Smokey and the Bandit petroleum company Mobil 1 produced television commercials, featuring NASCAR star Tony Stewart, closely based on the film. Called "Smoke is the Bandit" playing on Stewart's nickname, the commercials featured him as the Bandit opposite Darrell Waltrip who played Snowman and Jeff Hammond as Buford T. Justice. The story replaced the Coors beer with Mobil 1 products. The adverts poked fun at the film and even featured a Pontiac Trans Am and a cover version of the song "East Bound and Down". The commercials were produced after Stewart mentioned that the movie was one of his favorites. When "Smokey and the
Smokey and the Bandit escape in one of Big Enos' thirteen Cadillacs as the police flood the racetrack. They pass Sheriff Justice's badly damaged police car by the side of the road. Over the radio, Bandit first directs Justice to Big and Little Enos, but then, in a gesture of respect, reveals his true location and invites Justice to give chase, leaving Junior behind. Director Hal Needham originally planned the film as a low-budget B movie with a production cost of $1 million, with Jerry Reed as the Bandit. It was not until Needham's friend Burt Reynolds read the script, and said he would