Talladega Nights Trivia
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60 free Talladega Nights trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby was sold to studios with a six-word pitch, 'Will Ferrell as a NASCAR driver', and turned into a $163 million hit that NASCAR drivers still quote over team radio. This Talladega Nights trivia quiz covers the whole ballad: Ricky's birth in the back of a Chevelle, 'if you ain't first, you're last', the Slingshot, Jean Girard's Perrier car, the cougar, Applebee's, the ME car and the kiss at the finish line, plus the cast behind Cal, Reese, Lucius, Carley, Lucy, Susan and Gregory. The easy end asks what Ricky named his sons and who plays Girard. The hard end asks which working title the film briefly carried, where Ferrell and Reilly learned to drive stock cars, which pit-crew member faked his death, and which author Lucy is reading to the boys after the credits. Every answer has been checked against a source and each question shows its citation and a short explanation once you answer. If you ain't first, you can always retry.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Ricky Bobby is born in the back seat of which speeding car in the opening scene of Talladega Nights?
A Chevrolet Chevelle
A Chevrolet Chevelle, driven so fast that Reese overshoots the hospital; years later he roars away from his one visit to Ricky's school in a Chevelle too.
Q 02Which word completes Reese Bobby's career-day advice to Ricky, 'If you ain't first, you're ___'?
Last
Last, a motto the grown-up Ricky tells a TV reporter is trademarked and not to be used without the permission of Ricky Bobby Inc.
Q 03Ricky gets his first drive when Dennit driver Terry Cheveaux climbs out mid-race, saying he needs what?
A bathroom break
A bathroom break is only the start: Cheveaux is next seen eating a chicken sandwich and planning a phone call, so Ricky takes the car and finishes third.
Q 04How does Ricky meet his future wife Carley?
She flashes him after a win
She flashes him after a win, and the marriage lasts only as long as the winning: once his career stalls she tells him it has been over for a long, long time.
Q 05What is the name of the drafting move that makes Ricky and Cal an unstoppable duo?
The Slingshot
The Slingshot has Cal let Ricky draft up behind him and whip past for the win, which is why Cal always finishes second and quietly longs to be slung to a victory himself.
Q 06What catchphrase have Ricky and Cal shared since their schooldays and still shout on the track?
Shake and Bake
Shake and Bake fires Cal up, he says, because 'it rhymes, they're both verbs'; an unimpressed Girard calls it nonsense.
Q 07Jean Girard arrives at Dennit Racing from which motorsport series?
Formula One
Formula One's self-declared greatest driver is hired by Larry Dennit Jr. to win a points title and to show Ricky that he is the team's past.
Q 08Which actor plays Ricky's French rival Jean Girard?
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Baron Cohen's Girard makes his entrance by pinning Ricky to a bar pool table and, when Ricky refuses to back down, breaking his arm.
Q 09In Talladega Nights' theatrical cut, what is Girard's retirement dream?
To design a currency for dogs and cats
To design a currency for dogs and cats, in Stockholm, is the theatrical plan; the unrated cut swaps in taming Komodo dragons in Sri Lanka and teaching them to perform Hamlet.
Q 10Which water brand sponsors Jean Girard's #55 car?
Perrier
Perrier's #55 is soon the fastest thing at Dennit Racing, and Girard replaces Ricky as the team's top driver.
Q 11In the dinner-table grace scene, which version of Jesus does Ricky insist on praying to?
Baby Jesus
Baby Jesus is his pick, he tells an exasperated Carley, because he likes the Christmas Jesus best and he is the one saying grace.
Q 12What are the names of Ricky and Carley's two sons?
Walker and Texas Ranger
Walker and Texas Ranger are no accident, Carley says: had the couple wanted wussies, they would have named the boys Dr. Quinn and Medicine Woman.
Q 13What job does Ricky take after Dennit fires him?
Delivering pizzas
Delivering pizzas gets harder once he loses his licence and must go by bus and bicycle; one order turns out to be a ruse by his long-lost father to meet him.
Q 21In the post-credits scene of Talladega Nights, Lucy reads a story by which Southern author to her grandsons?
William Faulkner
William Faulkner prompts a seminar: the once-feral boys debate whether the bear in the story stands for the old South, and one is praised for his analysis.
Q 22Which brand's logo covers Ricky's #26 car during his rise to the top of NASCAR?
Wonder Bread
Wonder Bread's new owners put the logo on Kurt Busch's real car at Talladega in 2013, in a scheme modelled on Ricky's, to relaunch the brand.
Q 23Which deodorant brand sponsors Cal's #47 car?
Old Spice
Old Spice, like every brand on the film's fictional cars, had to be approved by NASCAR, which also helped the production land its sponsorship deals.
Q 14What does Reese put in the car with Ricky to help him rediscover his nerve?
A live cougar
A live cougar is the most frightening passenger Reese can think of, so staying calm beside one is his way of teaching Ricky to drive with the fear.
Q 15At which restaurant chain does Reese cause trouble before abandoning the family again?
Applebee's
Applebee's gets the last word too: with everything finally perfect, the reunited family decides to go and get thrown out of one together.
Q 16Why does Reese disown his career-day advice to Ricky?
He was high on drugs when he said it
He was high on drugs when he said it, Reese shrugs, pointing out that a driver can perfectly well come second, third, fourth or even fifth.
Q 17Which single word is emblazoned on Ricky's unsponsored comeback car at Talladega?
ME
ME, Susan explains, because with no corporate sponsor or team owner it is just him out there; Kurt Busch ran the same paint scheme at Talladega in 2012.
Q 18What does Girard confess to Ricky before the final race?
He came to America hoping to lose
He came to America hoping to lose, Girard admits, since only defeat by a truly better driver will let him retire; even so, he refuses to throw the race.
Q 19Which snack brand's sticker covers Ricky's windshield at Lowe's Motor Speedway because he sold the space?
Fig Newtons
Fig Newtons earn his loyalty even mid-race: the sticker, he admits, is dangerous and inconvenient, but he does love them.
Q 20How does Ricky respond when Girard offers a handshake at the finish line?
He kisses him on the lips
He kisses him on the lips, a callback to the eve of their first race, when Girard offered to leave NASCAR for good in exchange for exactly that.
Q 24Girard's husband Gregory is described as a world-class trainer of what?
German shepherds
German shepherds come up in a mock TV profile of Girard, which notes that Gregory is 'no stay-at-home spouse' and that the driver's world-class horses are also gay.
Q 25Which actor plays Ricky's crew chief and close friend Lucius Washington?
Michael Clarke Duncan
Michael Clarke Duncan's Lucius deals in hard truths, from telling Ricky a win was 'some of the dumbest driving I have ever seen' to breaking the news that he can walk.
Q 26At the dinner table, one of Ricky's sons warns his grandfather Chip that he is 'all jacked up on' what?
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew is his excuse for joining a tirade at Chip that their father applauds, on the grounds that winners get to do what they want.
Q 27Which pit-crew member supposedly died working on the car, then admitted faking it to motivate Ricky?
Glenn
Glenn, forever being told to shut up, is mourned with the dying words 'Tell Ricky, win for me' moments before Ricky spots him alive; the crew wanted to give him extra motivation.
Q 28Which actor plays Ricky's absentee father Reese Bobby?
Gary Cole
Gary Cole's Reese comes back only because Lucy phones him for help, years after janitors threw him out of his one visit to Ricky's school.
Q 29Which actress plays Susan, Ricky's assistant and eventual love interest?
Amy Adams
Amy Adams gets the film's big speech: Susan tells Ricky he is a driver, not a thinker, and talks him back into racing at Talladega.
Q 30Who plays Ricky's disciplinarian mother Lucy Bobby?
Jane Lynch
Jane Lynch's Lucy takes in Ricky and his unruly sons once he has lost everything, and makes reforming the boys her mission.