zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Racing
/
Ten Years Later, Talladega Nights Still Nails NASCAR's Uncomfortable Place In America
Ten Years Later, Talladega Nights Still Nails NASCAR's Uncomfortable Place In America-October 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:11:30

Some things may have changed since Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby was released a decade ago, but it still has one of the most dead-on mockeries of the popular perception of motorsports in America. NASCAR—for better or for worse—has a sometimes-uncomfortable association with the Southern bro.

You love partying with him when he “pisses excellence” and rides around Daytona’s infield on a motorized cooler.

You begrudgingly accept his prosperity-gospel-lite notion that all of his outward displays of Christianity will bless him with success—although you wish he’d finally move beyond using “gay” as an insult.

You may cringe a bit at his open embrace of crass commercialism, but c’mon, all those corporations on his favorite driver’s car fund all that good racin’.

No scene quite nails everything that is a little uncomfortable about NASCAR’s association with the deep-fried, down-home Southern bro better than Talladega Nights’ family dinner scene:

I can’t think of a single more deep-South argument than one about the appropriateness of referring to the infant “Christmas Jesus” during grace.

Modern-day NASCAR to push itself as a wide, accepting tent. They’ve even produced one of the more fun seasons to watch this year in terms of actual racing on the track.

But whenever you mention that NASCAR is occasionally enjoyable to someone who doesn’t pay a whole lot of attention to it, there’s a good, annoying chance you’ll hear something back about inbreeding, a lack of education or a brand of and/or conservatism.

The most biting satire gets you to laugh at things that are supremely uncomfortable—like America’s relationship with its most popular form of motorsport.

Maybe what NASCAR needs is a real-life Jean Girard to shake (and bake) things up.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Racing
You've Probably Never Heard Of The Coolest Canadian Car Ever Built
You've Probably Never Heard Of The Coolest Canadian Car Ever Built
Name a car from the early 1960s built by a famed racing driver with curvy, lightweight aluminum bodywork, a big American engine, and a reputation for being unruly and fast as all hell. Your first thought was probably the famed Shelby Cobra, did you know there was a who...
Oct 25, 2024
Get Ready To Spend All Your Money On Retro Formula 1 Merch
Get Ready To Spend All Your Money On Retro Formula 1 Merch
Fellow nerds, get ready to open your wallets, because I’ve found what may be the greatest store of all time. With designs from Formula 1 teams like , you’re sure to find something that fits your particular nostalgic niche. I’d like to introduce you to Racing Retro. I first...
Oct 25, 2024
Listen To In-Car Audio From Race Cars While You Work
Listen To In-Car Audio From Race Cars While You Work
If you follow racing in the U.S., you probably already know about the . Most of the episodes are too much of a distraction to put on as background noise while you work, but a couple of recent entries in his series have been working incredibly well for me....
Oct 25, 2024
Local Businesses Want Compensation After Allegedly Losing Money During Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
Local Businesses Want Compensation After Allegedly Losing Money During Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
If you listen to Formula 1 or local officials from Las Vegas and Clark County, you’d probably think November’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix was a success. Some sources estimated that the city of Las Vegas made over $1 billion in revenue from the event — but there were...
Oct 25, 2024
Race Team Would Rather Create A Fake AI Woman Rather Than Hire A Real One
Race Team Would Rather Create A Fake AI Woman Rather Than Hire A Real One
In another unsurprising example of motorsport’s inhospitable mindset toward hiring competent women, the Racing team has announced a new partnership with Ava Rose, a literal , who will... engage with fans? Share knowledge about technology? “Navigate the cutting edge of innovation to create positive change” (whatever that means)? I...
Oct 25, 2024
After Delivering 8 Seasons At The Back Of The Grid, Haas F1 Team Dumps Guenther Steiner
After Delivering 8 Seasons At The Back Of The Grid, Haas F1 Team Dumps Guenther Steiner
The partially North Carolina-based squad has determined that after , it needs to mix things up a little. The team’s firebrand has been following an abysmal 2023 season which saw the team score just four points-paying finishes. The team’s , where scored a fourth-place finish, but that season too...
Oct 25, 2024
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved