"[After Brian loses his Eclipse] You almost had me? You never had me! You never had your car! [crowd heckles] Granny shiftin', not double clutchin' like you should. You're lucky that hundred shot of NOS didn't blow the welds on the intake! You almost had me? Now, me and the mad scientist got to rip apart the block... and replace the piston rings you fried! Ask any racer, any real racer; It doesn't matter if you win by an inch or a mile, winning is winning."

"[Talking to Brian at Dom's garage] I live my life a quarter mile at a time. Nothing else matters: not the mortgage, not the store, not my team and all their bullshit. For those ten seconds or less, I'm free."

"[After Brian talks about plans to date Mia] You break her heart, I'll break your neck."

"I'm droppin the hammer."

"Nicole Kidman — Claire Lewicki"

"Michael Rooker — Rowdy Burns"

"Randy Quaid — Tim Daland"

"Robert Duvall — Harry Hogge"

"Tom Cruise — Cole Trickle"

"Cruise like Thunder."

"You can't outrun the thunder."

"You can't stop the thunder."

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

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

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

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

"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."

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

"[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!"

"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."

"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'."

"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."

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

"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'."

"[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."

"[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."

"[After rubbin' Rowdy] Remember me?"

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

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

"Sometimes, when it's late at night, I dress up like Donna Summers. I put on the skirt, and the four inch heels...I love it. [singing] Last chance, for romance, for love....."

"Glenn, shut up."

"[As Ricky races for the first time] Just remember this, Ricky: you wreck that car, that's $200,000 out of your pocket!"

"[After Ricky has stabbed himself in the leg] Here, we'll use this knife to pry the other one out!"

"Ricky, this car is like your Excalibur, the mighty sword King Arthur used to bring together the knights of the roundtable, until Lancelot betrayed him by laying with his queen [whispering] in the biblical sense."

"Peaches and cream!"

"[about being a pit crew member] Sorry, Lucius, but it's a hard habit to break, like stalking an ex-girlfriend."

"[eating at Applebee's] It's Applebee-riffic!"

"You look old, Granny, are you gonna die today?"

"[throwing away their junk] Aw, Nana, not my prison shank."