the car amid rising temperatures.
This necessitates that drivers fortify their core strength through regular exercise, validating their status as athletes, contrary to some claims in other sports that drivers lack athletic rigor.
When Connor Zilisch faced similar issues
Zilisch recounted a particularly grueling race in the ARCA Series at Michigan, where he won despite considerable physical discomfort. He noted that during the race, he became extremely ill, a situation compounded by the malfunction of his helmet blower.
Racing at Michigan — a track that requires constant full throttle — Zilisch marked his debut on a large circuit and his initial encounter with an intermediate track. Complicating matters on the day, his throttle pedal became exceedingly hot to the touch.
Nevertheless, because the race required maintaining full throttle, he could not relieve his foot. Under caution periods, he resorted to alternating to his left foot for throttle control to provide some respite for his right foot, yet the interior conditions remained excruciatingly hot.
Upon exiting his vehicle for the victory lane interview, Zilisch mentioned he was “seeing stars.” When queried about the possibility of passing out during his victory celebration, he confessed that the intensity of the moment made it difficult to maintain coherent thought.
The race was his first exposure to competing with the right-side glass fully sealed while operating the car at full throttle next to an intensely hot engine.
