NASCAR star says Talladega Nights 'did not do the sport any good'

Matt Weaver

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NASCAR star says Talladega Nights 'did not do the sport any good' image

Over the course of a 90-minute conversation with NFL legend Julian Edelmen, which took place on the former New England Patriot’s podcast, Kyle Larson did not mince words over his feelings about Talladega Nights.

First, with an hour and a half of runtime, the conversation was wide-ranging but took a turn towards movies with Larson naming Days of Thunder as his favorite film about NASCAR. The 1990 film starring Tom Cruise and directed by Tony Scott is a cult classic amongst Stock Car fans even amidst some less than accurate stereotypes.

However, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby staring Will Ferrell and written by Adam McKay is not something the 2021 Cup Series champion holds in high regard whatsoever,

"I mean, I like the movie," said Larson. "I think it did not do anything good for our sport. I think it turned our sport into a joke, unfortunately. But that is one of the most popular racing movies ... I feel like the rest of the world -- that's what they think about our sport now."

Larson prefers serious motorsports media like the Ayrton Senna documentary, which he called ‘a great movie’ and ‘really good.’

His teammate, two-time Daytona 500 winner William Byron, echoed his sentiments.

Matt Weaver

Matt Weaver is a former dirt racer turned motorsports journalist. He can typically be found perched on a concrete wall at a local short track on Saturday nights and within world-class media centers on Sunday afternoons. There isn’t any kind of racing he hasn’t covered over the past decade. He drives a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado with over 510,000 miles on it. Despite carrying him to racing trips across both coasts and two countries, it hasn’t died yet.