TALLADEGA — Twenty years after the movie "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" became an instant classic, the track the movie is named for is planning to honor the anniversary of its release.
During the fall 2026 race weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, starting Friday, Oct. 23, a couple of events will honor the film. Four cast members, Greg Germann, David Koechner, Ian Roberts and Grayson Russell, will give the command to start the Love's Truck Stop 225 on Friday.
After the race, the movie will be shown in the infield at Big Bill's. On Saturday, the cast members will help judge the bi-annual mullet contest the track holds.
Talladega Superspeedway will try to set a world record for the largest gatherings of Ricky Bobby's following the O'Reilly Series race on Saturday. During the night's concert, which Russell will open, there will be a cast reunion. It is unclear how many cast members will be involved beyond the four previously listed, or if stars like Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly or Sacha Baron Cohen will make any appearances. They have not been listed on any promotional post.
Russell is a native of Chilton County, Alabama; about an hour and half from the track.
On Sunday, there will be a meet and greet and some of the cast will be involved with pre-race introductions ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500. The race starts at 2 p.m. CT.
Maxwell Donaldson covers high school sports, Jax State athletics, the outdoors in Alabama and more for the Gadsden Times and USA TODAY Network. Find him on Twitter/X @_Max_Donaldson and contact him at MDonaldson@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: How NASCAR plans to honor 20th anniversary of "Talladega Nights" movie