You might enjoy this anecdote as it relates to car racing and fighter pilots.
I used to race at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, a fairly challenging circuit that goes around a mountain. It is in a forest and has a lot of blind crests and blind bends, some high speed sections as well.
On the day before each race, the organisers offer a practice session. In addition to normal practising and testing, you are allowed to put a passenger seat in your racing car and take around sponsors or friends at pretty much racing speed.
A guy on our team was a top pro, been racing since he was a boy, won Le Mans and Sebring outright, that sort of thing. Racing was his life. Knowing that I was American, at one of these practice afternoons he introduced me to a visiting pal of his who was also an American.
I chatted with the American, asked him what he did. Currently he was working as a trauma surgeon at a hospital in Kansas City. Before he went to med school, he said, he had been a fighter pilot, then for several years a flight instructor at the "Top Gun" school.
I asked him how he knew the pro driver. He said that he had been stationed at the Nato air base near Bitburg (about 50 miles from the 'Ring). When there, he had lived in the same apartment building where the pro had grown up with his family. He had been good friends with the pro for 20 years.
I then said something like, "Being friends with 'X' all these years, you must have been to loads of race tracks with him. How do you like the Nordschleife?"
He replied, "Well, actually, I have never been in a racing car before, and never been on a race track."
I was surprised and said, "Well, this is the best track there is. Would you like to come out with me in our car?"
He thought for a moment and said, "Sure, why not? Let's do it!"
As we got him a suit and helmet, I must admit that I was thinking, "This guy was a Top Gun fighter pilot, so he's had physical experiences that would dwarf what he'll get in the car. Now his job is dealing with road crash victims and gang-war casualties. He must have big balls and a cast-iron stomach. I myself wouldn't dare to try the things that to him are normal. I hope he won't fall asleep while I'm driving him around!"
On these passenger laps in practice, you drive at maybe 95% of your normal pace, partly because the car is heavier but mostly because, no matter what, you need to make sure that your passenger stays safe.
I took this fellow around for either one or two laps (it's a long lap; the circuit includes the GP section as well as the Nordschleife on its own), at roughly 95% of my own (limited) ability. Again, I worried that the experience would be so underwhelming that this fellow would wonder what all the Nurburgring fuss was about and think I must be a wimp.
After I'd completed the lap, I brought the car into the box, shut off the engine. This fellow took off his helmet. I said to him, "Well, that was it. I hope it wasn't too boring for you."
Then I noticed that he seemed to be rather out of breath. After a moment he replied, "Thank you. I am really glad that I did that, but I guarantee you that I'll never go out in a racing car again. That scared the hell out of me!"
:laugh: