劲爆大瓜

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. 鈥� Kevin James fancies himself an everyman in his comedic roles. He鈥檚 worked as a mall cop and delivery driver. An unlucky zoo keeper and a retired police officer.

So it took the actor a moment to figure out how he might fit in a series set in a NASCAR garage.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how it would work as a comedy,鈥� James said.

James said the light went off -- or is it, the green flag of an idea dropped -- when the show was framed as less about the inner workings of the industry and more about the relationships of a tight-knit racing team.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the same as anything else. It鈥檚 a workplace comedy, there鈥檚 family, it鈥檚 competitive,鈥� James said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 set on the greatest stage ever. It鈥檚 insane what NASCAR is.鈥�

James stars as crew chief Kevin Gibson in Netflix鈥檚 new comedy series, 鈥淭he Crew,鈥� the latest in a line of NASCAR-themed TV shows and movies where the source material traditionally bordered on good ol鈥� boys satire or sensationalism rather than reality.

How the 鈥淭he Crew鈥� how will land in the finishing order among past vehicles like 鈥� Days of Thunder,鈥� 鈥淭alladega Nights,鈥� 鈥淐ars,鈥� 鈥淪troker Ace鈥� or even 鈥淪ix Pack鈥� remains to be seen but the stock car door is open for a contender.

鈥淧eople who don鈥檛 love NASCAR will still love it because it鈥檚 about the characters,鈥� James said.

James鈥� only taste of NASCAR growing up on Long Island, New York, were the highlights aired on 鈥� Wide World of Sports 鈥� that led him to doodle images of Richard Petty (鈥淚 remember the moustache, the glasses, the cowboy hat鈥�) on school books. James later served as the grand marshal at a handful of NASCAR races, sometimes sharing duties with celebrity friends like Adam Sandler.

James plays an old-school crew chief for the fictional Bobby Spencer Racing team at odds with a new owner (Jillian Mueller) who wants to modernize the dysfunctional team. Much like offbeat sponsors of the past such as Lightning McQueen鈥檚 Dinoco, the team fields the No. 74 Fake Steak-sponsored car. NASCAR driver Reed Sorenson, driving for Spire Motorsports, raced last season at Michigan International Speedway in the Fake Steak car for footage featured in the series.

NASCAR co-operated with the project and James was coached for the role by long-time crew chief Tony Gibson. Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon and Cole Custer are among the drivers who cameo on the show that debuts Monday.

鈥淚t鈥檚 supposed to be a lighthearted, funny, sitcom show in front of a live audience and I think they did good,鈥� Blaney said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not really trying to make us look bad, they鈥檙e just doing something that I think it鈥檚 really gonna get people watching NASCAR.鈥�

Jeff Lowell, a writer and producer of the show, t weeted the series would try and avoid the cliches that often paint NASCAR and its fans as simple-minded bumpkins or stereotypically Southern.

鈥淥ur goal is to not have it ring false to fans. And although 鈥楾alladega Nights鈥� was funny, that鈥檚 not at all the tone we鈥檙e going for,鈥� he said.

鈥淭ALLADEGA NIGHTS鈥�

Baseball, boxing, golf, most sports have scores of movies that fans can debate which is the best of the genre (鈥淔ield of Dreams鈥� vs. 鈥淏ull Durham鈥�). 鈥淭alladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby鈥� is the undisputed champ in the stock car racing niche thank to a fearless Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) who lived by the creed 鈥淚f you ain鈥檛 first, you鈥檙e last.鈥� The 2006 film followed Ricky Bobby as he went from a fervently clueless doofus to down-on-his luck driver to, well, a clueless doofus again, though with a tinge of humility. The movie spoofs everything from sponsorship -- hello, Wonder Bread -- to an unsophisticated fan base that counts dinner at Applebee鈥檚 as a big night out. So what if the movie didn鈥檛 exactly paint NASCAR in the most flattering light? Ferrell鈥檚 vulgar shake `n鈥� bake charm helped 鈥淭alladega Nights鈥� rake in $163 million.

鈥淒AYS OF THUNDER鈥�

鈥淗e didn鈥檛 slam you, he didn鈥檛 bump you, he didn鈥檛 nudge you... he 鈥榬ubbed鈥� you. And rubbin', son, is racin'.鈥� - crew chief Harry Hogge.

Tom Cruise made NASCAR sexy as Cole Trickle. 鈥淒ays of Thunder鈥� was a critically panned summer blockbuster that was largely lampooned throughout the NASCAR industry for its exaggeration and overindulgence. But it developed a cult-like following and today鈥檚 drivers grew up with a fondness for the movie. Pitbull, NASCAR鈥檚 newest team owner, credited the 1990 flick with igniting his interest in the sport.

鈥淚鈥檝e been a fan of NASCAR since the movie 鈥楧ays of Thunder鈥� when I got a chance to see what it was about,鈥� he said.

鈥淐础搁厂鈥�

Richard Petty voiced Strip 鈥淭he King鈥� Weathers and Darrell Walrip called the action as Darrell Cartrip in the animated film that followed the tale of Lightning McQueen and his good pal, Mater, on a NASCAR-inspired circuit. McQueen starts as a selfish car in his pursuit of the Piston Cup and finds a detour through Radiator Springs is what he needs to change his ways and put the town back on the map -- and get 鈥淭he King鈥� pushed to victory lane. Life-size, character look-alikes of the 鈥淐ars鈥� cars were parked at Daytona in 2017 to promote 鈥淐ars 3.鈥� (Let鈥檚 just not discuss 鈥淐ars 2.鈥�)

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Dan Gelston, The Associated Press