Newman, NASCAR meet in aftermath of 'Dega crash (cont'd)

That may already be occurring. In comments made to reporters the day after the Talladega race, Pemberton indicated that NASCAR was working on scheduling wind tunnel time to address the "high yaw" of the current Sprint Cup car on the 2.66-mile track. Friday at Texas, Darby said such studies are part of NASCAR's normal operating procedure.

"That's what we do," Darby said. "We do it every day. We don't just do it because the car got up in the air after Talladega. Our R&D Center is operational five days a week, 12 months a year. That's what they do everyday. So the answer to [potentially taking the cars to a wind tunnel] is yes. But as a result of [Talladega]? The answer is no. That's just what we do."

In the aftermath of Newman's crash, much speculation has centered around the Sprint Cup car's rear wing, and whether it provided the lift to send the car into the air. Pemberton said that wasn't the case, and that NASCAR has specifically tested the current vehicle in wind tunnels that allow the car to be spun around. And as Newman pointed out, there have been many airborne Talladega crashes involving cars with a rear spoiler instead of a wing.

"I don't know that it's the answer," he said. "As we've seen before, I believe it was Matt Kenseth's Nationwide crash, his car got airborne with a spoiler on the back of it. That's not the answer, that's not the fix. I've been part of crashes with spoilers on the back of them and a wing on the back of them, unfortunately. That's not the fix. Can it be a part of the fix? Yeah, potentially. Is it a better alternative in conjunction with other things you can do to the car? Maybe. Those are the things that NASCAR and the teams have to test collectively so that we can make it safer and better for the drivers and, like I said, more importantly, the fans."

It's unlikely to be a simple fix, given that cars have been going airborne in accidents at Talladega for years. Newman's crash "was no different than what we've seen for a good solid 15 years, if not more [at Talladega], and it's really hard to stop the cars from doing that when they get around like that," Martin said. Clearly, Newman believes that putting an end to airborne crashes at Talladega should be a priority.

"From an engineering standpoint, whatever we can do speed-wise and aerodynamically to keep the cars on the ground ... is what we need to focus on," said Newman, who requested the meeting with NASCAR in a telephone conversation with Darby on Sunday night. "There has been testing done. I learned some of that stuff on Wednesday morning talking to Mr. Darby and Mr. Pemberton, that they have tested. But I don't know that they have tested everything. I don't know that you can test everything. But obviously more testing needs to be done in order to make it safer for everybody."

Newman's other point of emphasis was his extrication from the car, which occurred after the vehicle was righted by a wrecker and the roof was cut off. It's not the first time Newman has spent a long time in his car waiting for relief -- following a 2003 crash at Watkins Glen, he sat in his vehicle for nearly two minutes before rescue crews even arrived, an incident that left the driver seething, and ignited debate over whether NASCAR needed dedicated safety crews like some open-wheel circuits have.

Newman said Friday that he was still sore from the impact of the crash, but as he sat upside down he never felt pushed down into his seat. He was, though, concerned about the way the roll cage was crushed, and believes there is some room for improvement as far as his extrication process was concerned.

"I want to make a point that I wasn't dissatisfied with the way I was taken out of the car," he said. "I just feel there were things that potentially could be done to make it easier for the next guy. That's my responsibility, because the next guy might be me again. You never know."