NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson was a big force behind the Gatorade-POWERade tensions in the sport. In 2004, things came to a head when Johnson, a Gatorade endorser, covered up POWERade bottles and a POWERade in Victory Lane after winning a race. Johnson was fined $10,000 for it. So you'd think that Johnson, when asked a question about Gatorade in a NASCAR conference call, would have the right things to say about Gatorade. Well, I'm not sure what he said in his teleconference this week was the best.
Q. This being the longest race of the season, what do you do to get your body ready for a 600-mile race?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, I have the Busch race beforehand, too. I guess it's going to be 900 miles of racing this weekend. I have a physical training regimen I'm on, I go through. The big thing I would say is how important and early I start hydrating for the race. Hydration is going to be the biggest thing for us, for all the drivers in the 600-mile race. Really just drinking the right fluids and drinking lots of them.
Q. Do you drink Gatorade like in the commercial?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: No, Gatorade is a great thing, great product. I just load up between Gatorades and some waters when I need a little something else.
Now, what Johnson is saying here is a little big vague, but I'm pretty sure he's saying that he doesn't use Gatorade's in-car hydration system that was touted in the Matt Kenseth "Origins" Gatorade commercial. This revelation would be interesting because Gatorade just tells us who uses it. We can't actually see NASCAR drivers drinking it like we can see all other athletes drinking Gatorade.
I say drink what every tast good
Posted by: Robert PItt | November 14, 2007 at 01:12 PM