Do IndyCar drivers wear catheters during races? Decoding the bathroom strategy on track

IndyCar drivers often spend hours in gruelling heat and have to fend off dehydration concerns if their drinking system fails, but rarely, a discussion on what happens if the drivers want to relieve themselves takes place. Some people reckon that drivers just attend nature's call whenever they want in their race suits, while others suggest they use catheters.

However, the story behind drivers wanting to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling goes way beyond. Racecar drivers, be it F1 or NASCAR, spend hours in their tamed machineries.

With the heat inside the cockpit often ends up taking a few victims out of the race, championships across the world had to devise new methods to keep the drivers hydrated. They began by fitting up a drinks tube that enters the drivers' helmet and supplies them with their choice of sports beverage (usually prepared by a nutritionist) to keep them hydrated and energized as they lose pounds of body weight per race.

On the other hand, with drivers often taking in more fluids before and during the race, this dawns the question of what method they opt for when their bladders are up to the brim. Some have suggested that drivers use catheters, but no driver or team has ever admitted to using such a device, making the option a highly unlikely procedure.

Anyhow, while it may seem unhygienic, a hoard of drivers have admitted to soiling or wetting their race suits when they were unable to control the urgency.

IndyCar star Will Power confirmed wetting himself as a strategy to avoid any unpleasant and unforeseen circumstances.

"I just pee myself," Power told IndyCar in 2019. "No one wants to hit a wall with a full bladder. You burst that bladder you're in big trouble."

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Has any IndyCar driver wet themselves in their racecar?

Pato O'Ward (far left), Scott Dixon (left), Will Power, Alex Palou (right), and Colton Herta (far right) standing alongside the IndyCar championship trophy | Source: Getty

Admitting to peeing in the race suit is a hit at the dignity for some race drivers, but former IndyCar driver turned commentator, James Hinchcliffe, confessed he wetted his race suit at the Barber Motorsports Park race in Alabama in 2018 after a hefty rain delay, and said (via IndyStar):

"When we got going again, my legs were shaking, I had to go so bad. I can't drive a race car like this. Under caution, it took a full lap. It was one of the least comfortable experiences of my entire life. But I can officially say I've joined the likes of Will Power and Dario Franchitti and other greats that have peed themselves in their suit."

On the other hand, Danica Patrick once revealed that she also felt the urge in her car, but was unable to convince herself to do the deed. She said:

"No, I have never peed myself in the car."

The IndyCar world will witness its next race in Long Beach, which is slated to take place on April 13.