Nascar Driver Documentary

[Janyce Brits]

Anew five-part documentary series looking behind the scenes of the 2023 NASCAR season is coming to Netflix. The streaming platform has announced the release of NASCAR: Full Speed following the increasing success of its Formula 1 documentary series Drive to Survive.

The series follows the action of the NASCAR Cup Series, which has been described as one of the most challenging and dangerous championships in motorsport. NASCAR: Full Speed is produced by Connor Schell (30 for 30), Aaron Cohen (The Lionheart), Ben Kennedy, Tim Clark, Matt Summers, Tally Hair and multiple Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr.

NASCAR: Full Speed is set to release on Tuesday 30 January 2024, at 8am (GMT). The five-part series premieres five days ahead of the NASCAR pre-season exhibition race at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum on Sunday 4 February.

NASCAR: Full Speed will be available to watch on Netflix. Prices for the streaming service start at 4.99 a month and can be watched online, as well as on smart TVs and phones and tablets via the Netflix app.

NASCAR Cup Series starts: 650

NASCAR Cup Series wins: 51

NASCAR Cup Series championships: 0

Denny Hamlin has been competing in the NASCAR Cup series for 18 years. In that time, he won a total of 51 races, including the Daytona 500 in 2016, 2019 and 2020 and became the fourth driver, alongside Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and Sterling Marlin to win the event back-to-back.

The Floridian driver has the most wins in the NASCAR Cup Series without winning a championship, however he came close in 2010 when he finished second, just 39 points behind Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin has competed in every season since 2005, only missing four races in the early part of the 2013 season, after a collision with Joey Lagano damaged his back, and one race in 2014 due to a sinus infection.

Although he drives the #11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing, Hamlin also co-owns and operates NASCAR Cup Series team 23XI racing with former basketball player Michael Jordan.

NASCAR Cup Series starts: 536

NASCAR Cup Series wins: 32

NASCAR Cup Series championships: 2 (2018 & 2022)

JoeyLogano has spent 16 seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series, and currently drives for Team Penske in his #22 Ford Mustang. The Connecticut-born driver also competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and has previously competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

He became the youngest driver to win a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the age of 18 years and 21 days old when he won the Meijer 300 at the Kentucky Speedway, taking the record from Casey Atwood who had set the record in 1999 at 18 years and 313 days old. Logano is also the youngest winner of the NASCAR Cup Series after his victory at the 2009 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 in New Hampshire when he was 19 years and 35 days old, taking the victory from Kyle Busch who set the record at 20 years and 125 days old in 2005.

Logano previously competed in the #20 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing and the #96 Toyota Camry for Hall of Fame Racing. He then moved to Team Penske in 2013 before winning two championships in 2018 and 2022.

NASCAR Cup Series starts: 331

NASCAR Cup Series wins: 23

NASCAR Cup Series championships: 1 (2021)

Kyle Larson is the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion and competes in the #5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. The Californian driver had previously had a successful time in dirt track racing, winning events such as Kings Royal, Knoxville Nationals and the Chili Bowl Nationals.

Larson also won the 24 Hours of Daytona sports car race in 2015, winning the event with Chip Ganassi Racing and his team-mates, IndyCar drivers Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan and former NASCAR driver Jamie McMurray.

In 2024 he will compete in the Indianapolis 500 for Arrow McLaren and attempt the Double Duty, which is competing in both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series races on the same day.

NASCAR Cup Series starts: 216

NASCAR Cup Series wins: 10

NASCAR Cup Series championships: 0

William Byron is the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion but has not yet secured a championship win in the NASCAR Cup Series, where his highest finish has been 3rd. The North Carolinian drives the #24 Chevrolet Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports, as well as competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

He has also previously won the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Championship, as well as being awarded the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award in the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Byron also won the Daytona 500 in 2019 with Hendrick Motorsports.

NASCAR Cup Series starts: 121

NASCAR Cup Series wins: 6

NASCAR Cup Series championships: 0

Christopher Bell drives the #20 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing and has been competing in the NASCAR Cup Series for the last four seasons. The Oklahoma-born driver is also the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion.

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series is set to start on 4 February 2024, with a pre-season exhibition race at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. This is the third year the event will be held to mark the start of the season.

The first official race for the NASCAR Cup Series is the Daytona 500 on 18 February at the Daytona International Speedway. There are 37 races set to take place over the year including visits to the Circuit of the Americas and the Kansas Speedway, before the season comes to an end at Phoenix Raceway on 10 November.

Blink of an Eye is a 2019 American documentary film that depicts the career of NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip, culminating with his win in the 2001 Daytona 500 which also saw his car owner and friend Dale Earnhardt killed in an accident. The film was produced, written, and directed by Paul Taublieb, and was distributed by 1091 Media through Fathom Events, premiering in theaters for a one-night showing on September 12, 2019.

The film tells the story of Waltrip's racing career from its beginning, showing him work his way up to NASCAR by winning in go-karts and lower divisions of racing. Waltrip's career in the then NASCAR Winston Cup Series begins when he receives advice from Richard Petty to start racing directly in Winston Cup rather than going through the developmental NASCAR Busch Series (now known as the Xfinity Series) first. His early career is largely overshadowed by his older brother Darrell's; unlike Darrell, Michael has minimal success in the Winston Cup Series, failing to win a single race in his first 462 Winston Cup Series starts.

After a frightening accident at Bristol Motor Speedway, Waltrip befriends seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion Dale Earnhardt. In 2001, he agrees to drive a new third car for Earnhardt's Winston Cup Series team, Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI). The move makes Waltrip and Earnhardt's son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., teammates. In his first race for DEI, Waltrip, Earnhardt Jr., and Earnhardt are running in the top three in the 2001 Daytona 500. While Waltrip leads Earnhardt Jr. to a one-two finish, Earnhardt is involved in a fatal accident with Ken Schrader on the final lap. Schrader visits Waltrip in Victory Lane to explain the severity of Earnhardt's injuries, shortly before his death is confirmed to the public.

NASCAR returns to Daytona that summer for the 2001 Pepsi 400. In the closing laps, Earnhardt Jr. and Waltrip find themselves running one-two in that order. Despite badly wanting a win to help in the healing process, Waltrip instead chooses to push Earnhardt Jr. to the victory just as Earnhardt Jr. had pushed him to his Daytona 500 win earlier that year. The two celebrate Earnhardt Jr.'s victory together in a moment of healing for the entire NASCAR community.

In 2011, Waltrip released a book entitled In the Blink of an Eye.[2] The film is an adaptation of the book.[3] Taublieb Films announced the film on May 17, 2019, with Paul Taublieb producing and directing it.[4] 1091 Media acquired the distribution rights to Blink of an Eye on May 22.[5] Monster Energy also provided support for the film with their Vice President of Sports Marketing Mitch Covington serving as a producer. "It's a story for the ages," Covington said, "and myself and the company are thrilled to support and help bring it to life, and we're all fortunate to have a talent like Taublieb helming the project."[5] NASCAR President Steve Phelps also served as an executive producer.[5]

The film was given a private screening on May 24, 2019, at the NASCAR Hall of Fame theater in Charlotte, North Carolina.[5] It was officially released to the public on September 12, showing at theaters only that one night.[6]

On November 5, 2019, the film was made available on digital download and rental platforms. The Apple iTunes version contained deleted scenes, a 1990 interview with Earnhardt Sr., and a music video for Bobby Capps' song "In the Blink of an Eye," which was written by Covington for the documentary.[7] On December 3, Blu-ray Disc and DVD versions were released.[8][9] The film became available through streaming exclusively on the Motor Trend app on February 3, 2020.[10] Fox Sports 1 aired the documentary for the first time on March 13, 2021.[11]

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 67% based on nine reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10.[12] On Metacritic it has a score of 58% based on reviews from 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13]

Writing for The New York Times, Glenn Kenny stated, "Taublieb's approach is straightforward, but also a little pedestrian. One kind of hopes to see a revved-up fictional version of this tale onscreen someday. Is that wrong?"[14] Racer's Eric Johnson called the film "NASCAR's answer to Senna," saying, "The pure emotion and remembrance that reverberates through the movie is classic human element stuff, and enough to enthrall anyone, be it a hardcore Cup fan or an outsider with a spare hour and a half on their hands."[15]

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