DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Kasey Kahne has plenty of experience going fast.
But what he does in a race car didn't come close to his experience Wednesday with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.
"Just sitting inside the plane, you're kind of in a tighter cockpit. Just a really great area, gauges and switches and things all over the place. That would compare, in a way," he said, starting to laugh. "But after that, I didn't really have any comparisons."
Kahne got a chance to take a ride with the Thunderbirds, an experience he called "amazing."
And any preconceived notions he had about what it would be like went right out the window.
"I've watched lots of different things on TV over the years, but to actually be part of it, until you do it yourself and your body goes through it, you have no clue what it's all about," he said. "Just from the time we took off when we went straight up, the distance we traveled in such a short period of time, it was unbelievable, really."
When he stepped down from the plane, he said a few words to the Thunderbirds, and jokingly thanked his pilot for helping him hold on to his breakfast.
Even with the prospect of climbing in the cockpit, Kahne never quite got nervous. Quite the contrary -- he was excited from the moment he woke up. And it was an experience he'll never forget.
"It's just amazing to actually be in that situation and get to feel how much it affects your body, from your toes to your head," he told the Thunderbirds. "It's something I've never felt before in my life. I probably won't feel it again, actually."
