Talladega Nights 'turned Our Sport Into A Joke,' Kyle Larson Claims, As If No One Made Nascar Jokes Before The Movie Came Out

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

"Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" turns 20 adjacent year, which intends location are kids successful assemblage who weren't moreover live erstwhile it came out. In fact, travel 2026, "Talladega Nights" will beryllium as aged arsenic "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" was erstwhile "Talladega Nights" first deed theaters. According to Will Ferrell, "We were existent adamant up beforehand that our extremity wasn't to make nosy of NASCAR. We wanted to person nosy with NASCAR." Ask Kyle Larson, though, and he doesn't precisely spot it that way. According to Larson, nan movie turned NASCAR into a joke.

That assertion comes from a caller section of Julian Edelman's Games With Names podcast, which is embedded below. A little much than 44 minutes into nan episode, Larson was asked astir "Talladega Nights" and said, "I for illustration nan movie. I deliberation it did not do thing bully for our sport. I deliberation it turned our athletics into for illustration a joke, unfortunately. But it is, I mean, that's sewage to beryllium 1 of nan astir celebrated racing movies." He past added, "I consciousness for illustration nan remainder of nan world, that's what they deliberation astir our athletics now."

He said it jokingly, truthful I can't ideate he's excessively upset astir it, but astatine nan aforesaid time, travel on, man. People were already making NASCAR jokes agelong earlier 2006. Maybe he was excessively engaged racing and hanging retired pinch different racers to perceive them, but moreover successful nan agrarian Georgia region I grew up successful (which has since filled up pinch a bunch of rich | jerks), jokes astir NASCAR were beautiful darn common. As for nan remainder of nan world, I'm beautiful judge they didn't request immoderate thief making nosy of NASCAR, either.

Ironically, arsenic you tin spot successful nan video above, they sewage onto nan taxable of "Talladega Nights" erstwhile Edelman asked which movie was nan champion title movie of each time. Larson's reply was "Days of Thunder," nan 1990 Tom Cruise movie that's some finally getting a sequel and was besides hated by NASCAR astatine nan time. When nan movie was released 35 years ago, Dale Earnhardt told Entertainment Weekly, "The words retired of Tom Cruise's rima to maine were that this was going to beryllium real, arsenic existent arsenic racing is today. I conscionable don't deliberation they made it that way."

Earnhardt wasn't nan only NASCAR driver who didn't for illustration "Days of Thunder," either. In that aforesaid article, Alan Kulwicki said, "I don't deliberation they did america justice. They portrayed america for illustration we're moving bumper cars." Apparently, nan drivers and pit-crew members hated nan movie so much, "top NASCAR officials, successful closed-door meetings...urged them to support their Thunder grumblings to themselves," presumably successful an effort to debar tanking nan movie they'd been specified a large portion of helping make.

Of course, Larson, who was calved successful 1992, wouldn't retrieve each of that, arsenic he hadn't been calved yet. He was besides astir apt still beautiful young nan first clip he saw "Days of Thunder" and conscionable thought it was an awesome movie. On nan different hand, he was successful precocious schoolhouse erstwhile "Talladega Nights" came out, truthful it makes consciousness that he'd beryllium overmuch much captious of nan measurement it portrayed NASCAR. 

On apical of that, "Talladega Nights" is simply a drama and truthful quotable successful a measurement that "Days of Thunder" really isn't. That would astir apt person been good connected its own, but NASCAR fans besides thin heavy conservative, and if there's 1 point blimpish drama relies heavy on, it's repetition. There's moreover an full subreddit dedicated to it. If you deliberation you've heard excessively galore "Talladega Nights" references astatine this point, ideate being a NASCAR driver listening to instrumentality aft instrumentality repetition nan aforesaid lines they've heard 10 cardinal times before. You'd astir apt commencement to resent nan movie, too.