While it’s important for drivers to battle on track, it’s equally important to be safe. In NASCAR, there are multiple safety measures to ensure that the competitors can drive without distraction. However, the cooling suits that they wear in the races are constantly failing on them and leading to care center rounds. Yesterday’s race was just one example of the same.

During the NASCAR race at COTA, multiple drivers reported failure in their cooling suits. As a result, drivers like AJ Allmendinger and Alex Bowman needed critical medical attention and were taken to the infield care centers on stretchers before being released.

One day ago, Dario Franchitti was complaining about the failure of his cooling suit during the Truck race. While Allmendinger and Franchitti did their best to finish the race, they were left visibly drained.

Allmendinger collapsed as soon as he got out of the car. He was treated for some time beside his car as he lay down before he was taken to the care center. Meanwhile, Alex Bowman had to retire mid-race as he immediately felt unwell and couldn’t continue racing.

The NASCAR cooling suit is a system that circulates cool water through a pump. It helps the driver stay cool in the hot NASCAR vehicles during the race.

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Paired with a helmet blower that circulates cool air to their head, it’s the only thing that keeps them going in a taxing race with incredibly high temperatures.

The Circuit of the Americas race, however, has highlighted a glaring issue in this system. More often than not, this system ends up failing and leaves the driver in boiling heat. The NASCAR cockpit ends up reaching temperatures of more than 130 degrees. In such conditions, the drivers face immediate peril.

While watching their favorite drivers battle insane heat and collapse, the NASCAR community is rallying against the organization. They are incredibly unhappy with the way NASCAR drivers are being treated. As such, they want the sport to introduce immediate reforms and give the drivers some respite.

NASCAR community demands immediate action

On a NASCAR forum, a user alleges that multi-million dollar NASCAR teams are not doing enough to help their drivers. In his eyes, the cooling system should be a near-perfect solution instead of the mess it is right now.

The fans agree with the same in the comments, asking important questions. “Agreed. It’s crazy they don’t have dual pumps as backups. With how hot today’s cars get, it should be a mandated safety item.”

One of the fans started theorizing about the potential cause of failure in the current cooling suit. “I think you see a lot of these fail at road courses because they are getting bounced around so much with curbs and the left-right combos. High vibration from the curbs, and things start coming loose.”

Drivers like Franchitti and Allmendinger were complaining that their helmet blowers were throwing hot air on their faces. The fans also commented on its viability.

“Why there isn’t a function to drain the fluid after the suit fails is what I don’t understand.” Others also point out the difficulty that NASCAR drivers are facing in the current-gen cars.

“I think part of the deal is the cockpit of the next gen is hotter than previous gens. That’s why more guys wear the cool suit. When it fails, it’s basically almost unbearable.”

To ensure that the teams comply with important safety standards, fans want NASCAR to mandate a failsafe cooling system for the drivers during the races.

“I would honestly be okay with NASCAR stepping in to enforce some more strict cool-suit requirements. I’d rather them do it before a driver has a serious health complication.”

More often than not, drivers stay silent about such issues. To focus on their race, they try to ignore and end up ruining their health while facing the heat. Bowman’s sickness was a terrifying example of the same. Additionally, Allmendinger’s collapse shows just how dangerous it is if the drivers end up losing consciousness mid-race.

The fans were highly appreciative of the drivers who did their best and of Bowman for not letting himself get in harm’s way.

“I can respect the drivers for gutting it out, but I would rather it not become the expectation. What Alex Bowman did was admirable.”

In a sport where even slight distractions can cause tragedies, NASCAR needs to accept this issue as a life-threatening situation for the drivers. By ensuring that the cooling system works regardless of the situation, NASCAR will lift a heavy burden from the drivers’ shoulders.