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The "official excuse" The fans in the car. Yeah, right.

Johnson collapses on pit road after race UPDATES: after finishing 8th in the Federated Auto Parts 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway, #48-Jimmie Johnson got out of his car on pit road under his own power, sat down on pit road, tried to get up and collapsed due to dehydration. Medical personnel were notified and Johnson was taken to the infield care center on a cart. Johnson was conscious entering the care center.
UPDATE: Per NASCAR's Twitter: Jimmie Johnson has been treated and released from the infield care center.
COMMENTS Team Chevy Post Race Notes and Quotes:
Q) TELL US ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED?
Johnson: "Just got dehydrated in the car. Not exactly sure what led to it we will have to dig in and see what happened. I started cramping when I got out of the race car. Then when I was cramping I was trying to stand-up because I was fine when I sat down then I would stand-up I would get dizzy. When I would sit back down I would start to cramp again. Just really dehydrated. Ended up with five liters of IV in me. I was definitely dry. I will have to dig in and understand what happened in the car. I was hot in the car so I will have to make sure all my fans were working and stuff like that. Scary moment and I hate that it happened, but have to learn from it and make sure it doesn't happen again."
Q) TALK ABOUT NOT BEING ON THE CHASE STAGE AND HAVING THIS HAPPEN FOR AN ATHLETE A GUY WHO IS PROBABLY THE BEST TRAINED. IT WOULD BE ODD THAT YOU WOULD BE THE ONE TO HAVE DEHYDRATION:
Johnson: "Yeah there is something that went wrong today. It could have been my own nutrition plan. I felt like I came in plenty hydrated. We will have to make sure that all the fans and stuff were working in the car. I was warm at the midway point and didn't feel like my helmet fan was working. That could definitely cause an issue."
Q) DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING BAD TO EAT OR HAVE YOU BEEN SICK OR ANYTHING?
Johnson: "No, I haven't been sick. I had a light week of training as well because I had planned on competing in my triathlon tomorrow morning. Well rested, nutrition and all that was there. It is really bizarre that I got hit as hard as I did tonight with dehydration. I will have to dig in and see what happened."
Q) ON HIS TRAINING:
Johnson: "This week has been pretty light just because I'm supposed to compete in an event tomorrow morning. Still going to go and attend, but won't be able to compete especially with the cramping that I had. Just a lot of questions right now, but I cramped pretty bad there on pit road and got dizzy and light-headed and had to come over here and get a bunch of bags of IV."
Q) SO WHEN YOU PARKED THE CAR YOU FELT OKAY, BUT WHEN YOU CLIMBED OUT IT WENT HAYWIRE:
Johnson: "Yeah I sat in the car and was talking to my guys about the run and having a good race. I started to cramp a little bit in my legs so I figured I would just get out of the car and as I climbed out of the car the cramping got far worse. Then standing outside the car I kind of got dizzy so I wanted to sit down. Once I sat down the cramping got worse so then I wanted to stand up. I got up and off the ground two or three times and that whole process got me really dizzy. And had the cramps really kicking so fortunately then I was able to get on the golf cart and come over here and get plugged into an IV."(Team Chevy)(9-6-2014)

OMG! I can't believe this. So now NUTSCAR is going to create a SS/Pension/Union/Diversity/Wealth Redistibution/Retirement (<--Anybody get the pun? Re TIRE ment) Fund!?

Can money be allotted to help retired drivers? NASCAR is a billion-dollar industry filled with wealthy team owners, deep-pocketed sponsors and a number of millionaire drivers, all directed by the ultra-rich France family. The only folks who seem not to have done well from their involvement in NASCAR are retired drivers. Instead, a number of them need financial help in their everyday lives, especially with medical expenses. But there is no fund to provide such help. There should be. And the idea has some high-profile supporters.
"I think that would be a positive thing," said Dale Earnhardt Jr., the perennial choice of fans as NASCAR's most popular driver.
"I'm in favor of giving back to our sport," said Jimmie Johnson, six-time Sprint Cup champion.
NASCAR drivers at all levels - Sprint Cup, Nationwide, World Camping Truck, K&N Pro Series - are independent contractors. They make the best deal they can with an owner and hope they eventually hit the big time. That has worked well for such veteran drivers as Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt and Carl Edwards. And it seems to have worked well for some of the younger, established drivers such as Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch.
But there are drivers in all series who struggle to survive competitively, which means they also struggle to survive financially. Their short-term needs are difficult to meet. They'd rather not think about the long term. "I certainly think any retired athlete needs some sort of benefits package or a fund or something for guys who end up on the less fortunate side of things," said Greg Biffle, who is in the midst of a solid career on the Sprint Cup circuit. "I'm in favor of it. We see a lot of players in all sports that end up on hard times."
As for funding it, Biffle said, "Man, I am not a financial guy whatsoever." There is ample money available. NASCAR is completing a 10-year, $4.8 billon television contract. Next year, it begins a 10-year, $8.2 billion television contract. As little as 10% of the new deal would provide more money for a driver's fund than was in the initial concussion proposal between the NFL and its retired players.
There are sponsor dollars generated by NASCAR. If teams contributed a small percentage of that money each year to a pool for retired or disabled drivers in need, fewer retired or disabled drivers would be in need. NASCAR's leadership has done remarkable things to make a dangerous sport as safe as possible. But without drivers, there are no TV contracts, no fans in the stands and no one buying high-priced souvenirs. "There's a little bit of a responsibility on everybody's part, not just the sport as a whole, but the drivers that are currently having the success they're having, myself included," Earnhardt said. "I'm sure it wouldn't be too tall a challenge to put something together. And if it's run properly and managed properly, it could be a huge assist to all those guys who are struggling, especially when you get older and the medical bills start piling up on you. Yeah, I think it would be a great thing."(Richmond Times Dispatch)(9-7-2014)

< /shaking head and walking away >