Speedway (1968) on Netflix
Steve Grayson, a generous NASCAR driver, keeps bailing out friends in need. His manager Kenny Donford has gambled away his winnings, and IRS agent Susan Jacks arrives to collect the debt.
- Netflix2.7/5
- IMDb5.6/103,017 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes52%
Trailer
Plot summary
Steve Grayson is a NASCAR driver with a generous streak, bailing friends and acquaintances out whenever money runs short. His manager and best friend, Kenny Donford, is a compulsive gambler who has been using Steve's winnings to cover his bets, and the unpaid taxes leave Steve owing $150,000 to the IRS, with his valuable possessions repossessed. Susan Jacks, an IRS agent, is assigned to watch Steve and send his future prize money toward the debt. Steve and Susan both sing, and she takes a romantic interest in him beyond the case. He wants to keep racing competitively and keep helping the people who depend on his generosity.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Speedway (1968)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Speedway was originally planned to star Sonny & Cher, but after their first movie, Good Times, flopped at the box office, Columbia sold the rights to MGM, which retooled the project for Elvis Presley.
- Professional driver Neil Castles served as Elvis Presley's stunt double, and said in a 1973 interview that he doubled for Elvis and wrecked five or six cars pretty good.
- Petula Clark, Liza Minnelli and Annette Funicello were each offered the lead female role in Speedway, but all three actresses turned the part down.
- Elvis Presley was paid $850,000 plus 50% of the profits for Speedway, the film Columbia had originally planned for Sonny & Cher before selling the rights to MGM.
- Steve Grayson's habit of bailing out friends in Speedway was loosely based on Elvis Presley's own generosity: Presley gave cars, homes and other expensive items to his Memphis Mafia friends, family and even total strangers.
- Speedway was the final formula musical film of Elvis Presley's career, after which his remaining movies were less musical and more adult in tone.
- Speedway, Elvis Presley's film about a NASCAR driver, is considered one of the first films about NASCAR racing and has been credited with increasing knowledge about the sport.
