Days of Thunder

"I'm droppin the hammer."

"Let me drive I won't make a fool out of you."

"Claire, I'm more afraid of being nothing than I am of being hurt."

"[After rubbin' Rowdy] Remember me?"

"[talking to a race-car chassis] I'm gonna give you an engine, low to the ground... extra thick oil pan that'll cut the wind from underneath ya, see. It'll give you thirty or forty more horsepower. I'm gonna give you a fuel line that'll hold an extra gallon of gas. I'm gonna shave half an inch off you and shape you like a bullet. I'll get you primed, painted and weighed, and you'll be ready to go out on that racetrack. You hear me? You're gonna be perfect."

"[talking to "his" race-car] I'm settin' you up for cool weather... but if that sun breaks, after you're out on the track, you're liable to run real loose real quick. Now I don't wanna worry you or nothin, but, Cole's not ready for that... he's changed, see, he's changed. You cannot get out of control and expect him to bring you right back. He's liable to hurt you, you're liable to hurt him, and... I couldn't handle that, so, ah, you've gotta take care of him... see... you gotta take care of him."

"No, no, he didn't slam you, he didn't bump you, he didn't nudge you... he rubbed you. And rubbin, son, is racin'."

"His way... [slaps a ruined tire] my way... [slaps a lightly worn tire] I was six seconds faster."

"Tim, take a look at that hound. That's the best coon-dog I ever seen or heard about and I didn't teach him a damn thing."

"Drivers can't stand to be reminded of what can happen to 'em in a racecar. They, they don't go to hospitals, they don't go to funerals. You get a driver to a funeral before he's actually dead, you've made history, darlin'."

"Now, Cole, when you shift the gear and that little needle on the tach goes into the red and reads 9000 RPMs, that's bad."

"[calmly] We messed up big time on Sunday. I had sponsors in the stands and I'm huggin' and holdin' hands and kissin' em in the ears and prayin' for a good showin'. And what do we do? [shouting] We end up lookin' like a monkey fuckin' a football out there!"

"If you're from California, you're not a Yankee. You're not really anything."

"And Harry, I know you're great, you know you're great, but if the guy in the car doesn't trust you, we're never gonna win a damn race."

"Ok, I'm going to pull this rookie's chain."

"I'm gonna take this rookie, once and for all."

"The boy don't have the balls to pass me on the outside."

"You and Rowdy have the same sickness, it's called denial and it's probably going to kill you both."

"Control is an illusion, you infantile egomaniac. Nobody knows what's gonna happen next: not on a freeway, not in an airplane, not inside our own bodies and certainly not on a racetrack with 40 other infantile egomaniacs."

"You can't stop the thunder."

"You can't outrun the thunder."

"Cruise like Thunder."

"Tom Cruise — Cole Trickle"

"Robert Duvall — Harry Hogge"

"Randy Quaid — Tim Daland"

"Michael Rooker — Rowdy Burns"

"Nicole Kidman — Claire Lewicki"