List of auto racing films

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Title	Year	Genre	Type	Notes
The Speed Kings	1913	Comedy		8-minute silent film featuring Fatty Arbuckle.
Kid Auto Races at Venice	1914	Comedy		Silent film starring Charlie Chaplin as a spectator who keeps getting in the way.^[1]
The Roaring Road	1919	Romance		Car salesman "Toodles" Walden becomes a racer.
Excuse My Dust	1920	Comedy		Wife wants Toodles to give up racing in Roaring Road sequel.
Young Oldfield	1924
Sporting Youth	1924	Comedy		A rich man's chauffeur (Reginald Denny) accidentally ends up in a race.
Kid Speed	1924	Comedy		A race organizer drops hints that his daughter's time will go to the winner.
Speed Madness	1925
The Checkered Flag	1926
The Speed Classic	1928
Speedway	1929	Drama		Silent film about a father and son in Indianapolis.
Burning Up	1930	Drama		First talkie about auto racers.
Speed	1930
The Racing Strain	1932	Drama		A driver who drinks tries to turn around his life.
The Crowd Roars	1932	Drama	Open wheel	Motor racing saga featuring James Cagney.^[1]
High Speed	1932	Drama		An undercover cop races cars while he tries to catch crooks.
High Gear	1933	Drama		After a friend's death, an auto racer takes a job driving a taxi.
Roaring Roads	1935	Comedy		A rich boy craving excitement tries racing and encounters gangsters.
Death Drives Through	1935	Drama		British driver falls in love with woman whose father disapproves.
Speed	1936	Drama	Open Wheel	A carburetor's designer (James Stewart) tries Indy 500, seeks world speed record.
Speed to Spare	1936
Indianapolis Speedway	1939	Drama	Open wheel	Three-time Indy champ (Pat O'Brien) wants a young driver to go to college.
Ten Laps to Go	1938	Drama	Midget	Discovering a race is fixed, a new driver joins it with just 10 laps left.
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor	1939			A racing story starring Dennis O'Keefe.
Danger on Wheels	1940
Blonde Comet	1941	Romance	Open wheel	A woman (Virginia Vale) races versus men, then falls for one of them.
Born to Speed	1947
Buck Privates Come Home	1947	Comedy	Midget	Abbott and Costello aid a young midget-car racer.
The Big Wheel	1949	Drama	Open wheel	Mickey Rooney as a brash young driver out to win the Indianapolis 500.
To Please a Lady	1950	Drama	Open Wheel	Newspaper columnist gets reckless racer Mike Brannan (Clark Gable) banned.
Jalopy	1953	Comedy		Going backwards, the Bowery Boys win the big race.
The Racers	1953	Drama	Open wheel	European circuit racing drama starring Kirk Douglas.
Genevieve	1953	Musical	Vintage cars	A British comedy about an automobile rally.
Roar of the Crowd	1953	Drama	Open wheel	Indy 500 contender vows to quit, becomes a sparkplugs salesman.
Johnny Dark	1954	Drama	Distance race	Engineer Tony Curtis enters car in Canada-to-Mexico race.
A Race for Life	1954	Drama	Midget cars	Car's owner wonders if driver (Richard Conte) has lost his nerve.
The Widow	1955	Drama		A countess in Italy falls in love with a doomed racing driver.
Checkpoint	1956	Crime	Road racing	A criminal gets into a confrontation with British police at an auto race.
The Devil's Hairpin	1957	Drama	Road racing	Undefeated champion (Cornel Wilde) is coaxed out of retirement.
Thunder in Carolina	1960	Drama	Stock car	Rivals vie in Southern 500, starring Alan Hale, Jr. of Gilligan's Island fame.
The Green Helmet	1961	Drama	Road racing	British film about racers competing in Italy, one of whom has lost his nerve.
The Iron Maiden	1962	Comedy	Traction engines	Alan Hale, Jr. again, in a story about a steam-engine rally.
The Lively Set	1964	Drama		A mechanic (James Darren) feels he's perfected a revolutionary turbine engine.
24 heures d'amant	1964	Drama	Sports car	Claude Lelouch-directed film set at Le Mans.
Viva Las Vegas	1964	Musical	Sports car	Elvis Presley is out to win the big race and Ann-Margret.
The Great Race	1965	Comedy	Vintage cars	Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis slapstick about long-distance car race.
Grand Prix	1966	Drama	Open wheel	James Garner and Yves Montand in fictional story of drivers' lives and loves.^[2]
Red Line 7000	1966	Drama	Stock car	Howard Hawks-directed fiction, starring James Caan.
Fireball 500	1966	Comedy	Stock car	Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello vehicle.
Spinout	1966	Musical	Open wheel	Elvis Presley is out to win the big race and Shelley Fabares.
Thunder Alley	1967	Romance		Stunt driver (Fabian), boss's daughter (Annette Funicello) team up in 500-mile race.
Hell On Wheels	1967	Romance		Mechanic, engineer fall for same dame. Marty Robbins stars.
A Man and a Woman	1967	Drama	Open wheel	French film about a woman who falls in love with an auto racer.
Track of Thunder	1967	Drama	Stock car	Two rival drivers end up involved with the same girl.
The Love Bug	1968	Family		Demolition derby driver gets his hands on a magical Volkswagen; first in the Herbie series^[3]
Speedway	1968	Musical	Stock car	Elvis Presley is out to win the big race and Nancy Sinatra.
The Wild Racers	1968	Drama		Fabian now races on the European circuit.
The Magnificent Tony Carrera	1968	Drama		A Spanish-German film about a successful racer who is also a thief.
Winning	1969	Drama	Indy car	Paul Newman and Robert Wagner as rival drivers.
Monte Carlo or Bust!	1969	Comedy	Vintage cars	a.k.a. Those Daring Young Men in their Jaunty Jalopies
The Racing Scene	1969	Documentary		A look at actor James Garner's involvement with auto racing.
Pit Stop	1969	Drama	Figure Eight	A promoter sponsors drivers in a "new" form of race car driving called The Figure Eight^[1]
Le Mans	1971	Drama	Sports car	Steve McQueen as a competitor in 24 Hours of Le Mans.^[1]
Once Upon a Wheel	1971	Documentary	Sports car	Paul Newman narrates an ABC television insider's look at auto racing.
Weekend of a Champion	1972	Documentary	Formula One	Documentary directed by Roman Polanski chronicling Jackie Stewart's racing season.^[1]
The Last American Hero	1973	Biographical	Stock car	Fictional biography of Junior Johnson, starring Jeff Bridges as "Junior Jackson."^[1]
Ho!	1974	Drama		Jean-Paul Belmondo plays a racing driver turned bank robber.
Herbie Rides Again	1974	Comedy		Sequel to The Love Bug.
Flåklypa Grand Prix	1975
Death Race 2000	1975	Action		Science-fiction about dangerous car race, starring David Carradine.^[4]
Eat My Dust!	1976	Comedy		Racing film starring Ron Howard
Bobby Deerfield	1977	Drama	Formula One	Al Pacino as a famed driver who falls in love with a dying woman.
Greased Lightning	1977	Biographical	Stock car	True story of stock-car trailblazer Wendell Scott, starring Richard Pryor.^[1]
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo	1977	Comedy		The third entry in the Herbie series.
The Quick and the Dead	1977	Documentary	Open wheel	A behind-the-scenes look at Grand Prix racing, narrated by Stacy Keach.
Fast Company	1979	Drama	Drag Racing	An up-and-coming drag racer and an aging star cope with a corrupt manager.
Dirt	1979	Documentary	Off Road	From motorcycles to Swamp buggies, off-road racing competitions.
Herbie Goes Bananas	1980	Comedy		The fourth entry in the Herbie series.
The Cannonball Run	1981	Comedy	Cross-country	Based on an actual cross-country race^[3]
Six Pack	1982	Comedy	Stock car	Kenny Rogers stars and sings hit theme song.
Safari 3000	1982	Adventure	Endurance	A 3,000-mile race across Africa attracts a young American (David Carradine).
Heart Like a Wheel	1983	Biographical	Drag racing	Based on the life of Shirley Muldowney, played by Bonnie Bedelia.
Stroker Ace	1983	Comedy	Stock car	Burt Reynolds as a fictional NASCAR star.
Born to Race	1988	Drama	Stock car	Fiction featuring Joseph Bottoms in lead role.
La Carrera Panamericana	1990	Documentary	Historic sports car	Documentary starring Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Nick Mason and manager Steve O'Rourke.
Checkered Flag	1990	Drama	Open wheel	Unsold TV pilot about friendship of a driver and mechanic.
Dorf Goes Auto Racing	1990	Comedy	Stock car	Direct-to-video short film. Part of Tim Conway's Dorf series.
Days of Thunder	1990	Drama	Stock car	Tom Cruise as a NASCAR newcomer, based loosely on Tim Richmond.^[5]
Thunderbolt	1995	Action	Touring car	Hong Kong film with Jackie Chan as a race-car mechanic.^[2]
Race the Sun	1996	Family	Solar car	Halle Berry as a teacher whose school competes in World Solar Challenge.
La Passione	1996	Drama	Formula One	Italian film about Ferrari racing.
The Love Bug	1997	Comedy		Made-for-TV remake of original 1968 film of the same title.
Super Speedway	1997	Documentary	Open wheel	Paul Newman narrates documentary on the building of a race car.
Miracle in Lane 2	2000	Drama	Soap Box Derby	Made-for-TV film based on the life of Justin Yoder.
Driven	2001	Action	Open wheel	Sylvester Stallone as a former Champ Car star.
The Fast and the Furious	2001	Action	Street racing	Brian O'Conner, an LAPD officer, goes undercover in the street racing world to investigate a group of unknown truck hijackers. This film is the first in the Fast & Furious series.
éX-Driver The Movie	2002	Anime
The Snake and the Stallion	2002	Documentary	Sports car	The racing history of the AC Cobra, and the rivalry between Carroll Shelby and Enzo Ferrari.
Right on Track	2003	Family	Drag racing	Disney Channel story about a pair of drag-racing sisters.
Kart Racer	2003	Family	Kart racing	The story is about a young boy who wants to enter a go-kart race against a competitor.
Michel Vaillant	2003	Drama		Racing film based on a French comic book.
2 Fast 2 Furious	2003	Action	Street racing	Brian O'Conner and Roman Pearce team up to go undercover for the U.S. Customs Service to bring down drug lord Carter Verone in exchange for the erasure of their criminal records.
NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience	2004	Documentary	Stock car
3: The Dale Earnhardt Story	2004	Documentary	Stock car	Made for TV. Chronicles life and career of Dale Earnhardt.
Dust to Glory	2005	Documentary	Offroad racing	A documentary about the 2003 Baja 1000.
Herbie: Fully Loaded	2005	Comedy	Stock car	The most recent entry in the Herbie series.
Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry	2005	Animated	Stock car	Direct-to-video feature about Tom and Jerry entering a race to win a luxurious mansion.
Cars	2006	Animated	Stock car	Family comedy with voices of Paul Newman (who himself was a retired racing driver), Owen Wilson, Richard Petty (also a former racing driver) and Larry the Cable Guy; numerous racing drivers guest-star, including seven-time Formula One Champion Michael Schumacher.^[6]
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby	2006	Comedy	Stock car	A cocky NASCAR star (Will Ferrell) must learn humility after setbacks in his career and home life.^[2]
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift	2006	Action	Street racing	High school car enthusiast Sean Boswell is sent to live in Tokyo with his father and finds solace in the city's drifting community.
Dale	2007	Documentary	Stock car	Another look at racing legend Dale Earnhardt.
Ta Ra Rum Pum	2007	Drama	Stock car	Indian film.
Death Race	2008	Sci-fi		Jason Statham in a revised version of 1975 film.^[4]
Redline	2007	Action	Street racing	A group of multimillionaires wager millions of dollars over their high-powered luxury cars.^[7]
Death Racers	2008	Sci-fi		Futuristic story of prisoners competing in race to the death.
Truth in 24	2008	Documentary	Sports car	A team's preparation for 2008's 24 Hours of LeMans.
Speed Racer	2008	Action	Futuristic	Live-action version of Japanese anime series, with Emile Hirsch as Speed.^[8]
Street Racer	2008	Action		Mockbuster of Speed Racer with similarities to The Fast & The Furious^[7]
Love The Beast	2009	Documentary	Tarmac rally	Australian film directed by and featuring Eric Bana and his 1970s Ford car.
Racing Dreams	2009	Documentary	Karting	Kids ages 11–13 aspire to someday become NASCAR drivers.^[2]
Redline	2009	Sci-fi		Japanese animated film.^[9]
Fast & Furious	2009	Action	Street racing	Set before the events of Tokyo Drift, Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Conner are forced to work together, racing to take down a powerful drug lord.
Death Race 2	2010	Sci-fi		Prequel for the 2008 Death Race film.^[4]
Senna	2010	Documentary	Open wheel	The life and death of Formula One great Ayrton Senna.^[3]
Tim Richmond: To the Limit	2010	Documentary	Stock car	Made for TV as a part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. A look at Tim Richmond, his lifestyle, and his death from AIDS.
Born to Race	2011		Drag racing
Red Dirt Rising	2011		Stock car	Based on the life of early driver Jimmie Lewallen.
Cars 2	2011	Animated	Sports car	Sequel to 2006 family comedy hit. Much like the first film, numerous racing drivers guest-star.^[10]
25 Hill	2011	Drama	Soap Box Derby	Boy who lost his father teams in Soap Box Derby with man who lost his son.
Truth in 24 II: Every Second Counts	2012	Documentary	Sports car	Sequel to 2008 film, documenting Audi's adventurous and cliffhanging 2011 race.
Death Race 3: Inferno	2013	Sci-fi		Takes place between Death Race 2 and the 2008 Death Race films^[4]
Rush	2013	Drama	Formula One	True story depicting Hunt–Lauda rivalry between drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula One season.
1	2013	Documentary	Formula One	Also known as 1: Life on the Limit, a documentary of the history of Formula One.^[2]
Turbo	2013	Animated	Indy car	A snail becomes the fastest thing on the race track.
Snake and Mongoose	2013	Drama	Drag racing	True story depicting rivalry between funny-car drivers Don 'The Snake' Prudhomme and Tom 'The Mongoose' McEwen.
Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans	2015	Documentary	Sports car	On the actor's quest to make his 1971 auto-racing film Le Mans.
Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman	2015	Documentary		A documentary on Paul Newman's racing career^[2]
The 24 Hour War	2016	Documentary	Endurance racing	Documentary on battle between Ford and Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race.^[2]
Cars 3	2017	Animated	Sports car	Sequel to Cars and Cars 2^[11]
Death Race 2050	2017	Sci-fi		Direct sequel to Death Race 2000^[4]
Logan Lucky	2017	Comedy	Stock car	A group of people attempt a heist of the Charlotte Motor Speedway on a racing day.^[3]
Dirt	2018	Action	Off-road	A young car thief works for an off-road racing team^[12]
Death Race: Beyond Anarchy	2018	Sci-fi		Sequel to 2008 Death Race film^[4]
Pegasus	2019	Comedy	Rallying	Chinese comedy about a former rally driver on his comeback trail
Trading Paint	2019	Drama	Dirt track	A stock car racing legend is drawn back to the dirt track when his son, an aspiring driver, joins a rival racing team.^[13]
Blink of an Eye	2019	Documentary	NASCAR	An examination of the career of Michael Waltrip, climaxing in his victory in the 2001 Daytona 500—an event overshadowed by the final-lap accident that claimed the life of his car owner and friend, Dale Earnhardt.
Ford v Ferrari	2019	Drama	Sports car	True story depicting Ford's road to take down Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race.^[2]
Qualified	2019	Documentary	IndyCar	Made for TV as a part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. Chronicles the struggle of Janet Guthrie to become the first female driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.
Lady Driver	2020	Drama	Dirt track	A rebellious teen (Grace Van Dien) becomes a dirt-track racer while trying to uncover her family history.^[14]
Gran Turismo	2023	Biographical	Sports car	Based on the video game series by Polyphony Digital, the movie follows Jann Mardenborough and his real journey from a working-class racing gamer to being a pro racer in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving for Nissan after competing in the GT Academy.^[15]
Ferrari	2023	Drama	Sports car	Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) grapples with personal and professional crises, including the death of his son Dino the year before, as his racing team prepares to enter the 1957 Mille Miglia.^[1]
Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia	2024	Biographical	Rallying	A biopic revolving around the Audi-Lancia rivalry during the 1983 World Rally Championship.
F1	2025	Drama	Formula One	Filmed on location during the 2023 Formula One World Championship, revolving around a fictional Formula One driver who returns to the sport to mentor an up-and-coming rookie.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "10 great motor racing films". BFI. 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Rawat, Kshitij (2024-03-26). "The Best Auto Racing Movies For A Thrilling Watch". AugustMan Malaysia. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Morgan, Chris (2024-10-24). "Vroom service: The 20 best films about racing". Yardbarker. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Norman, Dalton; Russell, Tom (2023-08-25). "Death Race Movies In Order: By Release Date & Chronologically". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
^ Crislip, Anthony (2022-03-16). "The Real Life Inspiration For Tom Cruise's Days Of Thunder Character". SlashFilm. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
^ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (June 7, 2006). "Cars". EW.com. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
^ ^a ^b Gibbons, Ben (2023-12-24). "10 Movies That Tried & Failed To Copy Fast & Furious". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
^ Bove, Kate (2024-07-14). "16 Years Later, I'm Still Amazed By This Underrated Anime Adaptation". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
^ Kuhnke, Oisin (2024-01-17). "Got the January blues? The best anime racing film around might just help you". VG247. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
^ Ness, Mari (2018-01-04). "Pixar's First Minor Roadblock: Cars 2". Reactor. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
^ Goldberg, Matt (2017-06-14). "Cars 3 Review: Pixar's Latest Finds a Comfortable Speed". Collider. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
^ "Dirt the movie – Short Course Racer | Home of Short Course Racing". Retrieved 2024-11-04.
^ "Trading Paint: A (Dirt Racing Fan's Modest) Review". TEHBEN.COM. 2019-03-05. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
^ "Lady Driver | A Dirt Racing Fan's Film Review". TEHBEN.COM. 2020-05-05. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
^ Piccotti, Tyler (2023-12-18). "The 'Gran Turismo' Movie Tells a Remarkable True Story—With One Big Exception". Biography. Retrieved 2024-11-04.

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