Once buckled up to the seat, a NASCAR driver has to keep driving for hours at a stretch under extreme conditions. Although they do take necessary precautions so that their sodium levels don’t fall or they don’t get dehydrated while driving, it’s abnormal for their throats to dry out as they battle it out on the racetracks. So, how do NASCAR drivers drink water?
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Several drivers appeared in a Joe Gibbs Racing video to explain how they drink water during a race. The driver of the #54 Monster Energy Toyota, Ty Gibbs, said, “I have a little bottle that has a little straw and I just grab the thing and stick it up in my helmet.” Right afterward, former Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. revealed that the pipe that connects to his bottle goes back into his helmet through a small opening and he can drink whenever he wants.
However, the bigger question is, do drivers drink water under green flag conditions or do they wait for NASCAR to throw a caution before they can finally take a sip?
“I have drank water under green,” admitted Denny Hamlin. “There’s some tracks where the straightaway are long enough to where I can reach over, grab it out of the cup holder. Most of the tracks, you just don’t have time.”
But some drivers like Christopher Bell prefer to wait for the yellow flags.
Do NASCAR drivers get hungry during a race?
The job of a NASCAR driver is indeed a tough one. One cannot just wake up one day and decide to drive a 600 HP machine at 200 miles per hour over three hours. It requires a totally different lifestyle, that includes proper diet, exercise, and sleep.
Most of the time, the drivers eat small portions of protein-rich food throughout the day, and on race day, they eat fast-digesting carbs like a bowl of oatmeal or bananas and healthy fats like nuts and dry fruits. However, what happens if a driver gets hungry during a race?
At times like such, a crew member will get a small snack like a granola bar, open the wrapper to it so that the driver doesn’t have to mess with it, and put it in the pouch next to the window net next to the driver’s seat.
All of this just further hammers in the fact that while many might think so, to many it might appear so, but being a NASCAR driver is no easy job.
