You ever notice how in a lot of car movies the actual cars and racing are relegated to being background plot points? Bobby Deerfield, which we recently discussed, is a fine example. That’s not always the case, as there have been movies like LeMans, Grand Prix, and Rush that put the racing and the cars front and center. And, you can add to that latter category the 2012 independent film CLUTCH. Here’s the synopsis straight from the film’s Website:

Inspired by classic car movies like the original GONE in 60 SECONDS, TWO LANE BLACKTOP, GRAND PRIX, BULLITT and LeMANS- Actor/ racer turned filmmaker Jay Rowlands wanted to bring gearheads around the world more of what they really want to see in the movies: Real cars. Real drivers. Real action.
CLUTCH is a full feature length dramatic action film telling the story of a struggling small town racer who finds out there are no short cuts to victory lane. Race driver Travis Engels risks his life, friends and freedom when he takes a wrong turn in his attempts to support his racing. CLUTCH is a full throttle effort to tell a story about the truth and integrity of basic humanity while combining the elements of action, romance, comedy and human emotion.
Filmed entirely in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and packed with the most popular American muscle cars ever! CLUTCH is a tribute to the Hollywood car films of the 60′s and 70′s. The movie has been created and produced by Jay Rowlands with people who share his passion for fast cars and making movies!

A muscle car maniac himself, Jay Rowlands didn’t just direct the movie, he also wrote it, did a lot of the driving in it, and plays the lead role of Travis. He shot it on a shoestring budget (about $5.3 million) but the racing action highlighted in the trailer shows you that the money was used in the best possible manner. Check it out after the jump.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/x8KupAUczy4[/youtube]
You can’t stream CLUTCH but you can buy it from the filmmaker’s Website. Yeah it’s a low-budget flick, but it does have a 7.8 rating on IMDB and isn’t it worth twenty bucks to encourage more car movies like this?
Image: YouTube