Stopping briefly in a small Texas town, an itinerant race car driver finds that his stock car, on a trailer behind his motor home, has just been quickly and expertly stripped. He chases down the miscreants, who turn out to be six orphan children. He has no recourse to the law, for the corrupt local sheriff takes most of the proceeds of their thievery in exchange for not putting them in an orphanage. They are charming rogues who are in turn charmed by him. Disliking their arrangement with the sheriff, they stow away with him, and he finds himself becoming a reluctant stepfather. Thanks to their enthusiasm and incredible mechanical know-how, he begins to make a name for himself on the racing circuit. But the sheriff doesn't take kindly to losing his extra income...
Acting
Anthony Michael Hall as the nerdiest 12-year-old mechanic ever committed to film.
Practical Effects
Real stock car footage, zero CGI, all practical racing stunts.
Director
Daniel Petrie
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Kenny Rogers' first starring film role after his TV movie success; he reportedly did his own driving stunts until insurance intervened.
The film's NASCAR setting capitalized on the sport's 1980s mainstream explosion, with real drivers like Richard Petty making cameo appearances as themselves.
US
