The 2006 comedy follows Ricky Bobby (Ferrell), a superstar NASCAR driver who grew up in rural North Carolina living and breathing driving fast. He’s the number 1 racer with the most sponsorships and wins with the help of his best bud Cal (Reilly) who helps out by finishing second or third in the races. Once top-rated French racer Jean Girard (Sacha Baron-Cohen) comes to race in the States, Ricky loses his status as top racer along with his riches, trophy wife, and motivation. His absent father (Gary Cole) returns to get Ricky back on track and restore his title as the number one NASCAR racer.
Even though it’s a highly satirical portrait of rural America, Talladega Nights gave a huge comedy platform to the racing community, who never really saw themselves outside of NASCAR-specific entertainment or movies like Speed Racer. As such, it’s no surprise that the drivers who took to the film found it easy to begin copying scenes directly from the movie in real-life races. On one such occasion, NASCAR driver Carl Edwards reenacted the climactic scene in Talladega Nights’ final race where Ricky Bobby and Jean Girard get out of their cars and run to the finish line.
In 2009 on the final lap of the Aaron’s 499 race at Talladega Speedway, Carl Edwards’ car crashed, flipped, bounced off of another car, and came to a full stop on the track. He wasn’t too far away from the finish line, so after fellow NASCAR drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski crossed the finish line, Edwards exited his car and jogged all the way to the finish line with a standing ovation by the crowd. In the scene from Talladega Nights, Ricky and Jean collide, and their cars barrel roll to a stop. The two then climb out of their cars and run to the finish line where Ricky narrowly wins after his hand crosses the line first.
After the incident, Edwards revealed in an interview on Will Ferrell and C. Reilly's “shake and bake” signature over the years. The sponsorships on Ricky Bobby’s car have also inspired drivers to use the same logos for Wonder Bread and Ricky’s “ME” paint scheme.
