How Elvis Presley, Tom Cruise Helped NASCAR Grow

One thing NASCAR learned early on after its formation in 1948 was how much Hollywood liked making movies about the sport.

Part of the reason was NASCAR-themed movies resounded with fans because many of the themes were blue collar and combined great human interest stories with racing action on the silver screen. Having actors like Elvis Presley, Tom Cruise and Will Farrell on board didn't hurt, either.

But there’s one caveat: one person’s favorite NASCAR movie could be last on someone else’s list of popularity and appreciation.

To date, the two largest-grossing and most popular NASCAR-themed races were Days of Thunder with Tom Cruise (released in 1990), and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby starring Will Farrell, Sacha Baron Cohen and John C. Riley (released in 2006).

Days of Thunder (1990)

Days of Thunder was more of a serious movie that drew a number of comparisons to real-life drivers, team owners and both on-scene and off-scene issues. Cruise does an exceptional job as driver Cole Trickle (reminiscent of the late Tim Richmond), but the guy that really stole the show was the Harry Hyde-themed crew chief played by Robert Duvall. Another highlight was Randy Quaid (before he got strange in real life) playing an almost perfect Rick Hendrick-type team owner, as well as Nicole Kidman, who helped put Cruise and arch-rival Rowdy Burns (Michael Rooker) together again after crashes.

Talladega Nights (2006)

Talladega Nights is much more of a goofy, off-the-wall comedy that made fun of some of NASCAR’s most serious issues. However, as popular as Talladega Nights was, it was unable to “save” NASCAR from tanking in popularity in 2007 and particularly 2008, when well over 1,000 individuals were laid off by teams and media outlets as interest in the sport greatly waned.

Logan Lucky (2017)

We may not see many more NASCAR movies in the foreseeable future after the box office flop Logan Lucky with James Bond star Daniel Craig, along with Channing Tatum, Adam Driver and Seth McFarlane, absolutely bombed when it was released in 2017.

Some of the other best NASCAR-themed movies that have been made over the years include:

Speedway (1968)

Perhaps Elvis Presley’s worst movie ever (and one of the last he made). He hoped it would resurrect his acting career, but the flick flopped. This one co-starred Nancy Sinatra.

Thankfully, Presley would star in a live show from Las Vegas later that year, as well as a subsequent concert at Hawaii, and The King would be back on top of his game.

Ironically, the other version of The King, NASCAR’s Richard Petty, had a cameo in Speedway.

The Last American Hero (1973)

Also known as Hard Driver, this is perhaps one of the most unsung movies about NASCAR, featuring the true story of Junior Johnson as both a driver and team owner. Even though it is now almost 50 years old, if you ever get a chance to watch this one, don’t let the opportunity pass you by.

Greased Lightning (1977)

Starring Richard Pryor, who looked completely out of place in the biopic of Wendell Scott, the first successful African-American driver in the sport, including winning in a contested outcome that was eventually awarded to him long after the race ended in 1961.

Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

While NASCAR essentially played a cameo appearance in the plot of this cross-country race to get beer to a NASCAR race in Atlanta, this wound up being one of the most popular movies to ever feature a NASCAR-type theme. Unfortunately, the two sequels never came close to equaling the first episode of the franchise. And if you were Burt Reynolds, after appearing with Charlotte the elephant in S&TB2, was it any surprise he only had a brief cameo in S&TB3?

Six Pack with Kenny Rogers (1982)

This one has one of the most unbelievable plots ever seen, as Rogers takes a bunch of juvenile delinquents who like to steal cars (including the motor in Rogers’ race car) and turns them into his pit crew for NASCAR races, including actual footage at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Stroker Ace (1983)

A typical Burt Reynolds comedy that was brightened by the co-starring of Loni Anderson.

Cars (2006)

Even today, 17 years later, Cars and its franchise remain one of the most popular movies, particularly for youngsters under the age of 10.

With voice cameos from several racing stars including Mario Andretti, Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr., the David vs. Goliath story will forever remain a cinematic classic.

Honorable Mention

In conclusion, there were several other movies that included NASCAR in their themes, including The Love Bug, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Fireball 500, Thunder in Carolina, Red Line 7000, and others, but we think you got the best of the best with our listing above.

Follow Autoweek contributor Jerry Bonkowski on Twitter @JerryBonkowski