It's the future (like in two years) and society in the US hasn't changed all that much, with the exception that the US consists of many South American countries, and even a few Mediterranian ones. Oh, and the Death Race is THE sporting event. The Death Race consists of five of the US's best drivers who take to the streets at one end of the country and try to make it to the other, scoring points along the way by running people over. It's really quite popular, acting as Americas yearly catharsis.
This year's race doesn't go as smoothly as it has in the past, though, as revolutionaries who wish the race to stop have a number of traps set up for our brave and daring racers. Their main target, however, is Frankenstein (played by David Carradine), the race's greatest champion, who has had a near fatal crash a good half dozen times (many of them thanks to his rival "Machine Gun" Joe Viberto, an early role for Sly Stallone). They wish to get a replacement into his car and win the race, then destroy the President, who only returns to his home soil to shake hands with the winner. To help in their plans, they manage to get one of theirs in place as Frankenstein's navagator. But, Frankenstein has his own agenda for the race, the revolutionaries and the president.
The film plays out completely tongue in cheek, sending out some sort of message but disrupted by the sillyness of it all. The t.v. coverage and the driver interactions are the main points of comedy, and the concept itself (while not entirely original) is laden with immense comedic possibilities. Highly reccommended, as well as highly offensive.