American Nitro (1979) - ripper car movies

The sensory delight that is Nitro Funny Car and dragster racing will be familiar to many Street Machine readers, and Bill Kimberlin’s feature-length 1979 documentary American Nitro attempts to capture that experience on celluloid.

First published in the June 2025 issue of Street Machine

Primarily filmed at the now long-defunct Fremont Dragstrip in California, the doco paints a vivid picture of the sheer intensity and passion that racers and fans alike had for the Funny Car class at this time, underscored by interviews with some of the biggest names and show-people of the sport, right at the point where many of them were cementing their now-legendary status.

Don ‘The Snake’ Prudhomme and Tom ‘The Mongoose’ McEwen feature heavily, both delving into not only the physically and financially demanding aspects of racing, but also the up-and-down emotional thrill and toll that comes with success and the pressure to stay on top.

The intense off-track car preparation and all-immersive lifestyle of pro-level drag racing is nicely detailed, and the depictions of last-minute panic repairs between rounds illustrate the extreme commitment required to taste glory.

Along with the big names, there’s also interviews with some of the behind-the-scenes movers and shakers who were instrumental in getting these cars track-ready – people like innovative chassis builder Jaime Sarte, paint maestro ‘Wild Bill’ Carter, and legendary engine builder Ed Pink. The pioneering women of the sport aren’t forgotten, with ‘the first lady of drag racing’ Shirley ‘Cha Cha’ Muldowney and track icon ‘Jungle Pam’ Hardy also featured.

It’s not all just showboating, beer chugging and skimpy T-shirts, though. There’s a pretty brash and fiery crash ’n’ burn sequence, along with more light-hearted jet car demos, racing tanks and wheelstanders, and even a crazy stuntman/nutcase who straps a hang glider to his motorbike to woo the huge crowds!.

VERDICT: 4.5/5

Being a nostalgia buff, I enjoyed American Nitro as much for its depiction of a bygone era as for the awesome racing action, and the grainy 1970s film stock makes the on-track thrills and spills feel all the more gritty and ‘real’. Sadly, a number of the legends featured here have since passed, so the film serves as both a great documentary and a poignant snapshot of these iconic racers in their prime.

VEHICLES:

1978 Plymouth Arrow
1978 Chevrolet Corvette
1977 Chevrolet Monza
1977 Dodge Charger
1948 Ford Anglia
1974 Chevrolet C30 Crew Cab
1967 Chevrolet Nova
1970 Dodge Dart
1977 Chevrolet Vega

DIRECTOR:
Bill Kimberlin

ACTION:
Smoky burnouts, wheelstands and fiery drag strip explosions, and even a nutter jumping a hang glider-equipped motorbike!

PLOT:
Golden-era documentary capturing the chaos, flamboyance and raw excitement of 1970s Funny Car drag racing, featuring the drivers, crews and crowds.

COOL FLICK FACT:
American Nitro kicked off a very healthy film career for director Bill Kimberlin, who went on to edit the visual effects in classics like the Back to the Future trilogy, Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan.

AVAILABLE:
Streaming, DVD.

MORE All car movie reviews