20 years of 'Talladega Nights'

August marks 20 years since “Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby” hit theaters, came at the box office like a spider monkey and made hot, nasty speed part of the cultural zeitgeist of the mid 2000s.

And over the next few months leading up to the fall race at Talladega Superspeedway, we’re thrilled to be celebrating a milestone anniversary of the film that made us wanna go fast.

Little did we know that once Ricky Bobby and his family headed off to get kicked out of an Applebee’s and the credits rolled (into some of the most side-splitting outtakes you’ll ever have the pleasure of seeing), this film would become a worldwide cultural phenomenon. You’ll still hear this movie referenced and quoted literally everywhere, from the race track to the most non-NASCAR places you could every imagine.

And to illustrate the unending staying power of this film, its quotes and its legacy, here are just a few examples of how “Talladega Nights” put that evil on the entire world, in no particular order.

Kurt went all out to honor Ricky Bobby, driving a car with paint scheme much like the titular character drives to victory (Well, almost to victory but then he jogs the rest of the way) at the end of the film. Yes, he even had a stuffed cougar in the race car with him. And yes, he even quoted the film over the in-car radio. Our man was ready for the role.

Edwards’ flight into the catch fence on the final lap (courtesy of Brad Keselowski) was terrifying, which is why Cousin Carl figured that we needed some levity once his mangled car finally came to stop on the front stretch. So he hopped out of his car and jogged on foot to the finish line, just as Ricky Bobby and Jean Girard did during the film’s finale. And just as it didn’t count in the movie, it didn’t count for Carl either.

It’s easy to toss a paint scheme on your car and a fire suit on your person. That’s why those drivers that go into full method acting to do justice to the film deserve praise, if not an Academy Award nomination. Then-teammates Ryan Preece and Chase Briscoe were Ricky Bobby and Cal Naughton Jr. the entire week leading up to the race, at the track before the race, and during the race. Preece did the “I don’t know what to do with my hands” thing during an interview. Briscoe grew Cal’s bad-ass facial hair. If you have time, look this one up – such method acting from our drivers is rare.

Who knew that Ricky and Cal’s self-assigned nicknames would soon be used on the radio at critical moments in the race? Probably not most of us. But in this code-word era, we’re grateful that we at least sort of know what “shake and bake” means.

FanDuel@FanDuel

Tyler Stephenson with the Ricky Bobby inspired catcher’s gear for the Speedway Classic 👏 h/t @JimDayTV | #MLB

11:56 PM · Aug 2, 2025 · 30.6K Views

6 Replies · 11 Reposts · 130 Likes

Kudos to Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson for understanding the assignment at last year’s Speedway Classic  – a game between the Reds and the Atlanta Braves that took place at Bristol Motor Speedway. We really hope he didn’t put a Fig Newtons sticker over the catchers’ mask. Draw the line somewhere.

French-born Simon Pagenaud is an Indianapolis 500 winner, an IndyCar champion, a two-time Rolex 24 winner, and last but not least, Jean Girard’s (Sacha Baron Cohen’s ex-Formula One antagonist) clone. He resembles him physically and does the voice perfectly. We’re endlessly appreciative that he realized the comparison and played along like a champ. Some heroes don’t need crepes.

Click play on Camden Truett’s speech after winning the Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2025. Undeniable stage presence, and kudos for the self-edit so that this clip could be posted as-is and we didn’t need to bleep it.

The year was 2012. The place was Nashville Superspeedway before an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race. Pastor Joe Nelms could have delivered a standard blessing, but instead he became legend. Had you put money on never hearing the words “Smokin’ hot wife” in a prayer, well, sorry you’re a little poorer.

Just search “Talladega Nights” or “Ricky Bobby” on TikTok or Instagram and you’ll get hit with a deluge of big-name influencers, mid-card influencers and wanna-be influencers all donning the firesuits and reciting lines from the film. It’s arguably one of the most quotable films ever, so naturally, it pretty much pisses excellence on these platforms.

Brad Galli@BradGalli

Christen Goff and Jared Goff are dressed in ‘Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby’ costumes at the Lions Halloween party. Christen shared these photos on her Instagram story.

1:30 AM · Oct 29, 2024 · 370K Views

61 Replies · 190 Reposts · 5.95K Likes

The Detroit Lions quarterback and wife probably won best costume at the 2024 Detroit Lions Halloween party that year. If they didn’t, then that best costume award ain’t worth a velvet painting of a whale and a dolphin gettin' it on.

Marc-André Fleury has a storied career in the NHL, three Stanley Cup championships and like Simon Pagenaud, an intimidating resemblance to Jean Girard. Like Pagenaud, he’s not hesitant to demonstrate it either. Fleury has danced with many great teams in the NHL, and yes, it was a slow jam.

Watch the above video all the way to the end. It’s one of those things where you can’t tell whether it’s awesome, or if you’d rather not have the pilot quoting Will Ferrell movies on approach. I guess this one’s better than “I’m flyin’ through the air - this is not good.”

Art The Clown from “Terrifier” series donned the fire suit at Rockville – an annual metal festival that takes place annually inside Daytona International Speedway. So it isn’t that random. But the video itself is not a pleasant watch and involves Art fake-unaliving two members of the band after some air guitar. That’s really all he knows how to do so whatever.

Honestly, it’s not the worst idea. Rather than hours toiling over a stove and oven all morning and afternoon so your family can complain about how the turkey is a little dry, some folks take an easier route that invoked the famous dinner scene at the beginning of the movie. Family and friends show up with takeout food from any number of chain restaurants, and two-liters of Mountain Dew. Easy, resourceful, and safe. Know what doesn’t lead to a deep-fryer explosion? Carryout at Domino’s Pizza.

Because if you ain’t first, you’re last. The author of this article had many of his birthday parties at a flavorless pizza place that had an audio-animatronic rock band comprised of animals that aforementioned author was afraid of, so a birthday party with a theme like this? Hell yeah!

Chad Johnson@ochocinco

Great start to the morning with a surprise NFL random drug test, i love when they do this, it gives me a chance to piss excellence 4 them

11:07 AM · Aug 4, 2010

549 Reposts · 100 Likes

Above is just one example – he made similar posts several times. Commitment to the bit – you have to admire that.

Yes, that Christopher Nolan. The director known for such blockbuster films such as “Oppenhemier,” “Inception” and “The Odyssey.” Turns out he’s a huge fan of “Talladega Nights,” and this is not a joke, we promise. In the above video, he mentions how hard it is to create a successful comedy, which is why he admires the film so much. And it’s true what he says about comedy – “Interstellar” wasn’t funny at all.