#1 NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby (Ferrell) stays atop the heap thanks to a pact with his best friend and teammate, Cal Naughton, Jr. (Reilly). But when a French Formula One driver (Cohen), makes his way up the ladder, Ricky Bobby's talent and devotion are put to the test.

(Ferrell) was born to "go fast". He was born in the back seat of his race car-driving father's Chevelle in the town of West River, North Carolina. He was raised by his mother Lucy Bobby (Jane Lynch). Reese Bobby (Gary Cole), his alcoholic, "pot-dealing daddy", wasn't around. One morning, while his mother goes into the grocery store to get some milk ("get some whiskey and pull her hair out" in a deleted scene) Ricky climbs into the driver's seat and, using a whiffle ball bat to press the pedals, takes his mother's station wagon on a high-speed joy ride.