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| First of three today! |
There’s been a few Nascar movies made over the years of varying levels of quality, success, and believability. Unfortunately these movies have a relatively limited audience as Nascar has little appeal outside the United States. Here’s how Nascar’s silver screen star turns could be made with an international, F1 flair:
Speedway (1968): Renamed “Street Course”, this sees Elvis play against type—instead of playing a southern, singing race car driver with a heart of gold, he plays a British, singing race car driver with a heart of gold.
43: The Richard Petty Story (1972): Originally this was a study of the career of Nascar’s most popular hero, Richard Petty. As required by law, any study of Formula 1 “genius” will focus exclusively on Ayrton Senna (don’t worry, they’ll still gloss over the time Senna dated a 15-year-old).
Stroker Ace (1983): Made instead as a short film, Stroker still signs a deal with Sir Clyde of Torkelfunn, but instead when he starts to bristle against his new boss’s demands, he’s summarily fired, banned from the sport, and winds up with the ultimate indignity for a Formula 1 driver—being offered a ride in IndyCar.
Days of Thunder (1990): The film starts out the same (although Cole Trickle is instead a hot-shot rally racer), but when he and Russ Wheeler are called to a meeting with series director Max Mosley, it turns into a bizarre erotic horror movie.
Talladega Nights (2006): Renamed “Monaco Nights”, Jean-Girard is instead the hero of the movie, although for purposes of clarity the villainous, boisterous American race car driver is simply represented by archival footage of Michael Andretti.
Logan Lucky (2017): The caper instead takes place at the San Marino Grand Prix, but the movie retains its original feel of being terrible.