It's no surprise that a slew of A-list NASCAR drivers own private aircraft. Becoming something of a status symbol through the years, a driver clearly has arrived when he drops a serious chunk of change to become a card-carrying member of the "NASCAR air force."

But what may be a surprise is the increasing number of drivers piloting the aircrafts themselves.

• Send Raygan your thoughts
• Raygan's Community profile

For years, veterans such as Bill Elliott, Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace were the only ones driving the skies.

Now they have company.

Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Dario Franchitti and Matt Kenseth have earned their wings in recent years. Jamie McMurray also is learning to fly, while Reed Sorensen and Kasey Kahne are in the process of purchasing their own planes.

And the fun isn't limited just to the men. Krissie Newman, wife of Ryan Newman, poured over flight manuals during the season to earn a license to fly helicopters.

Franchitti acquired a chopper before he even had a license to fly. About five years ago, he purchased his first American Eurocopter fours months before his aviation certificate arrived in the mail.

"I totally had it bought and then realized how expensive it was to insure as a new pilot -- wow," Franchitti said.

A former Indy Racing League driver who averaged 18 to 20 races a season, Franchitti knows investing in a helicopter will pay off while racing on NASCAR's 36-event circuit.

"Living in Nashville, I fly to the shop outside of Charlotte and maybe to some of the nearby tracks," he said. "... It's just fun. You get to leave house in the morning, no cell phones, nothing -- just back to flying. Some of the things you see are amazing."

Other leagues have pilots, just not as many as NASCAR.

Former big-league infielder Jay Bell flies; NFL players Jason Elam and Patrick Kerney are licensed pilots; ditto Joey Graham of the NBA and Alexei Kovalev of the NHL. Pilots on the PGA Tour include Nick Price and Phil Mickelson, as well as legend Arnold Palmer.

While the golfers sometimes rely on their craft to shuttle them to Tour events, most licensed pilots among professional athletes fly recreationally.

Be it a serene commute to work, added convenience or a hobby, the skies are filling rapidly on race weekends.

Air traffic from NASCAR has grown so much that the fleet has its own association: Race Team Aviation Association. The group promotes and enhances aviation safety, operational effectiveness, community relations and environmental concerns as it supports race teams.

Organization is needed when 150 to 200 aircraft are arriving at a race track in a limited time frame -- in-bound on Thursday and out-bound on Sunday. They range from fixed wing aircraft to small turboprops to corporate 727s.

And if you ask any driver, crewman or team owner, they will tell you the race on the track is equally as important as the race to the plane. Kahne and Edwards have literally raced on foot between the haulers to garner prime position on the take off grid.

And speaking of Edwards, why this Roush Fenway Racing driver became a pilot may surprise you. "I thought the military was something I could go into and work up on my own merits," he said. "I wanted to be a pilot in the military, but racing took off and Jack hired me and paid me enough so I can buy my own."

Among the busiest drivers in the sport, Edwards competes in both Cup and Nationwide series, averages 50 sponsorship appearances a year and runs a record company. He needs flexibility.

Asked if he flies dates to romantic far-off cities, he laughed: "Are you talking about the mile high club? No, I'm kidding. My girlfriend likes to fly with me and in fact we are going to the Bahamas soon."

Kenseth's time at the controls is beginning to rival that of a commercial airline pilot. A typical airline captain will clock about 75 hours a month, totaling 900 annually.

Kenseth: 400.

"Well, it was just kind of logical," he said. "The first thing is, we spend about 400 hours a year in an airplane, or something like that, and I'm really not doing a lot when I'm just riding.

"It's a challenge. It's something I've always been interested in. I'm real good friends with my long-time pilot Elwood [Gibson] and it's something we had always talked about was me getting involved in it and learning to do a little bit of flying."

For the past three years Kenseth has worked on mastering his craft. "It's definitely a challenge," he said. "It uses a different side of you brain and it's something I enjoy doing and working real hard at."

NASCAR drivers rank among the most active air pilots in any other professional league, according to a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Besides stamp collecting or wood carving stack up as sub-par hobbies, boring to say the least, for men who drive 190 mph for a living.

"It's an unbelievable freedom," Edwards said.

The opinions expressed are those solely of the writer.