John Huh
The act of pitting your car against another in a test of reaction, speed and skill is nothing new to the national subconscious. Car racing and motorsports has elements of competition and victory that engages with many movie goers, which explains the success of many of the entries on the Ten Best Car Racing movies list.
Comedy, action or any variation of car racing subgenre, this list of car racing movies is ranked in a way that might not agree with you. As personal preference plays a big part in any list, there's a lot of debate for any of the movies on the Ten Best car racing list.
Starring Ryan Gosling as a cold blooded Hollywood stunt driver, Drive sporadically uses some gripping set pieces of car racing and stunts which make for exciting chase scenes.
Playing Carey Mulligan a ex-felon getaway driver, Gosling flexes his range and provides a great backdrop to the few car chase scenes. This is one car racing movie that works well with less action than more.
Meant as a documentary but playing much more like a fictional character, Senna is a car racing movie directed by Asif Kapadia in 2010.
Original footage and racing stock gave a degree of depth to the film, depicting the legendary Brazilian motorsports champion, Ayrton Senna. Well paced and thoughtfully executed, the movie does a great job at conveying Senna's last moments leading up to his fateful crash at the San Marino Grand Prix.
If you don't understand America's love of street racing and motorsports, you only need to look at the colorful 1981 comedy Cannonball Run.
Sharing some elements of a loosely fact based story, this movie follows a group of street racers across the country in seek of glory, generations before Fast and the Furious.
Starring Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore and Farrah Fawcett, The Cannonball Run is a fast paced fun time.
This car theft thriller steps outside of the motorsports movie box, but still retains the racing element. Gone in 60 Seconds features Nicholas Cage starring in the lead role as a car thief who must race against the clock to save his brother.
Mustang purists will love the flashback Shelby Mustang GT500, with the mismatched carburetor and all. Classic and stunningly beautiful during the final act and the thrilling chase scene, Gone In 60 Seconds is one of the Ten Best car racing movies.
Filled with dated cliches and hilarious action scenes, Smokey and the Bandit is a story about a young woman (Sally Field) running out on her wedding and getting mixed up with a booze smuggler played by Burt Reynolds.
Running from the law and trying to escape the comically inept sheriff, Smokey and the Bandit mixes equal parts of comedy and car racing fun for a timeless classic.
Inspiring a generation of boy racer and sport compact tuners, the Fast and The Furious had as much to say about the street racing subculture as any movie ever made.
Plenty of cringe worthy moments and classic jokes make this movie a fan favorite. Recently enjoying blockbuster success overseas with Furious 7, the movie franchise has definitely left it's mark.
The Fast and The Furious like some of the other cars on this Ten Best car racing movie list, feature cars that are as recognizable as the stars who drove them.
Wondering what happened to some of the F&F cars? The late Paul Walker drove a Toyota Supra that was recently auctioned for over 200,000 dollars, and the yellow Nissan Skyline R33 nicknamed Big Bird was crushed by Homeland Security.
Tom Cruise stars in this adrenaline fueled car racing movie about NASCAR race car drive Cole Trickle, and the trials he encounters on the way to the top.
While not successful at the box office, Days of Thunder has enjoyed a revival of sorts in recent years for it's look back at NASCAR race cars of the past. Starring Nicole Kidman and Robert Duvall, it's a great car racing movie which is why it belongs on this list.
Taking the ultra-competitive world of NASCAR and flipping it on it's ear is Talladega Nights, the 2006 comedy about a idiot racecar driver Ricky Bobby. Plenty of jokes and one-liners fill this hilarious and often crude comedy, but it works on many levels for any fan of car racing movies.
Directed by Adam McKay and filmed at the Talladega Super Speedway, there's lots of car racing action and laughs for you to enjoy.
One of the classic chase scenes of all time, Bullit is a car racing movie that still holds water even to today's movie standards.
Building up to a crescendo action sequence, Steve McQueen’s Bullit is a movie about a hardened detective trying to keep important witnesses alive.
John is a freelance writer, mechanic, and engine tuner. He provides content to several websites for SEO optimized websites of all manner.
