Andretti and his son, Michael Andretti, also a top Indy-car driver, do this with the help of plenty of other drivers. With the IMAX camera mounted to their cars, the Andrettis raced with the others at more than 200 mph in practices before real races. To ride with this movie is to understand a little better the incredible speeds involved, from both the cars and the drivers' decision-making processes. IMAX filmmakers are on a constant quest to find new and exciting ways to use the IMAX image. After all, there are only so many times you can draw even the most enthusiastic viewers back with shots from an airplane flying over a cliff.
Car racing proves to be a natural, though very difficult subject for the IMAX format.
At 48 minutes, Super Speedway is one of the longest IMAX films, and it crams a lot into its running time, telling several stories as it unfolds. One deals with the attempt to restore an almost totally deteriorated 1964 roadster, which had been stored in an old barn for decades. Another concerns how a modern race car is designed, modeled and built. Finally, there is a biographical story of Mario Andretti, his remarkable career, and his thoughts and feelings on racing. It sounds like a movie only a race fan could love, and there can be no doubt that a love of racing will heighten a viewer's appreciation.