Vroom service: The 20 best films about racing (2024)

20th Century FOX

“Ford v. Ferrari” didn’t just excite audiences. It also got a Best Picture nomination. Sure, many thought it was the least deserving of that group, but not because it wasn’t a good movie. It just felt like this film, starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale, was more of a solid drama than a Best Picture candidate. It is solid, though, and a true story to boot.

Universal

It may be hard to remember, but the “Fast and Furious” movies used to be about street racing. Then they became about Dwayne Johnson breaking a cast by flexing and insane action adventures. Before the series was making a ton of money and bringing in stars like Jason Statham, it began with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker going a quarter mile at a time.

Paramount

Prior to “Ford vs. Ferrari,” “Days of Thunder” was thought by many to be among the best dramatic auto racing movies. In the Tony Scott film, Tom Cruise plays Cole Trickle, a hotshot open-wheel racer who becomes a NASCAR driver. If you are a fan of NASCAR, this may be the best of these movies for you.

Columbia, Sony

If you want a comedic take on auto racing, “Talladega Nights” is the best you are going to get. That is, if you are into Will Ferrell’s particular brand of humor. This is another film where he plays a confident loudmouth idiot, and the comedy isn’t exactly subtle. That being said, there are a ton of laughs to be had in this film.

Pixar

What if race cars didn’t need drivers? What if they just drove themselves because they are alive. “Cars” is about a bunch of, well, cars who live in a world without humans. That includes some race cars like Lightning McQueen, voiced by Owen Wilson. The universe of “Cars” is weird, but it inspired two sequels for Pixar.

20th Century Fox

Hey, we said racing films, not auto racing films. There are many ways to race, including on bikes. Maybe you are irked by this, but we had to include “Breaking Away.” That’s because this is perhaps the best racing movie ever, and it’s a pretty solid coming of age film too.

20th Century Fox

Not all races happen on a track. Some of them happen in the streets. “Cannonball Run” is a comedy based on an actual cross-country race. It’s an ensemble action comedy not unlike the “Wacky Racer” cartoons but with real cars and real stunts.

Universal

We are including only one documentary, but it had to be “Senna.” This film, about the late Brazilian race car driver Ayrton Senna, isn’t just considered one of the best sports documentaries of recent years. It’s also simply one of the best-received documentaries of the last decade or so. A truly gripping telling of Senna’s story.

Universal

In the United States, Formula 1 isn’t that popular. In the rest of the world, though, it’s far and wide the most popular version of auto racing. You may not know James Hunt or Niki Lauda. You may not know much about the 1976 Formula 1 season. In that case, watch “Rush.” If nothing else, it co-stars Chris Hemsworth.

National General Pictures

Steve McQueen loved racing. He even did some actual race car driving, even though, you know, he was one of the biggest movie stars in the world. Making “Le Mans” was basically a dream project for him. In addition to using actual footage from a 24 Hours of Le Mans race, some filming was done during a race as well.

Disney

Most cars don’t get a series of movies. Herbie, the titular Love Bug, did. This is the first film about the sentient Volkswagen Beetle. It’s a very ‘60s car, and this is a very ‘60s movie. It’s also about the only time you will see a Beetle being used in auto races and having success. That’ll happen when you are a car with a mind of its own.

MGM

They have been making racing movies since the silent era, but this is the earliest film on our list. “Grand Prix” is an ensemble drama about a fictional Formula 1 season. The ostensible lead is James Garner, who is best known for starring in “The Rockford Files.” “Grand Prix” was well received critically and won three technical Oscars.

Warner Bros.

The Wachowskis make insane movies. “The Matrix," for example, was a huge hit, but it’s also quite nuts. They indulge in excellent filmmaking and it’s not for everybody. That’s why “Speed Racer,” an acid trip of a film, was kind of a bust. It has its fans, though, because an insane-looking cotton candy movie based on an old Japanese cartoon is what some people really want.

Bleecker Street

The main characters in Steven Soderbergh’s film aren’t race car drivers. They are downtrodden people who are pulling off a heist. It’s a heist movie, through and through. So why does it make this list? Because the heist is happening during the Coca-Cola 600, one of the biggest NASCAR races of the year. We see a lot of auto racing, and six different NASCAR drivers had small cameo roles, not as drivers.

New World Pictures

Ron Howard directed “Rush,” and he stars in “Eat My Dust!” Is it a good movie? Not really, as it’s a cheap Roger Corman flick. However, it’s a notable piece of movie history in a way. Corman told Howard that if he was willing to star in “Eat My Dust!” he would let Howard direct and star in another movie. That movie became "Grand Theft Auto," and it was the first movie Howard ever directed.

Touchstone/Dreamworks

After “Breaking Bad,” Aaron Paul was a rising star. One of his first chances to try out movie stardom was “Need for Speed.” Unfortunately, like most movies based on video games it was considered kind of a bust, even if it made a decent amount of money. Paul is good in it, and Michael Keaton has a role as well, but the movie was kind of shrugged off.

Touchstone/Dreamworks

There is a lot of horsepower in most of these movie. Here’s a film with a horsepower of…one. We are sticking one horse racing film into the mix, and that one is “Seabiscuit.” It’s a feel-good biography about a beloved underdog horse with a name you probably have heard. If you are in the mood for a retro biopic with a little bit of sappiness to it, you can do a lot worse than “Seabiscuit.”

Paramount

“Rat Race” is basically a ripoff of “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” Why does it make our list? Well, it has “race” in the title for one. Two, in “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” there isn’t a real race, even if people are all striving to be the first to find a treasure. In “Rat Race,” there is an actual race going on. The slapstick comedy doesn’t always work, but it’s a decent enough comedy.

New World Pictures

“Death Race 2000” didn’t predict what the world would be like at the turn of the millennium, and we should all be thankful. This is another Roger Corman production, which means it’s lean, mean and not interested in being subtle. There is plenty of violence and a ton of schlock. There’s just a smidge of satire and comedy to it as well. Plus, it features acting from David Carradine and a pre-Rocky Balboa Sylvester Stallone.

Golden Harvest

Are you aware that there is a racing movie that stars Jackie Chan. There is, and it’s this one. This Hong Kong action flick features Chan as a race car driver and, of course, as per usual he’s doing his own stunts. Well, not all of them. No, not because he was worried. Chan had hurt himself making “Rumble in the Bronx,” so he did only the stunts he was physically able to do, including plenty that involved his injured leg.

Neon

Michael Mann making a movie about an obsessive man who only cares about work? Yeah, that sounds about right. "Ferrari" hype was high among Mann fans, as it was his first film since 2015's "Blackhat," a fascinating fiasco. Adam Driver plays Enzo Ferrari in what is basically a racing film, Mann style.