Soderbergh now Nascar fan

Steven Soderbergh was never a big NASCAR fan but the Academy Award winning director has become one after working on his new film Logan Lucky, depicting a theoretical heist at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Coca-Cola 600.

As soon as the trailer for the film was released, it quickly became a top trending topic on Twitter.

“NASCAR was kind of mystery to me,” Soderbergh said in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday prior to the start of the Coca-Cola 600. “I only had a very superficial knowledge of it. … I knew the big names. I would watch the Daytona 500, but I wasn’t following it.

“But the fun of this project has been learning a new sport and talking to people at all levels of the sport about the various layers that are underneath the superficial layer that someone like me would see when they watch the race on television.”

Soderbergh said he found NASCAR drivers to be fun and “very unpretentious.” Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson all have cameos in the movie, though none play NASCAR drivers.

Busch, for instance, plays a state trooper.

“The complete lack of cynicism was refreshing, because in my business you run into people who have a jaded attitude about what they’re doing,” Soderbergh said. “It’s fun to talk to people that are that engaged.”

Channing Tatum stars in Logan Lucky, which will premiere on