Life in the fast lane

Fierce rivalry, diverse personalities and the sort of danger that causes the average person to burrow into the safety of cubicles and suburban homes—it’s the stuff that ancient storytellers and Hollywood filmmakers feed on.

When all of those elements are found in auto racing, however, Hollywood tends to cower from the inherent drama and find only caricature. The film capital has turned the ethos that compels someone to slide behind the wheel of a monster on asphalt into farce, such as “Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo" or the hilarious “Talladega Nights.” They reduce the heroic to made-...