Hiddenite’s Annabeth Barnes will be among those featured in “Racing Dreams.” The award-winning film airs at 9 p.m., Feb. 23, on PBS. It is a dramatic, funny and sometimes heartbreaking look at the world of NASCAR culture as lived by three young go-kart drivers and their families.
Directed by Marshall Curry and executive produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the film follows Barnes, 16, as well as Josh Hobson and Brandon Warren, as they compete in the World Karting Association’s National Pavement Series, a yearlong national championship of five races around the country. These races were breeding ground for NASCAR Sprint Cup stars Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and others.
Barnes has racing in her blood. Her relatives have raced cars “since back in the moonshine days,” she explains. The love of speed has particular significance at her age. “When you are 11 or 12, your whole life is filled with people telling you what to do. But when you’re racing, you make your own decisions…You’re totally independent.”
As the tour unfolds, Barnes, Hobson and Warren step from the sheltered world of childhood into adolescence, discovering romance for the first time, questioning their relationships with their parents and glimpsing the serious obstacles that can threaten their ability to achieve their dreams.
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