Ricky Bobby is a national hero with a "smokin'; hot" trophy wife, pair of borderline-abusively precocious sons. His racing partner and lifelong friend Cal Naughton, Jr., never fails to provide him with a hand on the racetrack, frequently performing their trademark "slingshot" maneuver to shoot Ricky into first place, leaving Cal in second. When flamboyant French Formula One driver Jean Girard challenges "Shake" and "Bake" for the supremacy of NASCAR, Ricky Bobby must face his own demons and fight Girard for the right to be known as racing';s top driver.