Born to Race (1988 film)

Born to Race
Directed byJames Fargo
Written byMary Janeway Bullians
Dennis McGee
Produced byAndrew Bullians
Jean Bullians
Nicholas Longhurst
StarringJoseph Bottoms
Marla Heasley
Robert Logan
George Kennedy
Marc Singer
CinematographyBernard Salzmann
Edited byThomas Stanford
Tony Lombardo
Music byEd Grenga
Ross Vannelli
Production
company
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • January 29, 1988 (1988-01-29)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$4.5 million[1]

Born to Race is a 1988 film directed by James Fargo. It stars Joseph Bottoms and Marla Heasley.[2]

Plot

Al Pagura is a NASCAR driver who wants to win. He finds out that a beautiful Italian auto engineer is trying to sell her new engine. At the same time, rival team owner Vincent Dupalin kidnaps her so his driver Kenny Landruff can win. Al and his pit crew rescue her. In the last race at Charlotte, Landruff passes Al on the last lap and just when it seems he is going to win, his engine blows and he hits the wall. Al wins as Dupalin is arrested while Landruff is airlifted to the hospital.

Cast

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was written by Ross Vannelli and Ed Grenga.[3] The soundtrack includes couple of instrumental pieces but mainly songs performed by well-known artists of the 1980s. Some of the songs were later reused in the 1989 film Speed Zone and released on its soundtrack album.

  • "Born to Race" (Title Song) - James House. Written by Ross Vannelli & Ed Grenga.
  • "Nothing Else But Love" - Richard Marx. Written by Ross Vannelli & Richard Marx.
  • "Surrender to Me" - Joe Pizzulo & Terry Wood. Written by Richard Marx & Ross Vannelli.
  • "Perfect Crime" - Rocky Burnette (credited "Rocky Burnett"). Written by Ross Vannelli & Ed Grenga.
  • "Do It for the Money" - Ross Vannelli. Written by Ross Vannelli & Ed Grenga.
  • "Andrea (My Heart's on Fire)" - Written by Ross Vannelli, Ed Grenga, and Gloria Sklerov.
  • "Message to You" - Terry Wood. Written by Ross Vannelli, Ed Grenga, and Gloria Sklerov.

References

  1. ^ "Box office takings in North America, 1988-1999". The Economics Network. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  2. ^ "Born to Race (1988) - James Fargo | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  3. ^ "Born to Race (1988)". IMDb. Retrieved 15 December 2025.