As the sport of racing grows in popularity, an offshoot fascination grows as well. More and more fans are tuning in and turning up at races in the hope of seeing crashes. Even though this fascination with the very dangerous side of racing raises a few eyebrows, the fascination with crashes is still on the rise.

NASCAR crashes are nothing new. Since the sport began, they have occurred. Crashes are unavoidable when you consider the power and speed of the race cars. The fact that crashes occur, despite safety precautions isn't what baffles the leaders, drivers, and promoters of NASCAR. They are often disturbed by that growing interest in and response to the drama of the crashes.

An increasing number of fans are constantly searching for footage of crashes that happened many years ago. Search engine research turns up the fact that fans are continually searching sites such as YouTube for archived footage of old crashes. With every new crash that occurs, searches for that driver's name increases, in addition to an increased sales of driver merchandise.

Why are People so Interested?

The fascination starts with the idea of chancing lady luck and staring mortality in the face. Intrigue with crashes has a lot to do with drivers boldly taking on something that is extremely dangerous due to the speeds involved. A non-fatal crash is to the fan the ultimate demonstration of courage, because the driver walked away from an event that would have killed most other people. When a driver fails to survive a crash, it stirs something deep in people. A crash probably reminds people of their own mortality

and that adds to the intrigue. If a seemingly untouchable can lose his life, then death can and will come for all. Interest in celebrity death is nothing new, but the added excitement of a crash gives accidents in an extra bit of interest.

Another, less spiritual reason people are fascinated with crashes, has to do with the commercial side of life. The value of a driver's merchandise, and the total number of sales increase when the driver has been involved in an accident. Many people, including those who deal in memorabilia, keep a close eye on crashes because it could mean bigger sales. Sites such as eBay see a spike in sales whenever a crash occurs in NASCAR. People seem to think that when a superstar crashes or is killed in a crash, buying their merchandise is a smart investment.