AMC's upcoming television show focused on the world of NASCAR now has a main character. Actor Dennis Quaid has signed on to the project.
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Variety reported the news on Wednesday. The outlet noted that Quaid will star in Thunder Road, the series that AMC revealed back in November 2025. Quaid will star as Duane Whitlock, a.k.a. The Wrecking Ball.
According to Variety, Whitlock is "a towering figure who built a racing empire from a legacy of moonshine runs and dirt tracks... and refuses to let it die. This is a story about a blue collar dynasty at the edge of extinction — and the old king fighting to hold onto his crown."
Quaid is no stranger to the world of NASCAR. He has attended multiple races over the years. This includes the 2024 summer race at Daytona International Speedway when driver Ty Gibbs promoted Quaid's film, Reagan.
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This series has a potential production start date of this summer. John Fusco will serve as the writer and executive producer. Taylor Elmore will serve as an executive producer and as showrunner.
Elmore is a veteran producer in Hollywood who has worked on such dramas as Limitless, Justified, Tulsa King, and Justified: City Primeval.
Fusco is a writer with credits that include The Highwaymen, Netflix's Marco Polo, the Viggo Mortensen-led Hidalgo, and the Young Guns film series.
"Thunder Road is about the Whitlock racing dynasty, a family bound by legacy, love, and the weight of their name." Fusco told Deadline in 2025.
"Set against the high-stakes world of NASCAR and the mythic outlaw roots of a sport born on the whiskey-running backroads of the south, you might call it Succession with stock cars.
"I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to bring this dramatic, action-packed, uniquely American story to life with AMC and NASCAR."
This upcoming television show will have the backing of NASCAR, which has branched out in recent years with a variety of multimedia projects. NASCAR's Tim Clark and John Dahl will serve as executive producers on the show.
Thunder Road will be the second scripted NASCAR series in recent years. Netflix and NASCAR previously partnered for the short-lived comedy series, The Crew, starring Kevin James.
