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Without about 20 or 30 laps left in the race, he had begun feeling extremely weird and dry inside his sweat-soaked race suit. He continued, “It grabbed my attention, and immediately I started getting really dizzy and started having a hard time staying awake and getting through the final laps. I’d basically just gotten so dehydrated that I was delirious, and it was really scary.” Drivers use cool suits today to keep themselves hydrated during races. But back then, such technology wasn’t readily available or used. It remains a mystery how drivers managed to get through races without such aid. The importance of cool suits in NASCAR today In 2025, drivers seldom have to worry about issues like what Junior faced. They all use cool suits that help bring their body temperature down. Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones said about this earlier this year, “There were days when you’d get out of those hot races and you were done and wiped out, even as much as you trained or didn’t train. So, this has changed it to where if it’s a 90-degree day, I don’t think anyone is worried about the heat in the car anymore.” Michael McDowell, too, is a big fan of the suits. He said that they keep the core and the vital organs cool while also lowering the heart rate. Interestingly, Shane van Gisbergen is known to freeze his suit before wearing it to make it even colder. Junior, for sure, would have loved to be wearing one of them suits at the beach on that fateful 1996 day.
