Nascar Drivers In Movies

[Akinlolu Watters]

Duringthe Prohibition era, moonshine runners souped up their cars to outrun the law, and after the alcohol ban was lifted, they made their rides faster to dodge the tax revenues. From this, stock car racing was born when the moonshine runners wanted a way to prove who had the fastest car, and it eventually became NASCAR, the sanctioning body for the popular motorsport.

Since the dawn of cinema, filmmakers have incorporated automobiles into their films, because audiences can't get enough of hot cars and exhilarating chases. It doesn't get much more exciting than some of the baddest vehicles on the road, whipping around the track at 200mph, and so stock car races have served as both the backdrop and focus of some truly entertaining movies.

The 1977 film, Greased Lightning, is loosely based on the life of race car driver, Wendell Scott, the first African American to win a NASCAR event. Portrayed by legendary comedian, Richard Pryor, Scott's overall biography is faithfully retold. Following a stint in the Army during WWII, Scott found his love for speed-running moonshine in rural Virginia. After getting busted, he focused his passion for fast cars on racing.

Unfortunately, the South back then was still very segregated, and prejudice ran strong, so Scott found it difficult to compete. Eventually, his skill as a driver won over white crowds, and he went on to a successful NASCAR career that extended into the early 1970s. The film is a great tribute to a historic trailblazer and a reminder that Richard Pryor had some dramatic acting chops as well.

Logan Lucky is a 2017 heist film that uses NASCAR as a backdrop for the caper. Starring Channing Tatum as a down-on-his-luck ex-football player, Jimmy Logan, the film is about an impossible theft of the vault at the Coca-Cola 500 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Heists rarely go well in movies, because that would be boring, but this particular robbery couldn't have gone any more wrong, in hilarious and even heartbreaking ways.

This is a highly entertaining film with a dynamite cast that is tragically underrated. Adam Driver, who ironically doesn't play a driver, is brilliant as Jimmy's brother and co-conspirator. Rounding out the cast are Daniel Craig, Riley Keough, Katie Holmes, Dwight Yoakam, Hilary Swank, and Seth MacFarlane. Real NASCAR drivers like Kyle Busch and Joey Logano have cameos as police officers and security guards, giving some funny Easter eggs to fans.

Singer Kenny Rogers has had a fairly prolific acting career, starring in dozens of made-for-TV movies based on his songs, five of which are related to "The Gambler." He has only had one starring role in a theatrical release, and that was as Brewster Baker, in the 1983 comedy-drama, Six Pack. As a washed-up race car driver, trying for one last moment of glory, Baker takes a group of rambunctious orphans, six to be exact, under his wing.

The movie was shot at real NASCAR tracks and featured some legends like Rusty Wallace, Bobby Allison, and racing pioneer, Wendell Scott. While this is a racing movie, it's also a heartwarming tale of redemption, with a man finally achieving his dreams, and the children finding a loving home. The title refers to the number of orphans, some of whom are portrayed by Diane Lane and Anthony Michael Hall in early roles.

Elvis Presley's films were never great works of cinema, but they did have the advantage of starring the King of Rock and Roll, so they were always entertaining. The 1968 musical action film, Speedway, saw the King portray NASCAR driver, Steve Grayson, who falls in love with an IRS agent played by Nancy Sinatra. The film is eerily autobiographical as Presley's character is a generous giver of gifts, who runs into some tax trouble when his manager blows all of his money.

The racing scenes were filmed at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, and featured some of the biggest NASCAR stars of the day like Richard Petty, Buddy Baker, and Cale Yarborough. This was the last of the Elvis "formula" movies with madcap comedy and musical numbers breaking out at every opportunity. Interestingly enough, the film was originally written for Sony & Cher, but their debut, Good Times, was such a bomb, they called in the King.

Though Cars is an animated film about talking anthropomorphic motor vehicles, it is also a legitimate NASCAR movie. The 2006 Pixar action comedy tells the story of Lightning McQueen, an arrogant young race car driver, who eventually learns to not be such a selfish jerk. Many have compared the plot of Cars to that of the Michael J. Fox film, Doc Hollywood, and that's probably accurate with a very similar protagonist story arc.

As for the movie's NASCAR cred, the main character is named after actor, Steve McQueen, who was a real-life race car driver and made several classic car films like Le Mans and Bullitt. The racing circuit championship in the film is called the "Piston Cup Series" and at the time, NASCAR's ultimate prize was the "Winston Cup Series." Also, legendary race car drivers like Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. provide voices for some of the competing cars.

Burt Reynolds made a name for himself playing football players and driving cool cars in movies. After the success of films like Smokey and the Bandit and The Cannonball Run, Reynolds found himself behind the wheel of a lemon in the 1983 action comedy, Stroker Ace. Playing a cocky NASCAR driver who gets suckered into an embarrassing sponsorship deal, the movie is quite good but underperformed at the box office.

Along with Reynold's magnetic charisma and comedy chops, the movie featured some serious NASCAR action, starring dozens of real drivers portraying themselves, like Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, and Terry Labonte. In the case of the one that got away, Reynolds turned down the role of astronaut Garrett Breedlove in Terms of Endearment, for which Jack Nicholson won an Oscar, to star in this entertaining flop.

Like many of the early NASCAR drivers, Junior Johnson got his start by running moonshine, before turning to the track. In his career, he won 50 NASCAR races, including the 1960 Daytona 500. The movie covers the era of Johnson's life when he was first struggling to break into professional racing, though it is presented as a contemporary 1970s story and not a 1950s period piece.

The 1965 sports action film, Red Line 7000, tells the stories of young stock car drivers trying to establish themselves as well as their complicated romantic entanglements. Starring James Caan, in one of his first roles, as the brash driver, Mike Marsh, the film was the first to capture the excitement and danger of real NASCAR racing. For the film, NASCAR allowed the production to enter camera cars in actual races, getting footage from behind the wheel in serious competition.

The film also used actual footage of NASCAR crashes, like A. J. Foyt's violent crash at the Riverside International Raceway. The main reason why gearheads remember this movie, however, is the inclusion of a pair of Carroll Shelby classic cars. The legendary Shelby GT500 was a featured race car as well as the Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe, which, in real life, competed in all the major international races and set 23 national and international speed records.

Producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, along with director Tony Scott and star Tom Cruise, took their successful formula in Top Gun from the deck of an aircraft carrier to the track at Daytona Motor Speedway, for the high-adrenaline NASCAR car movie, Days of Thunder. Cruise plays Cole Trickle, a hotshot young open-wheel race car driver who makes the uncomfortable leap to NASCAR racing.

There's a love interest, bitter rivalries, and, of course, tragedy, but most of all, some of the most intense racing action ever caught on film. Crashing cars and capturing the thrill of racing sent the film way over budget, and in the end, producers realized they had neglected to shoot the climactic win for Cruise's character, so reshoots added to the cost. Like any good NASCAR movie, this one was shot at famous tracks like Daytona and Charlotte, as well as featuring the sport's top drivers.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, is a soft spoof of Days of Thunder, and even featuring John C. Rielly who appeared in both films. There are some similar plot points, but ultimately, the Will Ferrell comedy is a freestanding and loving poke at NASCAR racing. Ferrell plays the titular Ricky Bobby, who is an arrogant and ignorant top driver on the professional circuit. A bad crash shakes his confidence and his life falls apart, but in the most hilarious way possible.

There is a solid argument that this is Will Farrell's funniest film, with non-stop laughs rolled into a surprisingly compelling story. It's also a decent racing movie, with locations like the Charlotte Motor Speedway and, as the title would suggest, the Talladega Superspeedway. There are more NASCAR superstars than any other film, including Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Jimmie Johnson. Adding to the sheer awesomeness of this film is the fist-pumping soundtrack with killer tunes from AC/DC, Mtley Cre, and even Brazilian death metalers, Sepultura.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a 2006 American sports comedy film directed by Adam McKay who co-wrote the film with Will Ferrell.[2] It features Ferrell as the titular Ricky Bobby, an immature yet successful NASCAR driver. The film also features John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Gary Cole, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Jane Lynch, and Amy Adams in supporting roles. NASCAR drivers Jamie McMurray and Dale Earnhardt Jr. appear in cameos, as do broadcasting teams from NASCAR on Fox (Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip, and Dick Berggren) and NASCAR on NBC (Bill Weber, Wally Dallenbach Jr., and Benny Parsons).

In rural North Carolina, Ricky Bobby is born in the backseat of a speeding Chevrolet Chevelle when his father, Reese, accidentally misses the turnoff for the hospital. Ricky sees his father only once after that, at age 10, at school. During this encounter, Reese tells Ricky, "If you ain't first, you're last", advice which Ricky takes to heart. Fifteen years later, Ricky works on the pit crew of Dennit Racing driver Terry Cheveaux. When last-placed Cheveaux decides to take a bathroom break, Ricky replaces him and finishes third. Larry Dennit Sr. gives Ricky a permanent seat and he quickly rises to be one of NASCAR's most successful drivers. He meets his future wife Carley when she flashes her breasts after one of his wins.

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