The Mexico City weekend proved to be a historic milestone for NASCAR. Their first international points race in nearly 70 years, and the turnout was spectacular, with fans roaring and cheering for their favorite drivers. However, the drivers themselves did not have the smoothest experience. From logistical issues to illness on race day, many struggled to get through. Cup race winner Shane van Gisbergen even admitted to “leaking from both holes” before his win on Sunday.

From heat exhaustion and altitude sickness to social media meltdowns and fines, Mexico gave NASCAR plenty to reckon with. Recently, one veteran opened up on the lingering effects of their Mexico City visit last weekend.

Brad Keselowski stands up for the sick drivers in Mexico

The conversation ignited when NASCAR reporter Colin Ward posted about Ryan Blaney’s post-race situation following Pocono on X. Ward wrote, “Ryan Blaney fell to his knees multiple times …his legs were cramping.” This sent race fans into a panic. What could have led to Blaney’s condition? Well, Brad Keselowski had a theory.

Responding to the post by Ward on X, the RFK owner-driver retorted, “Observation from driver intros- Most all of the drivers are still sick and dehydrated from last week. I’ve never seen so many sick drivers before the start of the race.” At over 7500 feet elevation, the thin air accelerates dehydration and makes breathing hard, turning a racetrack into a high-altitude endurance trial. Keselowski’s comment resonated with many, especially with Ryan Blaney’s post-race situation at Pocono.

The Team Penske driver visibly collapsed to his knees before the AMR safety team helped him to the care center. Ward reported this too in his post, writing, “He got up briefly to do a TV interview and went back down. He stayed down, waiting for the AMR Safety team, and rode off to the care center on a golf cart. Looked like his legs were cramping — more than likely dehydration.” And this comes after Blaney even struggled at Mexico, as he asked NASCAR journalist Jeff Gluck after the race to check if he soiled his pants. However, he was not the only one who struggled in Mexico.

Shane van Gisbergen, after claiming victory, told the global crowd, “’I felt pretty rubbish today, leaking out of both holes, that wasn’t fun,” before thanking medical staff who aided him in racing in time and taking the win. Noah Gragson got the worst of it as he shared updated stories on social media about his medication and warned others to stay away from the tap water in Mexico City. However, it was eventually revealed that Mexico City was not the root cause of any of Ryan Blaney’s problems.

Ryan Blaney suffered a cooling system failure during the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono, putting him under extreme stress and heat inside his racecar. The failure occurred at around Lap 15, and Blaney had to ride the rest of the 400-mile race with a malfunctioning suit. The #12 said after the race, “It was hot. I flipped it on, probably Lap 15. It was warm, but I was able to just keep going. Really proud of all the #12 guys.” Even besides the cool suit failure, Blaney’s race was pretty eventful.

Firstly, he had to start from the rear of the field due to an unapproved adjustment made to the car, as they replaced the engine. However, this didn’t deter him, as he has been arguably the best passer among any driver this season, and rocketed up the field. On top of this, he incurred a speeding penalty on Lap 59, further setting him back. Yet, Blaney’s eyes were always on the win. Blaney added, “Obviously, I would have liked to have won, but I think after having to start at the back and the mistake I made, I feel like we recovered really well and our car was fast enough to do it. Overall, I feel like we definitely made the most of our day.”

While drivers like Blaney and SVG battled dehydration and exhaustion last week, one NASCAR driver faced consequences of a different kind. Carson Hocevar, who has been the center of controversy all season, found himself penalized once again for his insensitive comments about Mexico City on a Twitch live stream and spoke to the media ahead of Pocono, explaining his thoughts on the fine he received and why he made those comments.

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Carson Hocevar comes clean

As the dust settled and Spire Motorsports handed Carson Hocevar a $50,000 fine and some mandatory cultural insensitivity training sessions. Hocevar has spoken out about the controversial remark he made and has since expressed regret and clarified the context behind the statement. Speaking during a pre-race press conference at Pocono Raceway, the 22-year-old explained that the remark did not reflect his own view, but rather opinions he had picked up from others.

He went on to explain, “The issue wasn’t for the team having their kind of frustrations, not that I’m giving my opinion and putting it out there. It’s just the fact that, you know, my opinion wasn’t my opinion. It was just based off everybody else, you know, that I’ve heard or seen, right? I didn’t go do my own homework and voice my own opinion.” 

However, the No. 77 driver went on to acknowledge that he hadn’t explored the city himself before remarking, “I didn’t give it a shot, you know? I didn’t give it a chance—I didn’t go walk around, I didn’t go see. And when I did, you know, hindsight’s 20/20. Then I had my own opinion, but I had already put it out there. I think that was the biggest thing. I wasn’t doing what I pride myself on—having my own opinion, putting it out there, and being me. I just didn’t give it a fair shot. That’s where it all stems from.”

The young budding star concluded by recognizing that the real mistake was staying away from the standard he holds himself to, and one can definitely see a change in his reaction and behavior so far. He even avoided any sort of conflict with his newest rival, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who was pushing him for a third position at Pocono Raceway. Carson, who had a very strong run this Sunday, eventually fell short and finished 18th, to cap off a wild couple of race weekends for the #77.