Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is an American comedy film about NASCAR racing. The film is directed by Adam McKay, who co-wrote the film with actor and former Saturday Night Live cast member Will Ferrell, who stars in the title role. The film was released on August 4, 2006. Actors involved in the movie include John C. Reilly, Amy Adams, Sacha Baron Cohen and Leslie Bibb. Various SNL alumni also make appearances.

The film was primarily shot in North Carolina including the Charlotte region, and Cabarrus and Gaston counties. Racetrack scenes at Texas Motor Speedway were shot at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, using a Chevy El Camino outfitted with camera mounts on all four corners of the car.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby tells the story of NASCAR stock car racing sensation Ricky Bobby (Ferrell) whose "win at all costs" approach has made him a national hero. He and his loyal racing partner and childhood friend Cal Naughton Jr. (Reilly), are a fearless duo—dubbed "Shake" and "Bake" with the ability to finish so many races in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions, with Cal always in second place. When a gay French Formula One driver, Jean Girard (Baron Cohen), challenges "Shake" and "Bake" for the supremacy of NASCAR, Ricky Bobby must face his own demons and fight Girard for the right to be known as racing's top driver.

"I wanna go fast":

Ricky Bobby was born to go fast. He was born in the back seat of his race car driving father's car in the fictional town of West River, North Carolina. He was raised by his mother (Jane Lynch). Reese Bobby (Gary Cole), his alcoholic, pot-dealing father, wasn't around. One morning, while his mother was at the grocery store, Ricky climbed into the driver's seat and, using a wiffle ball bat to press the pedals, took his mama's station wagon on a high-speed joy ride.

After ten years, Ricky finally met his father when he showed up for career day at Ricky's school. He told Ricky, "If you ain't first, you're last", a motto that stuck with Ricky for the rest of his life.

From pit crew to No. 1:

Ricky Bobby never outgrew his love of racing. While working on a pitcrew as the jackman for a race team, he replaces an uninterested driver named Terry Cheveaux (McKay) and ends up finishing third in the race. Ricky soars to the top of NASCAR very quickly, achieving both fame and fortune with his ride at Dennit Racing. He is able to get a ride for best friend Cal, who he uses as the starter of a slingshot move which lets him pass cars easily.

Apres Girard, Le Deluge:

While on top of the racing world, Ricky is challenged by a Formula One driver named Jean Girard (Baron Cohen), who ends up becoming Ricky's teammate. Girard is an effete gay Frenchman who reads the French existentialist novel The Stranger by Albert Camus and sips macchiato as he races.

Girard outperforms Ricky on the track and overtakes Ricky's #1 standing. Ricky, desperate to regain his dominance, pushes himself too hard and ends up in a horrible wreck. Though he eventually recovers from his crash, he loses his ride at Dennit Racing after a disastrous testing session. His wife, yearning to be married to a top NASCAR driver, divorces Ricky within three hours of his firing and marries Cal, whom Ricky refused to let come first in races.

Ricky moves back home and takes a job as a pizza delivery driver for Hugalo's Pizza. With his life at a lowpoint, Ricky's father suddenly reenters his life. With the retraining and guidance of his father, Ricky gains his confidence back, but still refuses to race after Reese walks out - and then confesses that he was high when he told Ricky's class "If you ain't first, you're last!". Ricky then runs into his former assistant, Susan, at a bar. Susan convinces Ricky to get back into racing at the Talladega 500. Susan then professes her love for Ricky, and they end up having sex in the bar, as Ricky warns the other customers to look away, because "we're gonna start making animal noises". Ricky later meets with Jean Girard, who is having tea with Mos Def and Elvis Costello. Girard confesses that he wants to retire to Stockholm with his husband Gregory to "design a currency for dogs and cats to use", but before he does, he wants Ricky to beat him. However, he refuses to let Ricky win. Ricky returns to the track and tells Cal he's sorry for always making him come in second.

Back on track:

Despite being unsponsored, underfunded, and starting last, Ricky quickly climbs through the field and passes Cal, moving into second place behind Girard. As Ricky unsuccessfully attempts to pass Girard, his former owner orders Cal to wreck Ricky. Cal refuses, and does the traditional slingshot move to get Ricky side by side with Girard. Dennit, the owner of Girard and Naughton's cars, orders his third driver, Ricky's replacement, to wreck Cal. The ensuing wreck destroys the rest of the field, leaving only Ricky Bobby and Jean Girard. On the final lap, the two drivers have a long, spectacular wreck. So long, in fact, that the race goes to a commercial for Applebee's while the wreck is still taking place. The race's broadcasters, seeming disinterested, declare the race over.

However, Girard and Ricky both race on foot to the checkered flag, to the tune of Pat Benatar's "We Belong". They both dramatically dive for the finish line. Ricky's fingers cross the line, while Girard comes up a bit short. Girard wishes to shake Ricky's hand, but Ricky kisses him passionately instead. Both drivers are disqualified for leaving their cars during the race and Cal wins the race by finishing third. Ricky and Cal make up, again. Reese watches from the distance, and walks away, satisfied. The family, including Susan, Ricky's new "lady", meets Reese in the parking lot, and all climb into his old Chevelle to go get thrown out of Applebee's.

Box office:

The film grossed $47,000,000 in its first week, the eighth biggest opening gross of 2006. It is also the second-biggest opening weekend ever for an original comedy, after Bruce Almighty, and the biggest opening for a film starring Will Ferrell. Production costs are $72,500,000. After eight weeks, the film has made an estimated $$153,759,526 worldwide.

DVD release:

The film will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 12, 2006. It will be presented on standard DVD in four different configurations, giving consumers the choice between either theatrical or unrated versions and anamorphic widescreen (2.40:1 aspect ratio) or pan & scan presentations. As for the audio, each standard DVD will carry Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks in English and French with optional English and French subtitles. The Blu-ray edition of the film will carry the unrated cut and present the film with an anamorphic widescreen transfer at its 2.40:1 theatrical aspect ratio and include Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks in English and French and an uncompressed PCM 5.1 audio track in English, along with English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Thai subtitles. Extras for the standard DVD editions will include a retrospective '25 Years Later' commentary track, deleted and extended scenes along with bonus race footage, featurettes, character interviews, a gag reel, a 'Line-O-Rama' feature with alternate dialogue from the film, and DVD-ROM content. The unrated discs will also contain additional deleted scenes, character interviews, and commercials.