Fabian, Frankie and Funicello in ‘Fireball 500’ (1966)

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By 1966, teen-movie studio AIP (American International Pictures) had a big problem with the ‘beach party’ movies they’d built their name on. After hits like “Bikini Beach” and “Beach Blanket Bingo” the disappointing box-office results from “How to Stuff a Wild Bikini” meant the party was officially over. AIP took its established stars Frankie Avalon, Anette Funicello and Fabian and gave the formula a tougher, edgier feel with “Fireball 500“.

Instead of Daytona Beach this next movie would be all about Daytona International Speedway and stock-car racing.

A hot-shot racer named ‘Fireball’ Owens (Avalon) arrives in Charlotte, SC fresh off a road-racing win at Riverside Raceway in California. He’s driving a fully-customized 1966 Plymouth Barracuda and towing a sky blue, No. 43 Plymouth Belvedere race car. To earn the cash (and reputation) to race in the Daytona 500, Owens challenges and defeats local track hero, Sonny Fox (Fabian). Even Sonny’s racetrack girlfriend Jane (Funicello) is impressed with big Dave. As her eye starts to wander, this only infuriates Sonny. It’s a love triangle that can only be settled on the race track!

A wealthy track tramp named Martha persuades Dave to enter a high-dollar, cross-country night race as a test of his abilities, implying she has the resources to get him to Daytona. But foolish Dave has been tricked into running illegal moonshine and soon gets nabbed by the authorities. Caught between six-months in jail or betraying his friends and ruining his reputation, Dave is in a tough spot.

One fateful night, a fellow racer named Joey is killed while running moonshine. It seems that ‘road pirates’ intent on stealing the illegal booze, drove directly at Joey’s speeding car, forcing him to veer over a cliff to avoid the head-on collision. Despite their mutual mistrust, Owens and Fox put away their rivalry in an attempt to solve their friend’s murder and get the authorities off their backs. The themes are much darker than the ‘beach party’ movies, but AIP still found a way to shoehorn in a song each by Frankie and Anette.

While this movie could best be described as a drive-in classic, it was never going to be up for Oscar consideration. However it captures a glimpse of mid-1960s car culture and the era’s racing scene. Car customizer George Barris was called upon to build a unique ride for protagonist Avalon, similar to Fabian’s car in “Thunder Alley“. This time, it’s a red, gold metal-flake and white Plymouth with a 273 cubic inch V8 poking through the hood, a chopped-off roof, and twin windscreens. The Fireball Plymouth epitomizes the era’s style of customizing, and was so popular that scale model kits were produced.

Of course, the No. 43 Plymouth that character ‘Fireball’ Owens drove is instantly recognizable as NASCAR legend Richard Petty’s race car. Petty dominated the competition winning 13 races in 1966 alone, including the Daytona 500. It was a safe bet that pretending the star of the movie was driving Petty’s car would net a trip to victory lane for the cameraman. Beyond the footage shot at big NASCAR races, AIP had extensively filmed events at Saugus Speedway in Santa Clarita, CA, and used the footage in other films including ‘Thunder Alley‘.

These low-budget, B-movies were profitable, popular with the young generation, and highly influential. Just watch Quentin Tarantino’s direction of the fight scene between Brad Pitt and Bruce Lee in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and you’ll see the same shots from when Frankie and Fabian beat the hell out of each other in “Fireball 500” right down to throwing the other guy into a car door.

AIP had shifted gears from the beach and surfing to cars and motor racing. The only downside was how horrifying the racing scenes are. Director William Asher strung together every crash, flip and fire as if those occurred on every lap around the racetrack. And this was all before the golden age of car-crash movies even began in the 1970’s. It was a great time to be a gearhead.

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