DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The grandson of NASCAR’s chief executive officer was involved in a YouTube channel that featured videos of motorcycles appearing to weave through traffic on Central Florida roadways at high speeds, running red lights and performing risky stunts, like wheelies, News 6 has learned.

“I just put their life in danger!” an unidentified motorcycle operator exclaimed in one of the videos while passing other motorists in Winter Park. “Be careful, you almost died! I almost killed you!”

Speedometers seen in some of the YouTube videos indicated the motorcycles accelerated to speeds exceeding 150 mph while zigzagging around other vehicles on Interstate 4, Florida’s Turnpike, the 417 expressway, Semoran Boulevard and other local thoroughfares.

News 6 could not independently confirm the accuracy of the speedometer readings captured in the videos.

The Florida Highway Patrol said it has assigned an investigator to review the “Speed Demon 407” YouTube channel after a News 6 viewer expressed concern that the high-speed motorcycle stunts could get an innocent motorist hurt or killed.

Dallas Ashley appeared in several videos posted on the YouTube channel.

Ashley, 25, is the great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. and the grandson of the family-owned racing company’s billionaire CEO Jim France, court records and interviews confirm.

Multiple videos on the YouTube channel showed motorcycles entering the Daytona Beach International Speedway, where NASCAR races are run, and stopping by bronze statues that honor Ashley’s great-grandfather and other France family members.

In at least two YouTube videos, Ashley shared a quote about motorcycle safety that he later told News 6 he learned from his grandfather Jim France: “You’ve got to treat every car like it’s a bullet with your name on it.”

Ashley claims he is currently estranged from his mother Amy Lea France’s side of the family that owns NASCAR and said he has not spoken with his grandfather or other France relatives recently.

Representatives of NASCAR and the France family did not provide comment for this story.

After News 6 contacted Ashley last week with questions about the YouTube channel, more than 120 videos were deleted or set to private and could no longer be viewed publicly.

YouTube later removed some of the videos for violating the company’s community guidelines.

“YouTube prohibits videos that encourage dangerous or illegal activities,” a spokesperson for the video-sharing website told News 6.

When the YouTube channel was fully active, Ashley appeared on camera in videos providing information about motorcycle operations, including one titled “5 Things NOT To Do When Riding a Motorcycle.”

Most other videos on the YouTube channel showed an unidentified man riding motorcycles through Central Florida at what appeared to be high speeds.

The footage was captured by a camera mounted on the operator’s helmet that displayed the rider’s point of view. Shots showing the biker’s face were intentionally blurred.

News 6 could not immediately confirm who was driving the motorcycles.

In a phone call with News 6, Ashley repeatedly denied he was the biker who appeared in the videos performing risky stunts.

Ashley also suggested some of the footage may have been digitally altered for entertainment purposes.

“You can’t prove who was riding,” Ashley told News 6. “You can’t trust anything you see on the internet.”

Ashley said he understood why some observers might be disturbed by the YouTube videos that appeared to show motorcycles putting other Central Florida motorists in danger.

“I do have concerns for other people,” said Ashley. “Is anybody going to get injured? Hopefully not.”

In a video titled “Orlando to Daytona in 20 mins,” a motorcycle’s speedometer could be seen hitting 154 mph as the bike travelled on I-4 from Maitland to the Daytona International Speedway. The maximum posted speed limit on the interstate is 70 mph.

The video showed the motorcycle driving between two side-by-side vehicles in a maneuver called “lane splitting” and traveling on the shoulder of the interstate to pass slower vehicles. Both driving techniques are prohibited by Florida law.

After cruising through the tunnel of the Daytona International Speedway and parking in the infield to watch a Bike Week event on the track, the unidentified biker spoke to a fellow spectator.

“Good to meet you, Dallas,” the spectator could be heard saying on the video.

Most of the videos on the YouTube channel showed motorcycles appearing to drive at high speeds around Winter Park and Orlando.

“That person right there, I just put their life in danger,” an unidentified biker said as his motorcycle passed an SUV on Semoran Boulevard. The speedometer indicated that the bike was travelling 35 mph over the posted speed limit.

“Watch out! Here comes a menace!” he exclaimed while gesturing at other vehicles.

The motorcycle’s speedometer displayed a speed of 130 mph as it passed by vehicles attempting to turn into apartment complexes on the same road, the YouTube video showed.

Another video appeared to show a motorcycle doing a wheelie on State Road 436, passing other vehicles as the speedometer read 154 mph and narrowly avoiding a collision with an oncoming vehicle that was making a U-turn, all within 30 seconds.

A different video captured another near collision. A car with a flashing turn signal attempted to change lanes on Semoran Boulevard as the motorcycle approached from behind. The bike’s speedometer indicated it was travelling more than 20 mph over the posted speed limit.

“What a f***ing dumb b****,” the motorcycle operator said after swerving to avoid striking the car, the video showed.

The motorcycle then failed to stop at a red light at Aloma Avenue, the video showed. The speedometer indicated the bike was travelling 83 mph when the traffic signal turned red and more than 60 mph as it coasted through the intersection.

In a clip titled “Passing State Trooper Over Double the Speed Limit!,” the motorcycle’s speedometer showed a reading of 148 mph as the bike was driven down the I-4 Express Lanes.

The operator reportedly saw a Florida Highway Patrol vehicle in a regular lane, which was separated from the express lanes by concrete barriers.

“Oh no, there’s a trooper right there,” the unidentified biker said on the video. “I ain’t going to jail today, motherf***er.”

Another YouTube video showed officers with the Longwood Police Department stopping a motorcycle on Ronald Reagan Boulevard for alleged equipment violations.

[Watch the Longwood police bodycam footage from the traffic stop below]

Although the audio was muted on the YouTube clip when the biker told police his name, video footage from the officer’s body-worn camera obtained by News 6 confirmed that Ashley was operating the motorcycle at the time of the traffic stop.

The officers issued Ashley three citations with fines totaling nearly $1,400 for operating a motorcycle with an obstructed license plate, folded-in mirrors and no eye protection.

“You guys are f***ing straight f***ing dickheads,” Ashley said as he drove away from the traffic stop while holding up his middle finger, the YouTube video showed. “That’s why nobody f***s with cops. That’s why I should have f***ing left you f***ers in the past.”

The Florida Highway Patrol has previously investigated social media videos that feature motorists exhibiting risky driving on public roads.

The challenge for law enforcement and prosecutors is proving who was operating the vehicles seen in the videos.

A motorcycle vlogger known as Gixxer Brah pleaded guilty to exhibition of speed last year and was sentenced to two weeks in jail after allegedly publishing a YouTube video titled “From Colorado Springs to Denver in 20 minutes”, according to Road & Track.

Years before Ashley became associated with the “Speed Demon 407” YouTube channel, he was the subject of a high-profile child custody dispute that was featured in a tabloid magazine.

Ashley’s father, Andrew Ashley, filed a lawsuit against his former girlfriend, Amy Lea France, in 1999 seeking custody of their son who had been born months earlier, court records show.

Following a decade of litigation, an Orange County judge awarded Amy Lea France sole parental responsibility in 2009.

Court records show the judge’s decision was based, in part, on evidence that Andrew Ashley had published a brochure titled “How NASCAR Stole My Son,” which disparaged the France family.

The brochure was distributed to TV networks, including ESPN, and was reportedly handed out at a NASCAR race in the child’s presence, the judge said.

In a 2010 article published in The National Enquirer, Andrew Ashley publicly accused the France family of interfering in the child custody dispute.

“Jim France has used his millions to take away my 10-year-old son Dallas,” Andrew Ashley told the tabloid.

Earlier this month a message was posted on Andrew Ashley’s public Facebook page referencing the YouTube Channel that read, “I just saw Speed Demon 407” with a motorcycle emoji.

Andrew Ashley told News 6 that he had intentionally avoided watching any of the videos on the channel.

“I hope no one gets hurt,” he said.

Andrew Ashley, a musician who registered to run for president of the United States in 2024 as an independent candidate and currently works as an Uber driver, said he occasionally sees other motorists driving dangerously on local roads.

“I worry about my son’s safety every day,” Andrew Ashley told News 6. “My son has been through way too much.”

A recent photo of Dallas Ashley wearing a T-shirt that read “NASCAR sucks” was posted on his father’s public Facebook page in March.

A man wearing an identical T-shirt whose face had been blurred out appeared in the YouTube video titled “Orlando to Daytona in 20 mins.”

“I’m going to go over to the track,” the unidentified biker said on the video shortly before he is seen entering the Daytona International Speedway. “On the track with this shirt is diabolical, bro.”