As a young boy, I loved to watch races, mesmerized by the speed and power of the cars as they zoomed around the track.
But as I grew older, something struck me as odd – many of the drivers seemed to be carrying a bit of extra weight.
How could these elite athletes, who rely on speed and agility to win races, be overweight?
It turns out there are several reasons why NASCAR drivers are fat.
The Sedentary Lifestyle
One of the biggest reasons for the extra weight on NASCAR drivers is the nature of their job. While they may spend hours behind the wheel during races, the majority of their time is spent sitting in the car or on the pit crew.
This sedentary lifestyle, coupled with the high-calorie diets that are often required to maintain the energy needed for NASCAR, can lead to weight gain.
Additionally, the intense focus required during races can make it difficult for drivers to prioritize exercise and healthy eating habits.
Many drivers find it hard to fit in regular workouts or meal planning during their busy schedules.
The Pressure to Perform & Look
Another issue that adds to the mass of NASCAR drivers is the pressure to perform.
NASCAR is a high-stakes profession, and drivers are under constant pressure to win. This pressure often leads to stress eating, as drivers turn to food as a form of comfort and stress relief.
Also, many drivers also feel pressure to maintain a certain image. The NASCAR industry is highly competitive and image-conscious, with participants often feeling the need to maintain a specific physique to fit in with the crowd.
This pressure can lead to unhealthy eating habits and lack of exercise, as driver will prioritize their image over their health.
The Physical Demands of NASCAR
Finally, the physical demands of NASCAR itself can contribute to weight gain in NASCAR drivers.
NASCAR requires a high level of focus and concentration, which can lead to exhaustion and the need for high-calorie foods to fuel the body.
Additionally, the intense G-forces and vibrations experienced during a race can lead to muscle soreness and fatigue, making it difficult for drivers to engage in regular exercise.
While NASCAR drivers may seem like the epitome of fitness and athleticism, the reality is that many of them struggle with weight gain due to the sedentary lifestyle, pressure to perform, and physical demands of NASCAR.
It’s important to remember that NASCAR drivers are human too, and they face many of the same challenges as the rest of us when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight.
In fact, it’s not just the drivers themselves that are affected by the weight gain, but also the pit crews and engineers who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure the cars are in top condition for each race.
These unsung heroes also spend long hours sitting and working on the cars, and often miss out on regular exercise and healthy meals.
Related: Do NASCAR Drivers Have to be in Shape?
The Importance of Sleep
Another factor that plays a crucial role in weight gain among NASCAR drivers is the lack of adequate sleep.
NASCAR is a demanding and high-stress profession, and drivers often have to work long hours, travel frequently, and maintain a grueling race schedule.
This can make it difficult for drivers to get the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night, leading to fatigue and a weakened immune system.
Sleep deprivation can also lead to an increase in appetite, as the body craves high-calorie foods to boost energy levels.
Additionally, lack of sleep can also lead to a decrease in physical activity, as drivers are too tired to engage in regular exercise.
The Role of Stress
Stress is also a significant factor in weight gain among NASCAR drivers. As we said, NASCAR is an intense and competitive sport, and drivers are often under constant pressure to perform.
This pressure can lead to stress eating, as drivers turn to food as a form of comfort and stress relief.
As well stress can also lead to cortisol, a hormone that is known to increase appetite, leading to weight gain.
Stress also has a negative impact on the metabolism, making it much harder for the body to burn those calories and maintain a healthy weight.
The Impact of Weight on NASCAR Racing
NASCAR teams will aim to make their vehicles as light as possible during the race’s final stages, believing that it will provide their drivers a speed edge. Especially if those drivers are contenders for the win.
It happens all the time in various sports. Lighter athletes are speedier as a group. There are exceptions to this rule, but in the NFL, a player weighing 185 pounds or fewer is considered fast. The same is true for MLBs, NHLs, NBAs, and so on.
Jockeys tend to be lighter in horse racing, which may provide them and their horse an edge during a large race. There have also been NASCAR crew chiefs who have claimed that they would prefer light over heavy, believing that lighter drivers would benefit.
Even in NASCAR, the argument goes, lighter means faster. However, whether or not this idea is correct is debatable. NASCAR requires that their cars have a minimum weight, and they take into account minimum weights for cars that seat lighter drivers versus cars that seat heavier drivers.
Do Lighter NASCAR Drivers Have a Competitive Advantage?
There is no conclusive proof that lighter NASCAR drivers have a competitive edge. This is still widely contested among teams and experts, but racing data analysis has yet to show a clear benefit to having a lighter driver over a heavier one.
You may recall the video game Mario Kart 64. I bring this game up because its instruction booklet divides the eight drivers into three distinct weight groups. Mario and Luigi were middleweights with average acceleration and speed, which never veered in any direction.
Your heavyweights were Wario, Bowser, and DK. They were never as fast as your lightweights (Yoshi, Peach, and Toad), but they had a lot of fun.
Your heavyweights were Wario, Bowser, and DK. They never achieved the full speed of your lightweights (Yoshi, Peach, and Toad), but they were faster. They might even knock their opponents out of their way.
The lightweights, on the other hand, outpaced the middleweights and heavyweights.
Lighter is faster in NASCAR, just like it is in Mario Kart 64. However, as mentioned above, NASCAR’s weight requirements for vehicles suggest that lighter drivers may not be better suited.
Is There a Weight Limit for NASCAR Drivers?
There is no minimum weight requirement for NASCAR drivers, but there is one for the car with the driver inside. This minimal weight fluctuates according to the driver’s weight in order to counteract any perceived advantage of having an extremely light driver.
According to NASCAR’s website in 2013, lighter vehicles often make for better cars. However, NASCAR still has a minimum weight requirement for cars.
The Generation 6 car was introduced at the time, and NASCAR required the Next Gen’s predecessors to weigh at least 3,300 lbs with the driver inside. But there was a snag.
They also mentioned that NASCAR’s rules assumed each driver weighed at least 140 pounds.
However, the driver’s weight of 140 lbs was not a minimum requirement. In the 2020s, there is no minimum weight requirement for the driver.
Teams were forced to boost the car’s weight to 3,340 lbs for drivers weighing between 140 and 149 pounds. To compensate for a driver weighing between 150 and 159 pounds, teams had to increase the weight of the car to 3,330 pounds. Cars must have weighed 3,320 pounds for the 160-169 pound driver.
So, while there is no minimum weight restriction for drivers, there is one for individual vehicles. If the driver weighed 180 pounds, the car would still weigh 3,300 pounds.
Finally, NASCAR specified that the cars weigh 3,310 pounds for drivers weighing between 170 and 179 pounds.
