NASCAR drivers are always advised to consume several small portions of food throughout the day and exercise regularly to keep their metabolism up and running. But that’s for the entire week. What do the drivers eat on race day? Is there a special kind of food that works well with the din and bustle? Here is what 23XI Racing driver, Tyler Reddick, had to say about that.
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Reddick is not a fan of having a scrumptious meal right before getting strapped into his Camry. Rather, he likes to get a small power nap before a race. However, if he does feel hungry, Reddick just walks up to the refrigerator and forages for something small to nibble on. Nothing in particular; it just needs to be small and easily consumable.
“A lot of times I find myself sleeping in a little bit on race day, not like having a full-blown meal,” he said. “So, whenever I find myself in a pinch; I don’t have a lot of time, I normally just grab and crust out of the fridge for a little snack. Not anything too spicy before you get in the car.”
But if he has the time to grab something on his way to the airport after the race (which he often does not), the #45 driver typically makes a halt at the nearest McDonald’s drive-thru to get a quarter-pounder.
What food does Reddick regret eating before a race?
Growing up eating volatile foods like tacos, the 28-year-old athlete has an extremely strong gut. But perhaps that’s not totally immune to holding seafood; especially lobster. There was a time when Reddick feasted on a lobster right before the race and later on, he wished he had not done that.
“I like eating seafood because I feel like I can eat a good amount of seafood and other than the one off-chance that it makes me sick,” he said in an earlier interview with renowned journalist, Jeff Gluck. “I feel really great on race day and I feel like I ate something that’s fulfilling but doesn’t make me feel bloated or whatever when I get in the race car.”
“But for some reason, the lobster I ate disagreed with me a little bit. I wouldn’t say I was having issues in the race car, but all day leading up to it, it was messy business,” he added.
Thankfully, Reddick has had only a handful of food-related mishaps in his career so far. Needless to say, the drivers need to be extremely cautious about what they eat before a race as it’s quite inconvenient to get out of one’s tightly wrapped firesuit and commit to the lavatory.
