Alex Zanardi’s reaction to his 45-minute, .97 Mach (just below the speed of sound), 7.4-G-load flight on a Blue Angels’ F/A-18 Hornet?

He climbed from the cockpit and . . . kissed the ground!

"I can spend a week talking and trying to explain what it was like, but you won’t get the idea because it is not even close to what it is. It is amazing," said Zanardi, 1996 PPG CART World Series Rookie of the Year and pole winner for last weekend’s season-opener in Homestead, Fla. in the Target Reynard-Honda. "If you say, on a scale of one-to-10, this experience in reality is a 10, my expectation was about two compared to what I experienced. It is incredible."

"Unbelievable," added PPG Cup champion Jimmy Vasser, Zanardi’s Target/Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, who took the first flight and "beat" Zanardi by pulling 7.6 Gs. (Vasser said the most G-loads he’s experienced in a race car was about four.) "It’s hard to put into words, but it’s definitely the most phenomenal experience I’ve ever had in my life."

The drivers were invited by the Navy to take the demonstration flights Friday at the Blue Angels’ winter training base here in recognition of their high-profile successes last season, when they combined for seven wins and 10 poles. While the high-performance of their Target Reynards impresses most people, Vasser and Zanardi were amazed with the $18 million F/A-18s, which climb to 30,000 feet in one minute and are powered by twin 16,000-pound thrust turbofan engines.

After a lengthy pre-flight safety briefing, Vasser was strapped into the fighter jet and told pilot Lt. Doug Verissimo, "I’m ready. Give me the keys!" Lt. Verissimo, a native of Falmouth, Mass., and an avowed racing fan, has more than 1,400 flight hours and 195 carrier landings.

"It’s way more physical than the race car," explained Vasser afterwards. "I feel like I’m about to lose my breath and my voice because of having to grunt and what they call ‘hooking’ 151; tightening up your leg and stomach muscles to keep from passing out. I got tunnel-vision a couple of times, everything gets gray, but then it comes back in." Lt. Verissimo allowed the drivers to take the "stick" and Vasser and Zanardi both performed left-and-right barrel rolls. "The first time I did it the nose was starting to dig-in and dive-down and he had to take it back, but the second and third time I did the rolls were good," said Vasser. "Doug talked me through everything and I didn’t get disoriented flying upside-down like I thought I would. There were five other F-18s out there in the same basic air space, going above and below us."

Zanardi said, "I did a couple of ‘360s’ and that was fun. To be honest, I was afraid of what I was doing. I was a little afraid of myself."

Both said the most spectacular portion of their flights above the desert was going through a canyon region and just above the mountains. "We were basically on the ‘deck’ — amazing," recalled Vasser.

Zanardi and Vasser both marveled at the physical condition of the Navy pilots and the Blue Angels’ teamwork.

"It’s very, very hard on the body," said Zanardi, who has qualified on the pole a record-tying five consecutive times and established a new mark at Homestead with his ninth-straight front-row start. "I didn’t think it would be that hard for me. I thought, being a racing driver, I was physically fit enough to be comfortable with the forces in the airplane, but now I see I’m not. When we did the sharp turns, I couldn’t see much, and that was pretty tough. The first time he pulled up, even though he warned me he was going to do a vertical climb and gave me a countdown, ‘3-2-1,’ I knew it was going to be tough, but, boy, that was incredible."

"It’s amazing the trust the pilots put in the people working on the airplanes."

Said Vasser, "I have a whole new appreciation for the Navy and the dedication and teamwork and precision that are obviously a part of the everyday life for the Blue Angels’ crew. I have a lot of respect for everyone I’ve met today. The nice thing for us is they’re all real race fans and follow what we do and asked us a lot of good questions."

Vasser and Zanardi concluded the day by autographing photos and distributing Target/Ganassi Racing caps and T-shirts to the 100-member Blue Angels’ crew.

The Blue Angels will fly approximately 68 air shows at 37 locations this season. More than 15 million spectators saw their 50th anniversary season last year. Since 1946, the Blue Angels have performed for more than 291 million spectators.

Dan Gurney’s AAR Reynard Toyota driver PJ Jones and LCI International/Tasman Lola Honda driver Andre Ribeiro have also flown with the Blue Angels in the last month.

Vasser and Zanardi resume the 1997 Indy car campaign April 6 in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia. Vasser is the defending pole and race winner there.