A four-day stretch that began with travel setbacks and a sudden bout of illness for Shane van Gisbergen nearly derailed his weekend, but it ended with a landmark victory at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Entering the Mexico City race, he was mired 33rd in the NASCAR Cup Series standings and struggling through his rookie Cup season. SVG defied expectations by capturing the inaugural Viva México 250. It was an absolute road course mastery on display: his margin of 16.567 seconds over Christopher Bell marked the largest winning gap in a Cup event in nearly 16 years.

Yet he did so while battling severe in-car sickness that left him “feeling pretty rubbish today, leaking out both holes,” he said after winning the marquee event. Although the Kiwi driver was seen sipping margaritas, celebrating his win with the Amazon Prime Video team, he wasn’t feeling great heading into the race. The Trackhouse Racing driver opened up about his struggles with a sick stomach and loss of energy that nearly derailed his big opportunity.

Unpacking SVG’s account of his in-car sickness

When Dale Earnhardt Jr. asked van Gisbergen whether he knew how he fell ill, SVG pointed to something as mundane as breakfast choices. “The only thing I can put it down to is having juice on breakfast, you know, the driver’s room upstairs. Everything else was so careful, and that’s probably the only thing.” This candid admission highlights how even small lapses can have outsized consequences at altitude and under pressure. He explained the timeline. Feeling unwell right after qualifying, then enduring dehydration before race day.

As he put it, “I went back to the hotel and just kept sleeping, kept trying to eat and drink. It would just go straight through me, pretty dehydrated by the time the race came around and I just couldn’t keep fluids in me.” He admitted to extreme fatigue, trying to recover by resting and hydrating as best as possible before the green flag, uncertain he could complete 100 laps. His condition was so severe that he missed the pre-race ceremony and the team photo just to focus on his body and recover in the nick of time, before the green flag dropped.

Earnhardt Jr. expressed deep concern, “I had tabbed you as kind of the favorite to win. I know some guys that have gotten sick inside of race cars. Yeah, it’s hard to run the lap time when you’re throwing up all over yourself.” Like Ryan Newman (nausea/dehydration at Darlington) and Denny Hamlin’s (dehydration/migraine in Coca-Cola 600). Then SVG recounted needing time alone before stepping into the car, “I need 20 minutes before we get in the car… to just have some time by myself.” His response underscores the physical and mental balancing act: adrenaline can mask symptoms during racing, but the body protests once focus wanes.

Reflecting after victory, van Gisbergen noted that only once adrenaline subsided did he “Pretty much straight after the race with the adrenaline wore down and that tequila, you give me sunk in. I was back to pretty average” as the illness reasserted itself. Noah Gragson had to endure a similar fate as he shared an update about feeling sick ahead of the race, suggesting the tap water was what caused the illness. However, Ryan Blaney had it much worse as he couldn’t control the inevitable.

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Ryan Blaney pulls off a Tony Stewart in Mexico

NASCAR drivers do not have the luxury to take a pause and go about their business when they feel sick. Usually, the drivers are well prepared to see out those three hours, but there are instances where they have to get about their business in the race car itself. Tony Stewart’s 2004 Watkins Glen story serves as a hilarious example when he rushed to the washroom rather than celebrating his win in the victory lane. And Ryan Blaney had a similar experience in Mexico.

Pre-race, the Penske star had informed Jeff Gluck about his condition and once the event concluded, the reporter asked him if he was doing alright after 100 laps of twists and turns around the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. “@Blaney said before the race he got sick this morning and might sh– 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?'”

Well, it was an entertaining race weekend for the race fans, but the drivers will be hoping to get back to their 100% as they will be back in action this Sunday at Pocono.