Six Pack (1982)

This charming, if dated, race car and kid-centric comedy was never going to win any awards upon its initial release, but nonetheless stands as a funny and very 1980’s coming of age/sports film starring country star Kenny Rogers as down and out race car driver Brewster Baker. Facing a failing career after two years off the pro racing circuit with no prospects of turning it around, Rogers— in his first lead major motion picture role— finds himself on the skids in Texas where he encounters a group of six orphaned ne’er do wells who strip his car for parts as part of a thievery ring they secretly run on behalf of the local sheriff, Big John. Rogers busts the kids’ scheme after a subsequent theft he witnesses, but rather than turn them in to the sheriff they are secretly working for, he reluctantly befriends them, which kicks off a series of hilarious hijinks, races and road trips together as the kids rally around Rogers to get him— quite literally— back on track and in the winning circle again, all the while endearing themselves to the rambling loner they come to look at as a father figure AND escaping the long arm of Big John along the way. Though mostly filmed in Georgia, a few small but significant scenes were filmed in Birmingham as Rogers and company travel across the Southeast on their way to their final destination for the Atlanta 500 where the film ends. Featuring sequences at the now defunct Birmingham International Raceway at the Alabama State Fairgrounds in Five Points West, street shots of the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center and Birmingham Transit Authority, and even an old school Magic City street car (remember those?), the movie helped highlight racing culture in Jefferson County during a time when it was still a very popular sport and happened with frequency at the fairgrounds. Like a cross between Bad News Bears and Smokey and The Bandit, the film is a heartwarming tale of oil-soaked adolescent crime and personal renewal with The Gambler in his prime. What’s not to love?

FUN FACT: The theme song to the film, “Love Will Turn You Around”, which was recorded and co-written by Rogers, was a #1 country and adult contemporary hit, and peaked at #13 on the pop chart the year of the film’s release. 

Trailer Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXseWz8zZxo