While it’s not talked about much, there is no doubt that NASCAR is a physically strenuous sport. Drivers go 300-500 laps in a race wearing a full fire-suit and a car at that speed must become a hot box. While the fire-suit has a cooling mechanism, it doesn’t replenish the water lost during the race, majorly in the form of sweat. This can obviously lead to dehydration and serious issues if the water isn’t replaced.

Dehydration directly affects a driver’s performance, and hence, the crew member ensures the driver never goes thirsty. In fact, one of Kasey Kahne’s reasons for retirement from a race in 2018 was attributed to dehydration. At the Darlington Raceway, dehydration issues caused him trouble seeing and elevated his heart rate to the point that he felt he should stop racing.

Such instances are rare because on every pit stop, you’d see a crew member handing a bottle to the driver, or they might already have it in a sack in the car; it’s really a personal choice. But it wasn’t always like this. Recently, Joe Gibbs Racing dwelled on the evolution of drivers being handed out water mid-race.

Joe Gibbs Racing explains how drivers were kept hydrated over the years

Water is an underrated topic of discussion, but looking at what happened in Kahne’s case, it can be understood how important it is. And NASCAR drivers race in varied climatic conditions and as the body adapts to the temperatures, so should the hydration needs. As pit stops kept becoming shorter and shorter, the need for innovation in the water delivery system became inevitable.

Recently, in an Instagram video, Joe Gibbs Racing dwelled on how the methods of giving water to drivers evolved over the years. According to the video, back in the ’50s and ’60s, pit stops were a whole different ballgame. The crew would jump over the wall, hand the drivers a cup of water, and the driver would chug it down and toss the cup aside. Talk about a simpler time!

As NASCAR tightened the rules and limited the number of people over the wall, teams got creative. In the ’70s, they started using poles to deliver drinks to the driver. By the ’80s, some teams had crew members climb over the wall again, but the pole method was still pretty popular. Then, in the ’90s, the pole method became the standard way to hydrate drivers.

In the video, the host further dwelled on how it became chaos further on. “In the 2000s, hydration systems started being used. Much like what you use for hiking, it’s a pouch full of water that goes up to the driver’s helmet. But some drivers still prefer the normal water bottle. After finishing a bottle the driver would chuck it from the window. This was almost banned in 2015.”

This was because drivers realized they could manipulate the race by throwing a bottle to trigger a caution flag. Talk about a strategic move. How in the 2012 Xfinity race at Atlanta, Brad Keselowski tossed a bottle on the track causing a caution. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. then passed the race leader, Kevin Harvick, on the final lap, costing Harvick the win! This is not happening nowadays thanks to the ban and also to the hydration systems becoming more and more compact.

Today, most drivers opt for hydration systems, especially since they keep the water cool. But some still prefer the classic water bottle. A crew member is allowed to climb over the wall to deliver a new bottle and grab the old one. So, the next time you watch a NASCAR race, pay attention to how the drivers stay hydrated. And while the delivery system might be fascinating, so is the quantity of water they consume per race.

How much water does a NASCAR driver drink per race?

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While we might not be able to calculate the exact intake, Joe Gibbs Racing, on a water spree, made a rough estimate. In a previous video, they answered the question using Aric Almirola’s case during the Xfinity Series finale at Phoenix. According to the JGR video, the part-time Xfinity Series driver seems to prefer a water bottle over a hydration bag. While tossing a bottle is against the rules, Almirola is handed out a new one every time he pits, regardless of it being finished.

According to the video Almirola made, 5 pit stops which is roughly equivalent to a gallon of water in a 2-and-a-half-hour race. Even Landon Cassil had previously dwelled on the subject of water consumption. Depending on the driver and the team’s choice, the water could be plain or filled with some electrolytes. According to Cassil, he drank 20-40 ounces of fluids per hour to stay hydrated. He had said, “In that drink mix is about 300 calories, so I’m taking in about 300 calories per hour in the car.”

Losing water rapidly is also why we see massive weight loss in pre-post-race weigh-ins. This is regardless of the huge amount of water they drink. Cassil’s explanation is really an eye-opener for how much endurance and physical fitness are needed in NASCAR. “I’ve weighed myself before and after races before, and probably the most extreme scenario that I’ve ever seen was a race where I lost 8 pounds total net from before the race, to after the race, and that with 120 ounces of water that I drank during the race,” Cassil had further added. 

Did you know about this evolution in driver’s hydration? Share your thoughts with us in the comments down below.