Kyle Larson spent over 90 minutes chatting with Julian Edelman on his podcast, Games with Names, tackling a variety of topics. It was a fascinating and candid sitdown with the Hendrick Motorsports driver, who talked about everything from the Coke 600/Indy 500 double to secret driver group chats, life on the road, and racing idols.
But about 43 minutes into the interview, the subject of racing movies came up. Larson was quick to name Days of Thunder as his favorite NASCAR movie. Starring Tom Cruise, the 1990 film remains a beloved classic by NASCAR fans. Cruise has even indicated that he is open to making a sequel, even discussing it with Jeff Gordon.
Larson also gave a shoutout to the 2010 documentary on Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna, praising it as a "great movie" and calling it "really good."
He has not yet seen the new F1 movie, starring Brad Pitt, but Larson had some interesting thoughts on the 2006 comedy, Talladega Nights. It's a movie even non-NASCAR fans know and one that gets quoted often in public discourse, and diehard fans still dress up as Ricky Bobby at the track, but Larson thinks it may have skewed the perception of the sport in a negative way.
"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."
William Byron, who is teammates with Larson in the Cup Series, has since agreed with this sentiment, posting on social media: "100%. Should not be the first thing people think of."
100%. Should not be the first thing people think of https://t.co/0RAE8bjQcF
— William Byron (@WilliamByron) August 6, 2025
