What Is Your Favorite Racing Quote?
Spend any amount of time, in any corner of the car scene, and you’re bound to discuss motorsports at some point. And one of the first conversation starters might be a quote from a famous person associated with the sport. Or maybe an overtly dramatic fictionalization of racing?
Cheesy though it might be, this famous quote from The Fast And The Furious likely inspired countless enthusiasts of a certain era, as it has the right combination of drama, reality, and passion.
So the question is now in your court: Tell us your favorite quote in racing. Are you a Dale Earnhardt “Second place is just the first loser,” or an Ayrton Senna’s “Going for gap“? Perhaps you take quotes from automotive manufacturing moguls, like Enzo Ferrari’s “Aerodynamics are for people who can’t build engines” or Henry Ford when he said, “Auto racing began five minutes after the second car was built.”
No matter who said it, we want to know your favorite racing quote in the comments section below!
“You won’t come back from Deadman’s Curve” – Jan & Dean
Cannonball Run…..”what’s behind me is not important!”
……….that quote was from the 1976 “Gumball Rally” movie. STILL the BEST of the that genre of movies back in the 1970’s
100% To this day, I’m amazed that the scripts that Brock Yates wrote were such clown acts. “Gumball” was the only one really worth watching.
“It’s more fun to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car slow.” Unknown
Having cars with 16, 28, 43 and 100 hp, all of which are fun to drive, I can attest to that–and have the autocross trophies to prove it.
I know Hagerty’s own Aaron Robinson used that line in a story about the Austin Seven. Not sure if it originated with him.
Aaron is a really good writer, but let’s not get carried away attributing common sayings to him.
Detroit auto makers wrt chrome, fins, cubic inches, etc.:
“If a little is good, a lot is better”
Rubbin’, Son, is racing. Robert Duvall
“Turn left and get back here as fast as you can”
-Spartacus
I forget who in NASCAR said it – what do you do when you spin out? “Stand on the brakes and wait for the tires to blow.”
Who first said, “Don’t drive faster than your guardian angel can fly”?
You’re supposed to have the fastest car in the valley, but that can’t be your car. That’s gotta be your mama’s car! – Bob Falfa, American Graffiti
You either have a HEMI or you want one…..
If you only crash once in a while you aren’t going fast enough, if you never crash you’re going slow!
Racing is life…. everything else is just waiting.
Steve McQueen
Correct quote………”racing is life………..everything before and after is just waiting”………………Steve McQueen LeMans.
Dale Earnhardt, Daytona, June 2000: “I’ve heard some drivers saying: ‘We’re going too fast at Charlotte, we’re going to fast here…’. Get the hell home. If you’re not a race-car driver and not a racer, stay home. Don’t come here and grumble about going to fast. Get out of the race car if you’ve got feathers on your legs or butt. Tie a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won’t climb up there and eat your candy ass”! Amen to that.
“Gentlemen, start your engines!”
Oh wow, wish I’d thought of this one – it is indeed a classic racing quote!
Not sure if these are the exact words but after the 1979 Daytona 500 Bobby Allison was being interviewed about the fist fight he had with Cale Yarborough and said, “Cale went to beating on my fist with his face.”