It's not as if Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby did much to dispel some of the more stereotypical images of NASCAR fans, but you can always count on a documentary to provide a slightly more informed approach. Movieweb reports that GOOD (a socially minded collective that includes a print and online magazine and a documentary film production unit called Reason Pictures) have announced that they are putting a doc into production about the kids who dream of making it to prime time racing and the culture of NASCAR racing in the U.S.

The film is being directed by Marshall Curry, who was nominated for an Academy Award in 2005 for his political doc Street Fight, about an election in Newark that turned into an all-out brawl between the candidates. Racing Dreams will be about kids who race in the World Karting Association's National Pavement Series -- which by the sounds of it are not your average go-karts, since they travel at speeds in excess of 60-70MPH. The series has been a training ground for future NASCAR racers. The film is going to follow three boys age 10-13 as the work their way through the highly competitive circuit -- and if Sports Moms and Dads has taught me anything, it's that when competition and family mix, it can get pretty ugly.

When you grow up in farm country, you find yourself surrounded by people who simultaneously worship two individuals -- Jesus Christ and Dale Earnhardt. Jesus Christ, of course, is the Son of God and Savior of mankind who famously allowed Himself to be brutally tortured and hung by nails from a wooden cross to save us all from eternal damnation; while Dale Earnhardt was a dude who drove fast cars until he crashed one of them. So really, you can see why they're both so revered.

Okay, so I'm not a NASCAR fan, even though I grew up in the right area for it. I grew up as the comic book geek, remember? But even I have to admit Dale Earnhardt was a pretty fantastic dude. He was, by most accounts, a very nice, humorous, and exceptionally talented individual who really helped vault the sport he loved onto a much larger stage. He was one of those guys you just felt compelled to like any time you saw him -- unless, I suppose, you were a fan of a different driver, in which case you probably disliked him every time he was outracing your guy. So well liked was Dale, he's got an archival-footage film called Dale this year; and ThatsRacin.com has an interview with his widow Teresa about the film.

Teresa, naturally, said the film was hard to make in many respects, because it involved so many memories of her late husband and the career which took his life -- but at the same time it was a joy to create for many of the same reasons. She said the film allowed her to share more of the personal, private Dale with people who mostly only got to see the professional-racer Dale. It will also help illustrate just how Dale Earnhardt helped move NASCAR from something of a fringe sport to the mainstream.

So ... racing fans ... how does Teresa's heavy involvement with this flick play into the currently popular rumors of her entire lack of interest and attendance in Jr's racing?

One of the things I've heard most often from people who've seen Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is that Sony must have paid for the entire production by selling product placement spots. Not only is the assumption wrong, but it seems that the movie may not have made much at all from its abundant and blatant inclusion of brands (directly, anyway). Take Wonder Bread, which is featured quite prominently as Will Ferrell's character's main sponsor. The brand, owned by the bankrupt company Interstate Bakeries Corp. didn't exchange any money with Sony Pictures. Instead they worked out a back-end promotion deal where the movie was marketed through in-store displays and packaging for Wonder Bread. Because the brand was written into the script by Ferrell and Adam McKay, the movie needed the cooperation of Interstate as much as Interstate needed the exposure. Now, Advertising Age is reporting that the product placement gave Wonder Bread more than $4 million worth of advertising.

Other major brands like Old Spice worked out back-end promotion deals, too. Perrier, which was also featured in the script, as it was the only recognizable French brand that made sense in the context of Sacha Baron Cohen's character's sponsor, didn't have to do a thing, however. This is probably because the movie couldn't have worked without it. I can't find whether or not any of the many other products paid for their placement, but the consensus seems to be that Talladega Nights benefited from all the brands since they all provided a part of the whole sponsorship gag. Still, choosing Budweiser over say Coors and Coca-Cola over Pepsi had to have been done with some scrutiny. All I know is, somebody needs to actually come out with Laughing Clown malt liquor, because I know I'm not the only one looking for it on shelves.

At first glance, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby looks like a re-iteration of the last film from star Will Ferrell and his writing partner (and director) Adam McKay, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. The jut-jawed clueless self-confidence of the title character; the moments of wacky flailing captured in the trailer; the colon-split title firmly positioning the film in the realm of the mock-mythic. And Talladega Nights is somewhat similar to Anchorman; it's also far superior in a number of ways, and serves as a nice demonstration of how story structure and stupid comedy can work -- and work well -- together.

Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) had a pretty simple childhood: Dreams of being a racecar driver, and a father, Reese Bobby (Gary Cole), who stepped out to get some milk one evening and didn't come back for about 10 years. Raised by his homespun, no-nonsense mom (Jane Lynch, in another deadpan comedy performance), Ricky kept hearing his father's words in head like a curse: "If you ain't first, you're last." In time, he became a NASCAR pit crew member; one day, fate gave him a chance to "go real fast" on the track, and now he's become the top winner in the game: Fame, endorsements and success.

But between winning races and thwarting the ambition of his co-driver Cal Naughton, Jr. (John C. Reilly), between endorsing feminine hygiene products ("Maxpad: The official tampon of NASCAR.") and neglecting the raising of his sons Walker (Houston Tumlin) and Texas Ranger (Grayson Russell), Ricky may have lost sight of ... himself. The racing game is changing; a new force on the track, the openly gay French Formula One driver Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen) is challenging Ricky Bobby's top spot ... and after a terrifying crash, Ricky Bobby has to rebuild his life.

NASCAR fans are looking at an embarrassment of cinematic riches these days, what with the recent release of Cars and the looming arrival of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and the (admittedly smallish, but it's better than nothing, right?) wave of films shows no signs of slowing down. In addition to the upcoming Richard Petty biopic (starring one of the Quaid brothers), fans now have a Dale Earnhardt documentary to look forward to. CMT Films and NASCAR Images recently announced their intention to collaborate on the doc, entitled Dale, which is being made with the full cooperation of Earnhardt's family and is expected to include "archival race footage, rare outtakes, never-before-seen home videos and interviews with [his] friends, family, competitors and fans."

What is most interesting about Dale, however, is its planned release structure. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie will hit theaters next February, but only those in cities on the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series circuit. Perhaps inspired by the recent world premiere of Cars at a racetrack, CMT's vice-president of programing indicated that the film's debut in each city will not be a typical, quiet appearance in a local theater. Instead, CMT's goal is to "create an event atmosphere more like a live concert than a traditional movie screening." After that limited theatrical exposure, Dale will air on CMT in the fall, followed by a DVD release.

My expectations run high for a Pixar film. I hoped I would like Cars as much as I love Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. I wasn't sure how involving a movie starring automobiles would work, but I was sure Pixar would make it work for me. Cars may be a good children's movie (especially compared to the other choices for kids), but it's only an average Pixar film;  I would put it on the same level as Toy Story 2. It's never a good sign when the funniest, most entertaining part of a movie are the closing credits.

The storyline is predictable: Rookie race car Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is scheduled to compete in a three-way race with racing legend The King (retired NASCAR legend Richard Petty), and Chick Hicks (Michael Keaton), an obnoxious attention hog. Lightning (I cannot bring myself to call him "McQueen" -- it reminds me of someone I would rather have watched) is too self-centered; he can't keep a pit crew or a crew chief, and doesn't have any true friends. Racing has consumed his whole life. So when Lightning gets lost on the road in the middle of the night in a small town called Radiator Springs and becomes entangled in the town's problems ... we all know what's going to happen.

When word of a Richard Petty bio-pic (to be written by Chris Cleveland and Bettina Gilois, the pair behind the soon to be released Glory Road) first came out over a year ago, Dennis Quaid was expected to both produce and star in the untitled film. Now, however, it's big bro Randy who is reported to be playing the legendary NASCAR driver.

While it's a bit odd that someone thinks the two look enough alike to both be able to play the same real-life figure, it's always good to hear that the older Quaid is getting a starring role. Though he's (quite reasonably) known by most of us primarily as Clark Griswold's over-the-top, dickey-wearing cousin, Quaid is actually a quiet, solid presence in most of his best roles; it's nice to see this confidence in him. Well, it's either confidence, or someone just decided that he'd been away from cars too long (Days of Thunder was more than 15 years ago, after all) and decided to throw him a bone.

It's gonna be a while before this one starts shooting - who knows, maybe there's another Quaid we don't know about who can take over the role next.

Where are all these Nascar comedies coming from and how come no one can come up with a name for them? Variety reports that scribes Jason Jordan and Matthew Lawton have sold their untitled Nascar comedy to Barry Kemp's Bungalow 78 Productions making it the second untitled Nascar comedy to hit Hollywood this year. The story for this one centers on a driver who's dropped by his sponsors because of bad behavior. In an attempt to keep the dream alive, he's forced to sign with the one sponsor willing to take him on - a young cosmetics maven who's looking to attract more female Nascar fans.

 The other untitled Nascar comedy is currentlywrapping production and stars Will Ferrell, Sacha Baron Cohen and John C. Reilly. Though it's due out this summer, the freaking movie still hasn't been given a title. What gives? Is it so hard to come up with a title for a movie set in the wacky world of Nascar racing? Apparently it is, because right now I'm trying to think of a clever title and I can't seem to come up with anything either. How about, "Funny Guys Who Drive Fast Cars?" Help me out here - what would you name these currently untitled Nascar comedies if you were in charge of it all?