One of the most highly desired sets of fresh content involves spectacular rolling car-to-car photo shoots, where photo vehicles lead race cars slowly around the speedway while photographers and videographers capture imagery that, when done right, creates the illusion that the cars are traveling at race speeds—often in iconic venues.

At some point during the race, my editor caught me completely off guard. He handed me a 500mm lens—no small piece of glass in the film era—and casually instructed me to head up into the blimp to photograph the race-leading Porsche 935, driven by A.J. Foyt, Bob Wollek, and Derek Bell. Just like that, my perspective on Sebring was about to change—literally.