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Former NASCAR and F1 driver Kamui Kobayashi brought in a portable sauna during the 2025 running of the 24 Hours of Daytona, popularly called the Rolex 24 because of its sponsorship. He was prepared to race in the #40 Cadillac but after a crash by his teammate, he was left stranded.
As Kobayashi arrived at Daytona for the 2025 Rolex 24, he bought himself a portable sauna and was reportedly using it every single day as his teammate, Jordan Taylor revealed.
"Last night, he went to a 24-hour laundromat across the street to do his own laundry. He went to Dick's Sporting Goods, bought a portable sauna. It's outside his motorhome. He's been in the sauna every single night and does cold plunges. He's a character, and it's fun to have him in the car," he said (via Autoweek).
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NASCAR insider Dalton Hopkins further mentioned that Kamui Kobayashi brought the sauna out of boredom and will leave it there after the event ends.
Kobayashi was running a very successful stint in the #40 Cadillac in the GTP category, bringing the car into the lead after successfully running a triple stint. His skills behind the wheel were brilliant, however, his chances of winning ended quite early in the race.
How Kamui Kobayashi's race ended early at Daytona - Teammate Louis Deletraz blames cold tires
Kamui Kobayashi handed the wheel to his teammate Lous Deletraz during the eighth hour of the race. The driver began with a new tire compound after the stop and experienced cold tires, as he mentioned.
Understandably, it isn't the easiest task to warm the tires up once the sun sets as the track temperature also decreases. Heading into turn 1, his #40 lost control and went into the grass before uncontrollably getting back on the track. He was greeted with oncoming cars and it turned into a huge wreck for multiple cars. Seemingly, the race was over for the #40 crew.
"Yeah, very cold tires; it’s actually really tough at night,” Deletraz said. “Yeah, big impact, actually. I’m fine. Luckily, we have a very strong car. Cadillac made a very safe car."
"I just felt like I went on power, lost it straight away. I think I didn’t have enough heat in the tires. And after that, I got hit by an LMP2. I feel very sorry for the team, for my teammates."
He further mentioned that he started warming the tires late and also left space for the oncoming driver. However, he couldn't save it.
"Yeah, just really ashamed that it happened so early in the race. And yeah, that’s not so great. I think we started warming up (the tires) slightly too late. I opened up on Turn 1, I saw the JDC car coming in quite hot, so I just gave him space . I was very safe, just wanted to exit that corner and yeah sadly I didn’t exit it.”
The team could possibly have been in contention to win if they had continued the race given Kamui Kobayashi's immense contribution. However, it ended quite early for them into the night.
