CONCORD, N.C. -- We've all been told eating while driving can be distracting and ultimately hazardous to your health.

Not when you're a NASCAR driver. In fact, it's mandatory for some.

Mental preparation is a popular topic of discussion heading into Sunday's grueling 600-mile Sprint Cup Series race, although physical preparation is equally as important to the drivers who need to maintain hydration and energy levels inside the car during the sport's longest race of the season.

“

If I could get a hamburger to fit in the helmet, I might have that. I don't think I can get it in there.

”

KYLE BUSCH

So how is that possible? How do you fit in balanced nutrition over the course of a potentially five-hour race at high rates of speed?

These athletes use creativity and quick-handed crew members. They reach for coolers of cold beverages, fruit and energy bars to hand off to their drivers during pit stops, giving an entirely new meaning to fast food.

And when the food is fast, at times taste is compromised, said Jimmie Johnson, who began the habit of eating inside the car during races, including the Coca-Cola 600, a few seasons ago. He eats chocolate-covered protein bars washed down with red Gatorade.

"The combination of the two really isn't all that good," said Johnson, who is handed thirds of segmented protein bars through his driver's-side window while in the pit box. "I'll have the chocolate bar or protein bar in my hand and I'm like, nah that's not going down and I'll throw it out. I need to find a better combination of food and drink for inside the car."

Johnson added that he knows some drivers who can eat sandwiches and even some old-school drivers who were known to eat hot dogs.

Not Carl Edwards. He stopped eating inside the car because he said Richard Petty told him it wasn't safe for reasons unknown. Ryan Newman is a water-only driver, and Matt Kenseth has never eaten during a race.

Jeff Burton said he's eaten during the 600 but doesn't like to.

"I don't like to do it because there are some issues with eating during a race," Burton said. "I don't like to eat but I've eaten like protein bars and stuff like that. My thing is keeping the fluids in."

In seasons past, Kyle Busch used to snack on crackers and candy bars while inside the car.

"If I could get a hamburger to fit in the helmet, I might have that," he said. "I don't think I can get it in there."

He'll follow no special diet before Sunday's race, unlike other drivers who prefer fruit and complex carbohydrates. But he does have an interesting hydration strategy.

• Stay in the loop on the 600
• Get your tickets for all events

"I probably won't hydrate as much before the race. Because it's such a long race, you don't get any opportunity to go to the bathroom. I won't hydrate at all until I get in the car probably. You'll actually start the race probably almost dehydrated and then you'll hydrate through the event just to keep that state so you don't have to go to the bathroom every hour."

Inside sweltering stock cars, drivers can lose five to 10 pounds of water weight in one single race.

Johnson said everyone does a good job of staying hydrated inside the car during a race, although some drivers don't eat because adrenaline alone keeps them energized.

"I try to eat at every track but you'd be surprised to know that your adrenaline carries you so far through that you don't feel that you're hungry, and when you're hot the last thing on your mind is eating," he said.

Still, Johnson begins eating small portions after the third or fourth pit stop of the race.

"It's amazing how much better you feel once you get some food in your system. About 10 minutes later you feel your energy coming back and you're like, gosh I needed that," Johnson said. "Everyone does a good job drinking in the car; Gatorade has built an awesome system. But the food is very helpful as well."

Kasey Kahne is another driver who keeps energy levels high through food.

When Ray Evernham was still involved with his team, crew members would pass Kahne a Power Bar during a caution halfway through the 600-mile race.

"The first year I got it, I put it aside," Kahne recalled. "I didn't feel like eating. And the second year [Evernham] said, 'Just try it, just do it,' and I ate it, and it was like night and day how much better I felt for the final 100 miles of the race."

The food followed by the hydration, Kahne said, can make all the difference around the 400-mile mark of the race.

"Yeah, having something on one of those pit stops isn't a bad idea," he said.