Kyle Larson is getting ready for next week’s grueling double-duty challenge and knows well that staying in top shape will be the key to pulling it off. Though he has rarely fallen ill during a race, even the best are not immune to unforeseen health issues. Regardless of how intense the training, some days still go down the drain.
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Tyler Reddick’s experience at Darlington last year stands as a case in point. Struck by a stomach bug, he admitted to vomiting and soiling himself in the car. At one point, he was asking over the radio for bread and crackers before finally receiving a dose of medication during a pit stop. Even Dale Earnhardt Jr. has gone on record, confessing to urinating in his suit on multiple occasions.
These moments are far from ideal — neither for the fans nor for the drivers behind the wheel. So when Larson was recently asked to recall his most miserable experience in the cockpit, he didn’t hold back. He answered, “The Coke 600, I don’t remember what year it was, but I had a stomach bug going on — and yeah, we had to relieve some pressure. It felt good, but it was miserable. Very miserable. (Laughs)”
When pressed on how he managed to exit the car unnoticed, Larson admitted his suit may have betrayed him, “I had a white suit, and I didn’t know what it looked like back there. (Laughs) I just lowered it and ran over to my golf cart and my bus driver, and hauled a** in the motorhome. It was bad.”
With 1,100 miles on tap next Sunday between the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600, Larson has no room for error. One bout of illness could bring his second attempt at The Double to a screeching halt.
When Dale Earnhardt Jr. confessed to peeing on himself several times
Dale Earnhardt Jr., during his appearance on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast, pulled back the curtain on one of racing’s lesser-discussed realities. He admitted that over the course of his career, he’s relieved himself inside the car on about half a dozen occasions. He didn’t shy away from explaining why such moments happen in the first place.
According to Junior, the extreme heat inside the cockpit creates its own set of problems, which is why proper hydration before a race becomes non-negotiable. But with races stretching four to five hours, there’s no pit stop for nature. And when push comes to shove, drivers are left with little choice but to wet themselves and keep their eyes on the prize.
He also shared that he struggles to do it while the race is green, pointing out that he waits for a caution period to relax. At 190 miles per hour, chasing position, there’s no time to listen to the bladder. For Junior, peeing wasn’t the hard part — the clean-up was where the real challenge began.
Junior had a trick up his sleeve to mask any telltale signs. With a white fire suit that could easily show stains, he’d ask his team to hand him an orange Gatorade once the race ended. As he rolled to a stop, he’d douse himself with the drink to cover up the evidence.
Though he faced the heat more times than he could count, Junior clarified that he never once threw up in the car, no matter how brutal the conditions.
