****SPOILERS*** A 28 year old Mickey Rooney shines in this car racing flick as brash and so full of himself Billy Coy who until a fatal accident of his best friend and fellow racer Happy Lee, Steve Brodie, that Billy was unjustifiably blamed for turned his life around for the better. Up until then Billy was following in the footsteps of his late dad the legendary race car driver Cannonball Coy. It was Cannonball who after a night of boozing and womanizing drove, dead drunk behind the wheel, in the Indianapolis 500 and ended up smashing his car into a wall killing himself. It was the tragic death of Lucky and being blamed for it that had Billy at first quit car racing then return to it with a whole new attitude.
Starting from the bottom on the east coast circuit Billy worked himself up to become one of the few drivers to compete in the Indianapolis 500 within a year of his so-called retirement from racing. It was no easy task for Billy in him facing like what a crumb he was earlier in the movie in his relationship with those he worked with and competed against on the race track. Now brought down to earth and at the same time humanized from his experience Billy was ready to make it to the top of the car racing world in the big race that his father Cannonball Coy lost his life in 17 years ago. That with his mom Mary, Spring Byington, and top mechanic and boss now step-father Arthur "Red" Stanley in attendance.
***SPOILERS*** Heart stopping and tremendous racing sequences especially those of the Indianapolis 500 race with a re-born as well as born-again Billy going all out to win the big race despite his car catching fires in the final lap with him in the lead. Risking a fiery death Billy floors the peddle to the medal to get to the finish line where the checked flag is waiting to be wagged as the leading car crossed it. Totally surprised and heart-felt ending with Billy and the audience, at the race track and watching the movie, finding out that the saying "Winning isn't everything it's the only thing" wasn't all that it was cranked up to be from the driver who won the race.
Starting from the bottom on the east coast circuit Billy worked himself up to become one of the few drivers to compete in the Indianapolis 500 within a year of his so-called retirement from racing. It was no easy task for Billy in him facing like what a crumb he was earlier in the movie in his relationship with those he worked with and competed against on the race track. Now brought down to earth and at the same time humanized from his experience Billy was ready to make it to the top of the car racing world in the big race that his father Cannonball Coy lost his life in 17 years ago. That with his mom Mary, Spring Byington, and top mechanic and boss now step-father Arthur "Red" Stanley in attendance.
***SPOILERS*** Heart stopping and tremendous racing sequences especially those of the Indianapolis 500 race with a re-born as well as born-again Billy going all out to win the big race despite his car catching fires in the final lap with him in the lead. Risking a fiery death Billy floors the peddle to the medal to get to the finish line where the checked flag is waiting to be wagged as the leading car crossed it. Totally surprised and heart-felt ending with Billy and the audience, at the race track and watching the movie, finding out that the saying "Winning isn't everything it's the only thing" wasn't all that it was cranked up to be from the driver who won the race.