There are two kinds of people in the world: race fans and people who haven’t watched these movies.
If you’re not a fan, auto racing may seem like sort of the Earth-borne equivalent of space exploration: an oddly unsatisfying venture hallmarked by astronomical costs for its participants, punctuated by seemingly repetitive events with outcomes of vague practical value.
If you are a fan, you embrace – make that celebrate – an adrenaline-pumping sport that values performance above all, unapologetically defines second place as first loser, and demands a unique combination of finesse, fearlessness, and financing. Motorsports have also driven the evolution of valuable passenger vehicle technology more than any space mission ever has, regardless of how boldly that mission went where no man has gone before. From lubricants to lightweight composites and from full-view mirrors to fuel-efficient turbos, auto racing has spawned countless innovations that eventually found their way into modern cars and trucks.
You may safely assume I’m in the latter category (I’m addicted to Formula One) and if you read this far, you’re probably a racing fan, too. But for those unfortunate folks who are missing out on the thrill of watching or participating in motorsports, short of putting their fanny in the seat of a racecar there’s no better conversion therapy than watching a great racing movie.
Based on no statistically valid sample whatsoever but rather strictly on the enthusiastic reactions of diverse family and friends of mine who wouldn’t know a flywheel from a Ferris wheel, here are my picks for the best auto racing movies from the last 50 years. Find ‘em on your favorite streaming service and stage a movie night intervention with a non-fan. If at least one of these flicks doesn’t inspire him or her to care about motorsports, check for a pulse.