VRROOOOOMM! Best Car Racing Movies!
- Jul 3
- 6 min read
With the release of F1: The Movie, starring none other than Brad Pitt behind the wheel of a high-speed Formula 1 death machine, I thought now would be the perfect time to throw together a list of my favorite car racing movies.
Now, full disclosure: I am not a die-hard car racing fan. Never have been. I never stayed up late to catch the Indy 500. I never subscribed to NASCAR Weekly. And I don’t think I’ve ever used the phrase “pole position” in a sentence that didn’t end with a punchline.
That being said, growing up on the north side of Chicago, we did our share of stock car races and demolition derbies. Those were fun. Loud. Dangerous. Incredibly stupid. Which is what made them great.
But when it came to professional racing—the F1s, the Le Mans, the ovals and the circuits—I just never fully plugged in.
But here’s the thing: car racing movies? I love ‘em. I’ve always loved ‘em. It’s a genre built for the screen.
And it’s been there since the very beginning. I mean literally—the first known car racing movie dates back to 1913 with The Speed Kings, a silent comedy starring Fatty Arbuckle. Charlie Chaplin got in on the action. So did Mickey Rooney, James Stewart, Abbott & Costello, Elvis (of course), and even Kirk Douglas. That’s how long this genre’s been revving its engine.
It’s American to the core. We love speed. We love cars. We love watching cars go fast and crash and then go fast again. So naturally, movies followed suit. And some of them are classics.
But not all. Let’s get this out of the way—some car racing movies are just garbage.
I’m talking Days of Thunder, which is literally Top Gun with race cars.
Or Bobby Deerfield, where you get Al Pacino brooding around racetracks like he’s doing Tennessee Williams in a jumpsuit.
Then there’s Rush—which, I know, a lot of people love, but it didn’t do much for me. Gran Turismo was barely functional.
And don’t get me started on Pixar’s Cars trilogy. Easily the worst thing Pixar’s ever done. Unfunny, uninspired, and absolutely baffling in how boring it manages to make talking cars.
Then we get into the truly awful. Eat My Dust? Meh.
Trading Paint with John Travolta? Total junk.
Six Pack with Kenny Rogers? Just… no.
And the worst of all? Stroker Ace. Directed by Hal Needham. Starring Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson. It’s everything terrible about ‘80s comedy jammed into one redneck racing package—lazy jokes, creepy vibes, zero thrills, and one of the most cringeworthy moments of attempted comedy that’s just flat-out offensive. Honestly, Stroker Ace is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. Period.
So no, those titles did not make the list.
Instead, I’ve picked fifteen movies that, for one reason or another, I love. Whether it's the performances, the sound design, the stunt work, the attitude, or just how badass the cars look roaring across the screen, these movies all hit the sweet spot.
Some are Oscar-nominated. Some are grindhouse gems. Some are straight-up ridiculous. But they all understand the rush of the race and the thrill of the drive.
Start your engines… here we go.
MY 15 FAVORITE CAR RACING MOVIES
(in no particular order)
Let’s just start with my favorite of them all. Blake Edwards' epic, insane, three-hour-long screwball masterpiece starring Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, and the incomparable Jack Lemmon as the ridiculous Professor Fate—with Peter Falk riding shotgun as Max. This movie is absurd. It’s overstuffed. It’s long as hell.
And I love every single ridiculous frame of it. I used to watch it religiously as a kid whenever it aired on TV (and it usually took up two nights). It’s deeply embedded in my heart. If you don’t laugh at Professor Fate trying to win a race around the world, you might be dead inside.
John Frankenheimer directed the hell out of this one. It’s very long, yes, but it's also precise, intense, and loaded with real racing detail. James Garner is fantastic, the cinematography is revolutionary for its time, and fans of the sport often rank this as the holy grail of racing films. A technical and emotional powerhouse that has aged surprisingly well.
The very first movie I ever saw in a theater. I was four. Herbie was my guy. A lovable VW Beetle with a mind of its own—what’s not to love? Dean Jones, Michele Lee, and the great Buddy Hackett (who stole every scene) sealed the deal. The sequels? No thanks. The remake with Lindsay Lohan? Meh. But the original? It still holds a sacred place in my movie memory.
Steve McQueen. That’s all you really need to know. The man was the epitome of cool, and this movie is his love letter to racing. No real plot, just mood, machines, and McQueen. Meandering, a bit meditative, but beautifully shot and raw in its realism. For purists only.
Is this a good movie? Hell no. But it’s hilarious, idiotic, and endlessly rewatchable. I saw it in high school and I still laugh out loud. Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. as fake priests? Adrienne Barbeau’s cleavage? Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Jackie Chan, Farrah Fawcett, and Terry Bradshaw in the same movie? And don't even get me started on the blooper outtakes included over the end credits. Genuis. This is the kind of ridiculous ‘80s ensemble chaos that just works.
Before it became a circus of submarines, skyscrapers, and flying cars, this was a grounded, legit crime-and-cars movie. Yes, it’s Point Break with street racing, but it’s well done. Paul Walker and Vin Diesel had real chemistry. The first six movies in the franchise are solid (with a few bonkers exceptions). The original still holds up.
Back when Adam McKay was still funny. Before he got all sanctimonious and preachy, he made absolutely bonkers comedies like this one. Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, and an absolutely scene-stealing Molly Shannon. Silly as hell, but funny as hell, too. Come on—shake and bake!
I don’t care what anyone says—I love this movie. It’s insane. It’s hyper-stylized. It’s like watching cotton candy explode on screen for two hours. The Wachowskis took the goofy, beloved cartoon of my childhood and turned it into a technical marvel. People said it was stupid. My response? So was the cartoon. This is a live-action cartoon done right.
Stallone. Renny Harlin. That’s all I need. Sure, it’s ridiculous. But the racing scenes are genuinely thrilling and stylish. Stallone having fun, cars speeding around, and some cool editing....and, Burt Reynolds. Not much more to say—turn your brain off and enjoy the ride.
Richard Pryor as Wendell Scott, the first Black NASCAR driver. A loose biopic with a lot of heart, some silliness, and of course, Pryor doing his thing behind the wheel. It’s not a great movie, but it’s an enjoyable one. And in ’77, Richard Pryor could do no wrong in my eyes.
Roger Corman’s bloody, campy grindhouse masterpiece. David Carradine. A young Sylvester Stallone. A dystopian race where points are awarded for running people over. It’s nuts, hilarious, and pure B-movie bliss. It’s been remade and knocked off a million times—but nothing beats the original. I’ve seen it in grindhouses, drive-ins, and VHS marathons. Always a blast.
Jeff Bridges—my favorite actor of all time—stars in this gritty, slightly corny drama based on the life of NASCAR legend Junior Johnson. The racing sequences are excellent. The script? A little meh. But Bridges is electric. And Lamont Johnson directs the hell out of it.
Bonnie Bedelia is phenomenal in this underappreciated gem. She plays real-life drag racer Shirley "Cha-Cha" Muldowney and knocks it out of the park. She should’ve been nominated for an Oscar. Jonathan Kaplan’s direction is tight, emotional, and sharp. Leo Rossi is great, too. This is one of those true story racing movies that works on every level.
Not a great movie, but Jackie Chan in a car is always worth your time. He made this while injured and still drove his own stunts—because of course he did. It’s basically Jackie’s version of a serious car movie, and while the script is forgettable, watching him behind the wheel is never boring. He fights a bit too, which is always a plus.
This one grew on me. The first time I saw it, I liked it. The second time, I liked it a lot. James Mangold directs brilliantly. Bale and Damon are both terrific. The racing sequences are top-notch—immersive and incredibly well shot. Technically masterful and emotionally resonant, especially after repeat viewings.
My 15 favorite car racing movies. Some are classics, some are ridiculous, and some are completely underappreciated. But all of them get your heart racing, your engine revving, and your movie-loving brain speeding down the cinematic highway.
Let me know what I missed. Just don’t come at me with Stroker Ace. That thing belongs in the scrap heap.
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