NASCAR’s Kyle Larson says ‘Talladega Nights’ made ‘our sport into a joke’

NASCAR driver Kyle Larson is a fan of racing movies — but has mixed feelings about one comedy.

Earlier this week, he revealed some of his favorite racing movies on Julian Edelman’s podcast “Games With Names,” a list that included “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.”

Nevertheless, Larson believed the movie did some damage to the sport of racing.

NASCAR racer Kyle Larson. Getty Images

“I mean, I like the movie,” Larson said of the popular Will Ferrell movie. “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.”

“Talladega Nights” is a movie about a fictional NASCAR driver, Ricky Bobby, who needs to build things back up to reach the top of the racing world again. While fans give the movie a 73 percent rating on the popular aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Larson is not the only racer who thinks the movie is an inadequate representation of the sport. 

Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, who ranks first in the NASCAR Cup standings, backed him up on X, writing: “100%. Should not be the first thing people think of.”

The two are far from the first two to speak on the movie.

Racer Bubba Wallace also did not like the movie’s depiction of the sport.

Will Ferrell speaks during a press junket promoting his film “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” before practice for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series USG Sheetrock 400 on July 7, 2006 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. Getty Images for NASCAR

He revealed his feelings about the movie on the “Rubbin’ is Racing” podcast in February. 

“Bad. It’s not like a good racing movie,” Wallace said. “It’s just a comedy. I remember watching it, I think I was high school, maybe like a freshman or something, and I seen that come out and I was like, ‘They’re making fun of our sport.’ And I was like, ‘That’s not right.’ But then I’ve watched it multiple times now and I’m like, ‘Ah, OK, some scenes are funny’ … but it’s Will Ferrell.

“Love him as an actor for sure.”