Ryan Blaney’s performance at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez was a great example of a passionate and stubborn heart set on winning in life. Blaney woke up in the morning ahead of the race with an upset stomach and a tired body. In the morning hours ahead of the race, Blaney had shared the information about his sickness with Jeff Gluck. Who immediately took the news to X, “@Blaney said before the race he got sick this morning and might shit himself during the race. He was wearing a white firesuit, too. Anyway, I saw him on pit road just now and asked if he made it OK. He turned around and pointed to his a– and said, Am I good?”
Despite the struggles he faced, Blaney did a rather decent job at the racetrack. As the green flag dropped, Blaney focused on the race and did his job despite not being at his best physically. The No.12 Penske Driver rolled off from 18th and quickly made his way around, earning nine points with a P2 finish at stage 1. And another seven points after finishing 7th at stage 2, finally finishing in the 14th position. Although the job in Mexico was done, his wife Gianna had to watch him go through a rough patch.
A lot of racers who arrived in Mexico got sick due to the tap water there. Even the race winner, SVG, had been dealing with a stomach bug that forced him to miss the pre-race segment and allowed him to gather himself for the race. It wasn’t the high altitude that got hold of the drivers, but in Blaney’s case, his stomach didn’t do well after he treated himself with Mexican food during his stay.
“Yeah, he doesn’t know if he got sick from the food or if there was a bug going around, but he was so severely sick he had to sleep in our guest bedroom because we were too scared for him to sleep. With me being pregnant, there’s only so many medicines l can take, and we didn’t know what he had. He was bad. I almost wanted to take him to the hospital. It was he was horribly pale, shivering, but sweating. I mean, he just looked horrible, you could tell. And his whole body hurt and he’s that he was dealing with that the day before the race ever since he went to this one restaurant, got really sick, thought he was going to poop himself during the race because he was so sick.” said Gianna while talking on Believe in the Good Podcast with Haley Dillon.
TALLADEGA, AL – APRIL 23: Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske Wurth Ford looks on before the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Geico 500 on April 23, 2023, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, AL. Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire AUTO: APR 23 NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon230423338500 | Image Credit: Imago
After the long weekend and battling his gut, Blaney’s priority was to get a long-awaited good night’s sleep. “He got here, and he slept for 8 hours when he got home on Monday. He’s so sick. And I was just like, if you wake up the next morning and you’re still like this, we have to take you to the hospital because you have something that’s not, it’s not good,” Giaana added. As it turns out, Ty Dillon also had a tough time during his trip to Mexico City, but he was already down with food poisoning before embarking on his travels.
NASCAR drivers who had it rough in Mexico
While Blaney took on the wheels despite his sickness, there were a few who weren’t sure they’d survive the whole race. Noah Gragson made a rookie mistake as he drank the local tap water, and that almost put his Sunday stint in jeopardy. The Front Row Driver vented out his frustration with the poor water purity and quality of food in Mexico. “-125 odds I Sh– myself today in the race. Don’t drink the tap water.” Gragson hilariously mentioned how it had affected the odds of him winning the race.
Another fellow driver, Carson Hocevar, was even terrified to use the water for basic necessities like bathing and washing. “It makes me a little nervous because… You don’t want to drink it, but you want to put in your f—–g face and s—t and like your eyes, and how are the showers fine, no I know, but like, I just much rather shower with s—t on a bottle of water; that’s safer.”
Well, this first trip south of the border was indeed a huge learning lesson for the drivers. And if they are to return to race in Mexico City in 2026, they will be better prepared to deal with the situation that could derail their action on the track.
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