One of the most curious questions surrounding NASCAR is whether drivers actually pee in their racing suits during the race. Of course, there have been cases in the past where drivers have openly admitted to surrendering to the call of nature. But do great pilots do it too? It turns out that’s the case. Enter Dennis Hamlin.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver recently admitted on his podcast that during the race in Atlanta he had to do something he had never done before. “I don’t have to go to number 2, I have to go to number 1. My bladder is dying and I finally get to pit road and they’re working on the damage and I close my eyes, and I’m like , I’m just trying to think of something that will make me go away,” he said, to which his co-host Jared Allen added: “This is a very painful thing for you to do.”
“YES! And as soon as I got the first dribble, BOOM! It was hot, then it was cold. Hamlin described. “I never felt what it felt like to pee in my seat, but I kind of liked it.”
“I did it.”
Drivers peeing their pants isn’t that common according to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Arguably the biggest name in NASCAR still today, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has opened up on this rather uncomfortable but oddly interesting topic of drivers peeing their pants during a race. "Well, you go to the bathroom," he said Fox Sports. “Yeah, so if you can hold it, you hold it.” If you can’t hold it, leave.
That said, Earnhardt insisted that it doesn’t happen that often, that it only happens when the car is very hot, allowing all the water in the weight to escape through sweat. “So your bladder never fills up. If it’s hot and you get really nervous before the race and you drink too much water because you think you’re going to get dehydrated, you usually end up having to go to the bathroom before you even get the green flag. he added.
Nonetheless, this topic, although it has been clarified many times, continues to be and perhaps will continue to be an interesting facet of NASCAR racing. Because when you gotta go, you gotta go, no matter who you are or wherever you are.