Slightly off topic, but did Kasey Kahne ever find out why he was getting so dehydrated towards the end of his Nascar career?
I know he had to retire from Cup driving because of it and that he still does shorter sprint car races, but did he and his doctors ever find out medically why he was getting so much more dehydrated than his Cup competitors?
Outside of the car, I remember him being one of the more athletic drivers, along with Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards, so it seemed odd to me at the time that he would be having issues. Obviously he's not obligated to tell anybody what was going on with him medically, but I would be interested in knowing whatever information he's shared, especially if it's an issue that's preventable. I know when he originally announced that he wouldn't be doing any more Cup races he did say that they didn't know at the time though. I haven't really kept up with his career since he stopped racing in Cup, and a brief skimming of Wikipedia hasn't given me much information.
Posted Jun 3, 2019, 2:23 PM UTC
I remember hearing something about how he had actual heat stroke during one of the races, and since then, it's affected his body's ability to regulate its temperature and utilize fluids. It didn't matter what his pre-race regimen was at that point.
That's exactly the sort of information I was interested in. Damn. That is crazy sad. Obviously I'll never be in his exact position, but I guess that's extra incentive to be extra careful about hydration and the heat, especially since it seems to have caused him permanent damage. I know he did some longer distance running a few years ago, is he still able to do that or is it out of the question now?
Heat inside these stock cars go way higher than the actual air temperature. I would think he has no problem running if the air temp isn't too high.