As a sport with 76 years of history, NASCAR has seen a plethora of films based around it. Here is a list of the greatest NASCAR films ever made, in no particular order.
“Days of Thunder” (1990)
This film has long been billed as the quintessential NASCAR flick. For all its criticisms — chief among them that the film is “Top Gun” on wheels — this movie encapsulates NASCAR during its boom period of the 1990s. Tom Cruise’s performance as Cole Trickle is a fantastic representation of the so-called “new age” of talent that was rising through the sport at a time when many young drivers weren’t from the South, but instead grew up out west or up north racing in go-karts or in other open-wheel disciplines. “Days of Thunder” has its flaws, but it’s the perfect film to show to someone trying to understand why NASCAR is so appealing to its fans.
“Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” (2006)
In the same vein as “Days of Thunder,” this film has become the iconic NASCAR movie of the current generation. The film is obviously a satirical take on the sport and is not at all meant to be taken seriously, but it’s difficult to not put it beside “Days of Thunder” when discussing iconic NASCAR films. It’s a movie still quoted by fans today, and however satirical in nature it might be, it’s a film that will always be inherently linked to NASCAR. Its inclusion on this list isn’t necessarily due to its quality, but rather its pop culture impact on the sport.
“Dale” (2007)
The story of Dale Earnhardt is one so epic that it doesn’t need any intervention from Hollywood. That was the approach taken by CMT when crafting this documentary — narrated by the late Paul Newman — which while presenting Earnhardt’s racing accomplishments in a legendary light, also shows his life away from the racetrack. Earnhardt’s character and family life are made prevalent in this documentary, which excellently chronicles the life of one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history.
“The Last American Hero” (1973)
Like Earnhardt, the story of legendary driver and car owner Junior Johnson is one so spectacular that Hollywood couldn’t have dreamt it up. While not an exact retelling of Johnson’s story, it does portray the life of Johnson and his family as bootleggers in the mountains of North Carolina, and the rather primitive era of NASCAR he raced in. The film was based on writer Tom Wolfe’s 1965 profile of Johnson in Esquire Magazine, which stands as one of the greatest pieces of sports writing ever published.
