Gregory Carpenter, aka Dr. Danger, doesn’t like to be restrained. As a concession to safety, he wears a helmet and seat belt when he does his "suicide car jump" driving 60 miles an hour over a ramp, through a ball of flames, and smack into a stack of junkyard cars, thrilling fans at state fairs across the country.

Sure he gets his share of cracked and dislocated bones, but it doesn’t slow him down for long. His crew once kidnapped him from the hospital so he could return to his daredveil stunts.

Why does he do it? "If I weren’t doing this, I’d be a mercenary or something…The closer I get to not being here anymore, the more passion I have for life."

Photo by Joel Sartore for National Geographic

Watch the "suicide car jump" video clip: Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Marilyn Terrell.