NASCAR Cup Series

After fainting spell, Kyle Larson vows to make lifestyle changes

Published Apr. 10, 2015 12:08 p.m. ET

foxsports

Two weekends ago, Kyle Larson was sitting in a Charlotte, North Carolina hospital bed watching his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Chevrolet race around Martinsville Speedway with Regan Smith behind the wheel.

One day earlier, Larson fainted at the end of an autograph session and was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. Eventually transported to Charlotte to see a neurologist, the 2014 Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year was forced to miss the STP 500 at Martinsville as doctors ran numerous tests on him.

However, missing the race was not a total loss for the 22-year-old. Larson watched on FOX Sports 1 and was able to see the race from a different perspective and pick up a few things from his competition.

"I felt like I was still able to learn some things sitting in the hospital bed watching the race," Larson said Friday at Texas Motor Speedway. "Martinsville is where I struggle the most on our tour. So, I was able watch the good guys, because I'm never around the good guys at Martinsville. The cameras are on them a lot, so I can watch what they're doing and listen to the radio communication and all that."

After his fainting spell at Martinsville, Larson is watching his diet, eating breakfast for a change and making an effort to stay better-hydrated.

"It stinks when you come here to Texas and they have the Fuzzy's Tacos that are really good and you can't go over there and eat them, probably," he said. "I hate breakfast, so I've got to find somethings that I like to eat in the morning and just make sure I drink enough fluids. I feel like I take decent care of myself. That morning was a little bit different because I overslept and had to rush out to the car, but we should be good."

Before Larson made laps during Friday's opening Sprint Cup practice session at TMS, he took part in a test at Richmond International Raceway earlier in the week.

"Even though everything checked out fine (with the doctors), it is nice to get in the car and make sure everything was still fine in the cockpit as far as health goes," he said. "And to get, after being out from almost two weeks, to get back in the race car before you come to a real race weekend. It was good, too. It was nice to get in the car Wednesday there."

Despite missing the race at Martinsville, Larson remains eligible to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup and sits 23rd in the standings heading into Saturday night's Duck Commander 500 that will air live on FOX at 7:30 p.m. ET.