Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006). Comedy starring Will Ferrell as Ricky Bobby, a top NASCAR driver who is challenged by French Formula One driver Jean Girard. This film is incredibly silly, but memorable all the same. Racing folks making cameo appearances include Dick Berggren, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip, Jamie McMurray, Benny Parsons, and Wally Dallenbach. Race action was filmed at Lowes Motor Speedway, Speedway Park (Concord, NC), North Carolina Speedway, and Talladega Superspeedway.
Teenage Rebel (1956). Ginger Rogers and Michael Rennie star in a light romance that features Adrag racing, be-bop, and love.
Teenage Thunder (1958). Robert Fuller, Charles Courtney, and Melinda Byron star in the familiar story of rebellious youth and hot rodding.
Ten Laps to Go (1938). Cocky top driver (Rex Lease) is seriously injured in a crash and loses his nerve. Later, in order to save a friend's business, he relieves a driver during a midget race and wins. This was probably the first film about midget auto racing. Some scenes were shot at Victor McLaglen's stadium.
Thirty a Week (1918). Barbara (Tallulah Bankhead) marries her father's chauffeur Dan (Tom Moore). Dan turns to racing to support his wife. Some scenes were shot at Sheepshead Bay Race Track, New York.
Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies ; also called Monte Carlo or Bust (1969). An automotive version of Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. In slapstick style, heroes and villains compete in a 1920s Monte Carlo Rally. Tony Curtis and Terry Thomas head an international cast. Some nice racing sequences. Filmed in Italy, France, and Sweden.
Thunder Alley (1967). Stock car driver Fabian blacks out and causes the death of another driver. The thin plot follows his struggle to return to racing. Includes stock car racing scenes filmed at Ascot Raceway in Gardena, California and Darlington Raceway, SC. Stock car driver LeeRoy Yarbrough went to Hollywood to coach Fabian in handling the 426 Hemi-powered Dodge during close-ups. Yarborough, who actually won with the car at Daytona and Charlotte, did the high speed driving in the film. Co-stars Annette Funicello, Diane McBain, and Jan Murray.
Thunder in Carolina (1960). Stock car racer Rory Calhoun initially appears to be a manipulative, win-at-any-cost, womanizing driver, but soon reveals his better nature. This tribute to NASCAR centers on the Southern 500 race at Darlington and includes great footage from an actual Southern 500 race plus the parade through downtown Darlington, the Miss Southern 500 beauty pageant, etc. There are also some good scenes of driving along twisting roads in Wilkes and Alexander counties, North Carolina. This film was later renamed Hard Drivin'.
Thunder in Dixie (1965). A stock car driver blames his former partner for the death of his fiancee, and plans to get revenge during the running of the Dixie 400. Things don=t work out according to plan on the track, and the two settle their differences. Racing scenes were filmed at the Atlanta International Raceway.
Thunder Road (1958). Classic gritty black and white film of Harlan County, Kentucky moonshiners trying to elude the law. Robert Mitchum stars as the son who races along the back roads with the revenuers in full pursuit. Some of the driving action was filmed in upstate South Carolina and around Asheville, North Carolina. Mitchum's rendition of the title song was a hit record. (SCRC)
Tiny Lund: Hard Charger; also called Hard Charger (1969). A documentary of the career of Tiny Lund, an independent stock car racer.
To Please a Lady; also called Red Hot Wheels (1950). Daredevil midget race car driver Clark Gable romances journalist Barbara Stanwyck. She gets him barred from the midget tracks after the death of another driver and he turns to stunt driving. He saves enough to buy a car and enters the Indianapolis 500. Lots of track action, primarily filmed at Indianapolis; Syracuse, New York; and Culver City Stadium in California. The dirt track sequences were filmed at Arlington Downs, Texas. Several racing personalities appeared as themselves in the film, including drivers Duane Carter, Johnnie Parsons, Henry Banks, Peewee Distarce, Cecil Green, Jack McGrath, Johnny Tolan, and Walt Faulkner, and Indianapolis announcer Ted Husing. Real life driver Bud Rose served as a Astand in for Gable. Driver Mauri Rose got into the movie via the filmed footage of him catching fire in the pits then rejoining the race; his chief mechanic Jim Travers struggled out of his burning pants and discovered that his nylon boxer shorts had melted. A television version starring John Hodiak and Donna Reed was broadcast on the Lux Video Theatre on November 26, 1951. (SCRC)
Track of Thunder (1967). Cliched tale of gangsters trying to muscle in on the stock car racing scene. Includes race footage from various Tennessee tracks. Tom Kirk stars.
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971). This spare, documentary-like classic has singer/songwriter James Taylor and former Beach Boy Dennis Wilson drag racing across America. Warren Oates shines as an older drifter. (SCRC)
Vanishing Point (1971). Barry Newman is an ex-policeman and race driver who agrees to deliver a powerful car across country. He keeps himself awake with speed pills to evade the numerous attempts by police to stop him. The film ends in a fiery crash, reminiscent of Thunder Road. The film has gained a cult following, primarily due to the rock music soundtrack.
Viva Las Vegas; also called Love in Las Vegas (1964). Elvis Presley is trying to raise money to buy an engine that will help him win the Grand Prix race in Las Vegas. Typical Presley flick, but the climactic race is a good one. Co-starring Ann-Margret.
The Weekend Warriors (1966). A documentary of gas and fuel drag racing filmed at the 1965 Winternationals in Phoenix. Featured are Gordon Collett, Connie Kalitta, Bill Jenkins, and Don Garlits.
What's Your Hurry? (1920). Race driver Dusty Rhoades (Wallace Reid) makes a bargain with his girlfriend's father to win her hand in marriage if he can make the family truck business famous. He recruits race drivers to drive trucks loaded with supplies over near impassible roads to a collapsing dam and saves the valley. Marriage follows. Based on Bryan Morgan's short story "The Hippopotamus Parade."
The Wild Racers (1968). Forgettable story of a driver (Fabian) whose passion is racing and working his way through the local bevy of beauties. Liberally padded with racing footage. Location scenes were filmed in Spain and England.
The Wild Ride (1960). Jack Nicholson stars as an amateur dirt track driver whose rebellious ways get him in trouble with the police.
The Winner. SEE Pit Stop
Winning (1969). Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward star in this examination of the relationship between an race driver and his wife. Filmed on location at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Exciting Indy 500 footage, including the huge wreck on the first lap of the 1966 race that eliminated eleven cars.
The Young Hellions SEE High School Confidential.
The Young Racers (1963). A Grand Prix champion, played by William Campbell, seems to be a win at any cost, girl in every port type, but underneath has a heart of gold. The predictable story is handicapped by poor dialog, but the footage of actual Grand Prix races in France, Belgium, England, and Monaco helps. Jim Clark, Bruce McLaren, and Trevor Taylor appear as themselves.
Content Editor: Suzanne Wise