Thunder in Carolina is a 1960 stock car racing film directed by Paul Helmick and starring Rory Calhoun, Alan Hale, Jr., and Connie Hines.
A stock-car veteran (Rory Calhoun) teaches a grease monkey to race in the Southern 500 in Darlington, S.C. All filming was done during 1959 with much of the footage taken during the actual event.
A film car was entered to capture on-track sequences and Rory Calhoun actually ran some laps during the race.
Calhoun drives a two-tone 1957 Chevrolet, with a blue body and white top, while his friend-turned-competitor "Les York" is in a 1959 Oldsmobile.
The film is a "B" grade production in terms of budget but Thunder in Carolina managed to capture much of the sound and fury of the era.