Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Every second counts at the Indy 500, and that means you’re not going to see drivers hop out of their car if nature calls. That was the case with Conor Daly this year, as he admitted he spent the entirety of the race sitting in his own pee after relieving himself before it got underway.
It usually takes around three hours for racers to complete the 200 laps that comprise the Indianapolis 500, a test of endurance that initially took more than twice as long to finish when it was held at The Brickyard for the first time all the way back in 1911.
The nature of auto racing means competitors want to make sure they’ve taken care of business in the bathroom before they hop into their car, and you’d be hard-pressed to find many drivers who don’t have a race day routine that ensures they’ll be dealing with an empty bladder before getting into the vehicles where they have to remain hydrated thanks to the hot conditions that can result in them losing upwards of ten pounds in sweat alone while behind the wheel.
With that said, there’s only so much you can do to control what goes down once things kick off.
Conor Daly learned that the hard way at the Indy 500 this year based on what he had to say at the banquet held in the wake of the race where the 33-year-old Indiana native led for 13 laps but ultimately finished in eighth place after a car issue slowed him down in the second half.
The start of race was delayed for around 45 minutes due to thunderstorms that rolled through the area, and Daly said that contributed to his decision to pee himself before it began.
He did WHAT in his car? 😳😂 pic.twitter.com/rffk2ddwE4
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 27, 2025
Daly probably could have kept the information to himself but decided to come clean, saying:
“There’s been a lot of toilet talk about maybe some using of the bathroom, because we had to wait a long time before the race, right? Never in my life have I urinated in my race car until Sunday.
I was sitting on the grid, and I was like, ‘This is the best car I’ve ever been in in my whole life. I’m gonna have to pee in this thing.’ I kid you not. I legitimately urinated before the race even started…I had to go really bad.”
He noted his diabetes may have been a contributing factor, but at the end of the day, you gotta go when you gotta go.