This Isn’t Just About a Finish Line

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MOVIE REVIEW
American Thunder: NASCAR to Le Mans
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Genre: Documentary, Sports
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 1h 37m
Director(s): Brad Lockhart
Where to Watch: available on Prime Video June 12, 2025

RAVING REVIEW: There’s something undeniably satisfying about watching a mismatched underdog try to make its mark in a space where it isn’t wanted. That’s the spark that drives this documentary, a film that dares to ask whether bold ideas can stand against legacy. Built on equal parts vision and persistence, it explores what happens when American racing tradition is dropped into an arena defined by precision, endurance, and expectation. This isn’t a story about winning a race. It’s about redefining the stakes.

The project centers on a car designed for speed bursts on American ovals, where turning right is the biggest obstacle, reimagined to survive one of the most intense tests in motorsport history: a 24-hour road race built for prototypes and endurance machines. That transformation is at the film's heart, but it’s not told with fanfare or overhyped drama. Instead, the story moves with the same deliberate rhythm as the build itself—step by step, complication by complication, guided by engineering grit and unshakeable belief.

Rather than overwhelm viewers with technical jargon, the documentary focuses on what those changes mean in practice. Upgraded brakes, aerodynamic tweaks, improved fuel systems—these aren’t just checkboxes on a spec sheet. Each adjustment reflects a challenge met and a risk taken. What makes the process compelling is how grounded it feels. The build is treated less like a showcase and more like a high-stakes rehearsal, where every solution uncovers another potential flaw.

That human element is where the story gains most of its traction. The team’s three drivers are more than just names on a lineup—they become anchors, each offering a distinct voice in the project’s evolution. Their personalities create a balance: one is analytical, another is grounded in legacy, and the third brings a curiosity that is sharpened by experience outside this world. Rather than padding their presence with exposition or dramatic narration, the film allows their reflections and off-hand insights to speak for themselves.

The documentary doesn’t quite push as hard as it could regarding the politics behind the innovation. There's a brief mention of testing access, and eyebrows are raised about whether the team had more tools than others, but these threads are left dangling. Diving into those questions could have added a welcome layer of depth, especially since racing—like any other industry—isn’t just about speed, access, and fairness.

Another limitation is the story’s reluctance to look forward. The implication is clear: this wasn’t just about one race. It was meant to serve as a catalyst, possibly sparking changes in how stock cars are built, tested, or perceived globally. But none of that is explored beyond suggestion. There’s no follow-up, no peek at how this moment influenced future races or engineering directions. For a film that prides itself on transformation, it’s oddly hesitant to explore the aftermath.

The overall structure leans heavily on the philosophy of endurance. Instead of building up toward a climax, the narrative settles into a rhythm. It reflects the nature of the race: long, unpredictable, and reliant on teamwork and stamina. The drama isn't flashy; it’s built into the silence between decisions, the creak of tools, and the look exchanged between crew members when a solution clicks into place.

The film succeeds most in presenting ambition without arrogance. It doesn’t pretend that its team is out to revolutionize anything. Instead, it shows a group of professionals testing their limits and stepping outside of what they know. That humility allows the audience to connect without being asked to cheer for dominance or superiority. The car wasn’t trying to win Le Mans—it was trying to belong there.

By the end, what lingers isn’t a climactic victory shot or shots of awards. It’s the image of a car doing what it wasn’t designed to do, in a place it was never meant to be, powered by the sheer will of people who refused to accept that limitation. That’s not just an engineering win—it’s a storytelling one. This documentary may not aim for loud, dramatic spectacle. Still, it hits its mark by focusing on resilience, growth, and the audacity of trying something that’s never been done like this. It’s not about rewriting the rulebook but proving you have every right to write a line.

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[photo courtesy of PRIME VIDEO]

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