Michael McDowell wrecked during qualifying at Texas in the spring of 2008. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

NASCAR then summoned Penske Racing officials to bring one of their cars to a small airport near Darlington Raceway, and officials put it on the back of a flatbed truck.

Wallace was not in attendance, but it was his second high-flying accident that year and NASCAR wanted to take a closer look.

“[They] backed this jet up, fired it up, brought the throttles up to a high power setting and tried to simulate blowing 200 mph air across the car,” Wallace says.

The rudimentary test “showed that the car was trying to lift off the damn flatbed trailer,” he says. “They started developing a couple of strips that pop up, so the air can’t attach to it.”

As a result, roof flaps soon entered the racing lexicon.

“They started really defining it then,” Wallace says. “Then the manufacturers got involved in it, and they took their cars to the wind tunnels with the specific reason of spoiling the lift of the car when it gets sideways.”

The sanctioning body has made great strides to keep cars from taking to the air, but as long as competitors teeter on the verge of 200 mph, it will not be possible to completely prevent airborne accidents.

Keselowski, for one, is OK with that.

“I think the fact that they’re not preventable is part of what makes racing so cool. You don’t know what you’re going to get,” he says.

Newman sees things in a very different light and adamantly espouses side-by-side competition and strategy as the hallmarks of real racing. He holds little regard for those who view NASCAR as some sort of bloodsport.

“Frankly, I don’t think that they care if the driver lives,” he says. “The guys that like to see that big crash, those are the people that really don’t even care about the human lives.”

Keselowski counters by saying action – whether a pass for the lead, bump-and-run maneuver or titillating wreck – is what keeps fans engaged.

“Otherwise, we’re just playing chess. I’ve never been to a chess match, but I’ve seen a few of them on TV and they’re not a lot of fun to watch. It doesn’t look like they get a lot of fans, either,” he says.

To elaborate, Keselowski draws an imaginary line on the kitchen table in his motorcoach.

Joey Logano wrecked last fall at Dover International Speedway. (Photo LAT Photographic)

“It’s the line we straddle,” he says. “On this side is chess, on this side is the cowboy and flirting with death all the time where you’re more like daredevils.

“I think the fans want to see us as close to this [daredevil] side as possible but they don’t necessarily want to see the consequences.”

– This story originally appeared in the June 2010 issue of NASCAR Illustrated.

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