I agree that Grand Prix and Le Mans are probably the best racing movies to come out of Hollywood, and Winning wasn't bad either. Driven was junk, and Days of Thunder was pretty silly in a lot of places. None of them had outstanding plots, but Grand Prix and Le Mans had a lot of great racing cinematography, and Winning had some good racing footage too as well as probably the best plot of the bunch.
But the best racing movie ever made didn't come out of Hollywood. It was a documentary made in 1972 by a guy named Michael Keyser. It's called "The Speed Merchants".
This movie has some incredibly raw, compelling in-car footage of the Targa Florio - so raw, in fact, that when I saw it in the theatre in Watkins Glen after its initial release, I could hear people throwing up! Apparently the big-screen experience of whipping past stone walls and donkeys and little villages right next to the roads in Sicily was a little too real for some people!
Along with lots of footage of the Ferrari 312P (one of the most beautiful - and beautiful-sounding - race cars ever built) The Speed Merchants also has interviews with a number of great drivers throughout the 1972 season, including Mario Andretti, Vic Elford, Jacky Ickx, Helmut Marko, and Brian Redman.
A lot of very interesting things happen during the '72 season - along with a few tragic things. Hearing about them from the drivers' own perspective, in their own words, creates more drama than any fictional racing movie I've ever seen.
It ends with one of the most exciting races I ever saw, the 6-hour at Watkins Glen in 1972. The final hour comprises a flat-out duel between two of the Ferraris, both of them wounded - and both of them being driven absolutely on the limit, turning laps faster than their qualifying laps, repeatedly breaking the lap record. I watched this race in person, and it was stunning. Keyser captures every bit of the excitement and tension of that race in this film.
You can get this movie on DVD or VHS, although AFAIK it's not available from major retailers like Amazon at this time. You have to buy it from Michael Keyser himself. Just Google the name "michael keyser" and look for his autosports marketing company. Believe me, it's worth it!
BTW, Keyser also wrote several books, including a book by the same name.
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