As far as car racing movies go (and lets face it, there have been some real dogs), this is a good one. Released in 1973, and starring Jeff Bridges, Valerie Perrine, and Gary Busey, The Last American Hero is based on the early career of Nascar legend Junior Johnson, and his rise from moonshine hauler to Nascar winner. Bridges plays the character of Junior Jackson, who is based on Junior Johnson, although in the modern time of the early 1970s, rather than the 1950s, when Johnson rose to prominence.

Although created on a tiny budget, The Last American Hero manages to achieve what many big budget race movies fail to do, that is, capture both the characters of the sport, and produce exciting on track action that is also realistic. The film has plenty of good short track bullring dirt oval action, plus a Nascar Grand National race at the end, in which several of the era's stars were represented. And the young Jeff Bridges pulls off the role incredibly well, hinting at a big future in the movie business.

A really good movie, and definitely one for the dvd library.