Reynolds was taken to the onsite medical centre along with Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Will Brown following Race 3 of the Sydney 500 at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Like Brown and Broc Feeney, cool suit issues plagued Reynolds early in the race and left him roasting.
Sunday’s weather was far hotter than any day that week, with maximum humidity, barely any breeze, and temperatures in the mid-to-high-30s that brought tropical-like storms to the area.
Speaking at Monday’s ride day, Reynolds said he was feeling “much better” but did not want to relive the experience.
“To have no cool suit when it’s super hot, super humid, it’s not fun at all,” said Reynolds.
“I don’t recommend it. You couldn’t pay me $100 million to do that again. That was just a horrible feeling.
“You’re trying to drive the car on its limit and your brain starts playing tricks on you and you can’t feel your grip properly.
“You go up to the corner and you don’t know how much brake pressure you have, so you drive the corner way faster than you should be. Things like that start to creep in.”
Reynolds said adrenaline kept him going through the 52-lap ordeal.
After taking the chequered flag and getting out of his #20 Snowy River Caravans Camaro, he began to feel the effects of dehydration.
“I got straight out of the car, jumped in the ice bath, and that’s when all my problems started,” he explained.
“I started hyperventilating really badly. I started getting really dizzy. Just wanted to throw up so they took me down to the medical centre.
“Then I was just lying on the bed, I couldn’t talk, I could hear Will in the background yapping away, but I actually couldn’t respond to him at the time because I couldn’t speak.
“Then they tried to put an IV drip, but they couldn’t find my vein because they collapsed.
“They collapse when you’re dehydrated and it pushes all the blood to your brain and your heart to keep you alive.
“Then they had to go through my finger. It took me ages to half regain consciousness and be able to sit up and talk to people. I was in a state.
“The ambulance was standing by,” he added.
“There was a five-minute window I reckon where they were going to take me because I wasn’t getting better.
“Luckily, I started getting better, could open my eyes and actually talk to people and they realised I was on the mend.”
Reynolds said he did not consider stopping mid-race, despite the uncomfortable temperature.
He finished 16th, just behind Team 18 stablemate Anton De Pasquale.
“I didn’t feel okay,” he said.
“You don’t want to stop because you’ve got the whole team behind you that you can’t just come in and say ‘fuck, it’s too hot today’.
“Cool suits fail from time to time. Sometimes they fail in the worst possible conditions and it makes it a day you don’t want to remember, or don’t even remember.”












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