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S1.E2

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Need for Weed

Episode aired Oct 6, 2021
TV-MA

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Randy Lanier in Bad Sport (2021)

Crime Documentary Mystery Sport

Hippie and small time pot dealer Randy Lanier finds his passion for auto racing by taking his weed racket to new heights.Hippie and small time pot dealer Randy Lanier finds his passion for auto racing by taking his weed racket to new heights.Hippie and small time pot dealer Randy Lanier finds his passion for auto racing by taking his weed racket to new heights.

Director
- Miles Blayden-Ryall
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Director
- Miles Blayden-Ryall
Stars

3User reviews
2Critic reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos

Top cast15

Self - Professional Race Car Driver

Self - Randy's Friend & Business Associate

Self - Randy's Wife

Charles Podesta

Self - 'Frontman' & Bookkeeper

Self - Crew Chief
(as Keith Leyton)

Self - Professional Race Car Driver
(archive footage)

David Hasselhoff

Self - Actor & Race Car Team Co-Owner
(archive footage)

Self - Race Car Team Owner
(archive footage)

Self - Randy's Guard Dog
(archive footage)

Self - ABC Sports Commentator
(archive footage)

Self - 37th President of the United States
(archive footage)

Self - 44th President of the United States
(archive footage)

Self - Professional Race Car Driver
(archive footage)

Self - 40th President of the United States
(archive footage)

Bill Whittington

Self - Co-Owner, Blue Thunder Racing Team
(archive footage)

Director
- Miles Blayden-Ryall
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

Did you know

Trivia
Besides attempting to imply that Lanier was far more talented than he really has, this documentary omits a number of facts such as...
His incompetence as a driver during his early season in top flight IMSA Camel GT racing. According to Desiré Wilson, a former Formula One driver, she claimed he was behaving nervously in the pits at the 1982 24 Hours of Daytona. Despite managing to impress his team with his drive, Bob Wollek and Edgar Dören was able to keep his Ferrari 512 BB/LM in third place until Lanier destroyed it's gearbox into the morning during his first driving stint or the suspension in some claims, after driving the car off course.
After that, when he was invited to race at Le Mans the same year, he flown in a private jet and stayed in a 56-room chateau with his wife. There, his Ferrari retired after it ran out of fuel.
During the 1980 SCCA Runoffs, Lanier had his run-in in the paddock with John Paul Sr., another driver who was arrested for unrelated marijuana trafficking charges, over Lanier's shenanigans.
His relationship with high school friend and co-conspirator Ben Kramer, with whom they had worked together through Lanier's IMSA career; his failure to testify against Kramer led to him receiving his life sentence nor their involvement in the Bicycle Club casino they helped to establish to launder money. Like their co-conspirators and partners in the casino, George Brock and Eugene Fischer was sentenced to life without parole - the documentary tries to imply that Lanier acted alone.
His relationship with the Whittington brothers, who was convicted of an unrelated drug smuggling charges. They taught him to how to race and setup the car. Not mentioned was how they played a big part in his successes; they owned Road Atlanta which played a large part in their drug trafficking. Not mentioned was how their team and that of Marty Hinze's became Laniers out of nowhere.
How he was able to win the 1984 title by illegally removing the reverse gear and with borderline illegal engines.
His career in CART was less than remarkable. Of the nine races he started in his first season in 1985, this was marred by nothing but DNFs (did not finish) via mechanical failures or accidents, except in two of his races; besides a DNQ at his first Indy 500 at his first attempt, he finished 14th at Road America and 13th at Laguna Seca, both of those finishing almost last of those who made it to the flag. Having started in nine races, Lanier finished the highest of those who completed the season without a point.
His 2nd season the following year fared better, slightly. Of the nine races he started, he barely finished in the top 10 on half of those occasions, one of them was a 6th place at the Meadowlands. At the Indy 500 that year, Lanier only achieved his Rookie of the Year as he was up against second rate drivers in second rate teams who lacked the spending power he had.
His relationship with Maria De La Luz Maggi, with whom they met in 1986 whilst Lanier was still married; he married her in 1990. She was convicted for money laundering in 1993 and was divorced from him by the time she completed her sentence in 1999.
How Lanier fled to other countries before being caught in Antigua.
How after his arrest, he became shunned by the professional motorsport community. John Andretti, nephew of Mario Andretti, was the only driver to visit him in prison, which may have explained why no other living drivers came forward for the interview.
The works teams were not like the works of today, it was not unusual for them to run a season with a tiny budget due to the tiny budget and support car manufacturers were willing to give to them. The Ford Mustangs were mediocre at best. They were lucky to scrape a win at the 1983 Road America 500 in a field consisting of aging Lolas and 935s, Marches that posted a lousy run, GTO and GTU cars. Despite the presence of Klaus Ludwig and Bobby Rahal, neither could save the car. Holbert's team was not the works team as the documentary claimed to be, chassis record showed that his car is a customer car.
Isn't beating the Bell-Holbert duo who has decades of top flight racing experiences vs drug smugglers with less than 7 years of experience bound to raise alarm? Both drivers had four Le Mans victories combined at the time (one by Holbert to Bell's three); Holbert was the defending IMSA Camel GT champion who had connections within Porsche (he went on to take charge of their US motorsport arm and his father ran one of the first Porsche, dealership in the US) and Bell had a career in Formula One in his early career in addition to being the then 'face of British motorsport'.

Goofs
Randy's wife, Pam claimed he had received a presidential pardon when in fact in 2014, he was released to spend six months in a halfway house and three years of probation after release. During Obama's presidency, he had appealed for a presidential pardon, nothing has been known of it since then.

User reviews3

Featured review

6/10

The weed man

Certainly a tumultuous story, with some wild escapades, but then sport aspect almost felt like an afterthought.

Calicodreamin
Oct 9, 2021
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Details

Release date
- October 6, 2021 (United States)
Country of origin
- United States
Language
- English
Production company
- Raw Entertainment
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Tech specs

Color
- Color
Sound mix
- Dolby Digital

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