PJ Jones, driver of the No. 98 Castrol/Jockey/Denso AAR Toyota Reynard, experienced the thrill of a lifetime, Monday, February 10, when he flew with the legendary Blue Angels jet squadron.

Jones, who received his private pilots license in 1992, owns a Cessna 421C. He jumped at the chance to join the Blue Angels for a flight.

After a 30-minute briefing, Jones and NHRA drag racing driver Tony Pedregon took turns flying in Blue Angels #7, a two-seat F/A-18 Hornet with the team’s pilot/narrator Lt. Doug Verissimo. The flights lasted approximately 45 minutes.

"That was awesome," Jones said. "You really work up a sweat and if you don’t do the proper grunting (a technique used to circulate blood) your vision goes down to the size of a dime. You can really tell the difference between the five Gs you experience in CART racing and the seven Gs you experience in the Hornet. What a ride!"

Lt. Verissimo performed a number of aerobatic maneuvers during the flights and even allowed Jones and Pedregon to fly the aircraft.

The Blue Angels spend the winter (January through March) at Naval Air Facility (NAF), El Centro, California, training pilots and crew members. The team also extends invites throughout the year to other sports and entertainment celebrities.

Several other PPG Cup drivers have been invited to fly with Blue Angels and are expected to do so in the coming weeks.