Articles by Contributor,Jim Clash

Technology

Bad-Ass Daytona Ride Holds Its Own Against High-G Fighter Jet Flights

Aviation photojournalist and film producer Mike Killian in the passenger seat of a 170-mph ride-along in a NASCAR Racing Experience stock car, Daytona International Speedway, November 1, 2025. Courtesy of NASCAR Racing Experience Mike Killian takes calculated risks for a living. As an aviation/aerospace photojournalist, over the last two decades he's been in most any military plane you can think of including a KC-135 tanker, a T-38 fighter jet and a C-2 Greyhound taking off from and landing on an aircraft carrier. He even photographed Normandy's WWII landing beaches tethered precariously to the back ramp of an open C-130 just a few hundred off of the ground. If that’s not enough, Killian is also a storm chaser. He once anchored himself on the ground during Category 5 Hurricane Micheal to send news feeds real-time footage, and to help any folks in distress. Currently, Killian is producing a full-length documentary about the historic B-29 Bomber and all of the women who flew it and other aircraft in WWII. Last month Killian took a ride from Houston to Dallas in one of only two B-29s - FiFi - still in operation. The film is due out as early as next year. So it's no surprise that Killian, 41, wanted to try a high-speed ride at Daytona International Speedway. As a guest of NASCAR Racing Experience this past Saturday, the adrenaline junkie visited the storied track for some 170-mph thrill laps as part of a celebrity ride-along program. Daytona is the crown jewel of the NASCAR circuit, and people come from all over the world to watch races there. If a driver wins Daytona's 500-mile Cup race, held annually in February, his or her life changes. That credential on one's racing resume opens countless doors, even after retirement. Aviation photojournalist Mike Killian filming from the back of an open C-130, Normandy, France. Courtesy of Mike Killian After he checked in at the NRE blue trailer near pit road, Killian signed the customary liability waiver form, was fitted with a race helmet and Hans device, then buckled snugly with a five point harness (the pit crew likes to call it "uncomfortably comfortable") into the passenger seat of the #20 stock car. He would pull a few lateral G's in the 31-degree banked corners, so it was important that he was strapped in tightly to keep him from sloshing around, and more importantly to help prevent serious injury if say, a rare mishap occurred on the track. Before I fired the engine to take off, we did a quick fist bump, then roared through the four gears down pit lane blending onto the track in Turn 1. We then accelerated through Turn 2 and down the long back-straight. At the end of it, we were at top speed. Passengers usually tense up here. They think I'll slow down going into Turn 3, but I don't. Traveling at more than three times the speed of their passenger cars on a highway exit ramp gets their attention. I was concentrating on the track ahead, and the deafening roar of the engine and tornado-force winds precluded any communication, so I had no idea what Killian was feeling. I took him around the speedway for three 2.5-mile-long laps, each lasting under a minute, on the high, middle and low lines to demonstrate that the car would stick pretty much anywhere. After we pulled back into pit lane, I shut down the engine and glanced over. Well? Killian had a wide smile on his face. I asked him to compare what he had just done to his experiences on military flights. A door impaled on a tree limb during Category 5 Hurricane Michael, October 7, 2018, Florida panhandle. Mike Killian “You feel the ground at Daytona, and that’s different for me. You don’t feel that traction in the sky. It’s more physical up there, but on the track you feel like you’re going to fly off the edge. You can feel the car hugging the pavement. In the air, you just feel the power of the plane with G’s.” Did he feel safe during the ride? “It’s true in a plane you can’t make a mistake. What’s that old saying: ‘Takeoff is optional, landing is mandatory?’ Since I’m not a pilot myself, I have to trust the person at the controls. I’m a pretty good judge of that after 20 years. I felt that trust with you today, otherwise I never would have gotten in the car.” Okay, one logical last question: Would Killian someday like to actually drive the car? “Yes, of course. It’s cool, bad-ass if you can print that [laughs]. Who wouldn’t want to drive a race-car on the most famous speedway in the world?” Editorial StandardsReprints & Permissions