Have you ever wondered what goes into the making of a professional race car driver? Where do they get their start, what is the energy like, and what are these racers actually thinking or feeling about as they push through life and career pitfalls? Racing Dreams, a documentary film by Marshall Curry takes you through a year-long journey of three tween-teen NASCAR hopefuls. They start their journey racing high-speed go-karts (think 70-M.P.H Go-Karts!), in NASCAR sanctioned championships.
The documentary follows three tweens, Josh Hobson (12), Annabeth Barnes, (11) and Brandon Warren (13) as they each take their dreams to the race track in a year long struggle with achieving national championship status, relationships with family and friends, securing sponsors to help with racing costs and of course, there is school. It is described as “Talladega Nights meets Catcher in the Rye“.
While you watch these three kids working towards their dreams, you will see their determination as inspiration. Josh gets an opportunity to meet Jeff Gordon and becomes more focused and determined to get where he needs to go to achieve his goals and dreams. Annabeth states that she hopes to be the next Danica Patrick and be the first woman to win the Daytona 500, is experiencing normal teen-age girl behaviors…and has developed an interest in…boys. She also loves beating the boys as it is such a male-dominated sport. And then there is Brandon, the one who, through his own personal struggles (parents wrestling with drug addiction….is living with his grandparents) faces disqualifications and has a little bit of a temper that he must keep under control.
Watch Racing Dreams – Trailer on PBS. See more from POV.
It is a film where you can see how each of these kids have the same passion for racing but the outcomes are of their own doings. It is a great documentary to watch with your kids as it will not only thrill you, but it will show children that it is ok to have a dream that you are passionate about and how there are different steps in which you need to take to achieve the best outcome. It will show kids that through hard work, dedication, and passion for what you love to do, you can achieve any dream, big or small. We watched this documentary as a family, and all three of my own children thought it was inspiring and entertaining. It is definitely a film all parents can relate to on some level.
Where are the kids now?
Josh Hobson, is now a senior in high school and maintains a 4.0 grade average. He hopes to attend college next year. He has raced in a full sized car in the ASA Late Model racing series.
Annabeth Barnes, now in the 11th grade and is racing full sized late-model stock cars against adult drivers. She continues to work towards being the first female driver in the Daytona 500. Annabeth will be at the 5th Annual NASCAR Diversity Awards Luncheon, presented by NASCAR Diversity Affairs on Wednesday, February 22, 2012. She is still, living the dream.
Brandon Warren now 18, has not raced since the season chronicled in Racing Dreams but is considering joining the military when he graduates. In 2010 he was Lieutenant Colonel of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program at his high school.
Racing Dreams, winner of the Best Documentary Feature Award at the Tribeca Film Festival and executive-produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has its national broadcast premiere on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012, at 9 p.m. as a special broadcast on PBS’s POV (Point of View) series. (Check local listings.) American television’s longest-running independent documentary series, POV is the winner of a Special Emmy for Excellence in Television Documentary Filmmaking, two International Documentary Association IDA Awards for Best Continuing Series and NALIP’s Corporate Commitment to Diversity Award.
Credits:
Director/Producer: Marshall Curry
Producer: Bristol Baughan
Executive Producers: Jack Turner, Ben Goldhirsh, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia
Cinematographers: Marshall Curry, Peter Gordon, Wolfgang Held, Alan Jacobsen
Editors: Marshall Curry, Matthew Hamachek, Mary Manhardt
Original Music: Joel Goodman, The National
Running Time: 86:46
POV Series Credits:
Executive Producer: Simon Kilmurry
Co-Executive Producer: Cynthia López
Vice President, Production and Programming: Chris White
Series Producer: Yance Ford
