Read what critics have to say about Racing Dreams, a documentary that chronicles a year in the life of three tweens who dream of becoming NASCAR drivers…

Curry and his team of editors keep things moving at a breakneck pace, and the more the movie methodically rotates through its story lines, the less it settles into a spontaneous, lifelike rhythm. Yet poised between childhood and adolescence, arrogance and insecurity, the kids still make for compelling subjects.”

— Eric Hynes, Time Out New York

The journey is thrilling—even if, on some level, you know that these kids are going in circles.”

— David Edelstein, New York Magazine

Absorbing… Racing Dreams is one of the rare documentaries you leave wishing it was a little bit longer.”
Stephen Holden, The New York Times

Marshall Curry’s outstanding documentary won’t just entertain your family for a little while. It’ll also inspire everyone to find a new passion”
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

For casual race fans, Racing Dreams is a real eye-opener. And it’s a darned entertaining way to get a handle on a sport that can seem like a bunch of cars doing circles for a crowd that seems most interested in seeing that next epic wreck”
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Half lean, mean racing saga and half in-depth character study, “Racing Dreams” is a dynamite docu…”
Ronnie Scheib, Variety

Slick without feeling over-determined, Racing Dreams evokes — just as, oddly enough, Toy Story 3 does — the more general feeling of childhood on the precipice.”
Michelle Orange, Movieline

…Curry has expertly stitched together a 90-minute triumph in crowd-pleasing, wholesome entertainment, finely showcasing the intricacies of the sport…as well as intimately dissecting the tumultuous, blossoming lives of these three highly impressionable yet precocious racers.”
Adam Keleman, Slant Magazine

Racing Dreams succeeds not just as a snapshot of sporting life in 21st-century America, but as a trackside dream notebook and Rorschach blot.”
— Jeff MacGregor,ESPN.com

Marshall Curry’s film is rich in humor and heartbreak, wryly observant…Make a pit stop to see it.”
Kyle Smith, New York Post

Racing Dreams, like all first-rate sports movies, is less about who wins and loses than it is about people striving to be the best at what they do in order to transcend the limitations of their lives”
— Steven Hyden, AVClub.com

The end result is a tight, fast-paced, engaging film that had people — myself included — tapping their feet in the aisles and laughing, smiling, and crying in their seats. Make no mistake about it: This one’s an instant classic.”
— Scott Feinberg, Los Angeles Times (The Envelope)


Fondly described as “Talladega Nights meets Catcher in the Rye,” Racing Dreams chronicles a year in the life of three tweens who dream of becoming NASCAR drivers. Though they aren’t old enough for driver’s licenses, Brandon, Josh and Annabeth race extreme go-karts at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour in the World Karting Association’s National Pavement Series, the “Little League” of professional racing. The film by Marshall Curry (Oscar®-nominated Street Fight, POV 2005; Oscar®-nominated If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, POV 2011) is a humorous and heartbreaking portrait of racing, young love and family struggle.

Watch Racing Dreams on television this Thursday, February 23, 2012, at 9PM on PBS stations. Check local listings.

Published by

POV Staff
POV (a cinema term for "point of view") is television's longest-running showcase for independent non-fiction films. POV premieres 14-16 of the best, boldest and most innovative programs every year on PBS. Since 1988, POV has presented over 400 films to public television audiences across the country. POV films are known for their intimacy, their unforgettable storytelling and their timeliness, putting a human face on contemporary social issues.