Great racing quotes

A few gems I've been hanging on to, using at work and what not. Please add more!

A bad day at the racetrack beats a good day at the office

Racing is the constant search for the weakest link. -Duane Bailey

If everything seems to be in control, you're not going fast enough. - Mario Andretti

You show me a racer that says that he's never forgotten to tighten his lug nuts, and I'll show you a liar.

No matter how fast you think your racecar is, if you look at it long enough ... a fly will come and land on it.

Guys, you can date whomever you want, but marry a girl who can back up a trailer. - Michael Martin Murphy

Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?

It is more fun to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car slow. - Abner Perney

If lightning strikes while you're in the car it's your fault. - Doc Bundy

Duct tape is The Force: It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

Better to be a racer for a moment then a spectator for a lifetime.

Hands OFF the steering wheel when a meeting with the tire wall is imminent.

A MINI on its roof goes "wooz wooz"

DNF beats DNS. (Did Not Finish beats Did Not Start)

It's not how FAST you drive - it's how you drive FAST

To win is to drive as slowly as possible without relinquishing the lead.

The ideal racecar will expire 100 yards past the finish line. - Stirling Moss

The racing driver needs to be fed a diet of other racing drivers. - Carroll Smith

I know what's wrong, and if I could find it, I'd fix it.

You can't make a racehorse out of a pig. But if you work hard enough at it you can make a mighty fast pig. - Bob Akin

If a part can be installed incorrectly, it will be. - Murphy's Law

Murphy was an optimist. - Cohen's Corollary

We all have one thing in common: the relentless pursuit of grip.

To finish first you must first finish.

Racing ... it's life. Everything that comes before or after is just waiting. -Michael Delaney (Steve McQueen in "LeMans")

Keeping gumdrops on the toes of your driving shoes probably brings more insects than good luck. - Andy Banta

Friends don't let friends apex early.

If you spin in turn seven, and no one actually sees it ... then did you really spin in turn seven?

Oversteer scares passengers; understeer scares drivers.

If I had all the money I'd spent on cars ... I'd spend it all on cars. - Scott Fisher

Straights are for fast cars. Turns are for fast drivers.

Racing is the process of turning money into noise.

Racing costs today exactly the same as it did twenty years ago ... it takes every penny you have.

DRIVER HAS NO CASH (lettered under the driver's window on the race car)

The older I get, the faster I was

Q: How do I make a small fortune in racing? A: Start with a large fortune.

You can observe a lot by watching. - Yogi

90% of the race is half mental. - Paraphrase from Yogi

Anyone can drive a fast car; few can drive a car fast.

Sometimes you have to bring back only the steering wheel so the car owner will know that you're giving it all you have. - Mario Andretti

A meteorite hitting your car is an accident; anything else is driver error.

When you put on your helmet... you're invincible. - John Force

What's-a behind a me is-a not important! - Franco Beltline (Raul Julia in "Gumball Rally")

If you can leave two parallel solid black lines from the exit of one turn, to the entrance of the next, THEN you have sufficient power. (Or you're a drifter)

Flat out 'til you see God, then brake.

Nothing good has ever been written about the full rotation of a racecar about its roll axis. - Carroll Smith

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, "Wow! What a ride!"

Racecar spelled backwards is still racecar.

No race has ever been won in the first corner...But many have been lost there.

The Spec E30 site has a ton of great racing quotes you could siphon, you just have to keep refreshing the forum screen.

The ideal racecar will expire 100 yards past the finish line. - Stirling Moss

Didn't Colin Chapman say something similar, like the ideal racecar will fall apart just as it crosses the finish line?

“I Saw Elvis at 1000 Feet” - John Force

"Slow in, fast out!"

You can't make a racehorse out of a pig. But if you work hard enough at it you can make a mighty fast pig. - Bob Akin

I believe this was actually Carroll Shelby in reference to the upcoming Mustang performance build in 1963

When asked why he jumped out of his burning race car at close to 100mph, Tazio Nuvolari responded, "Better to be splattered on a billboard, than to roast like a chicken".

"Fast in, backwards out!"

my personal favorite comes from the movie Grand Prix.

Jean-Pierre Sarti: Before you leave I want to tell you something. Not about the others, but about myself. I used to go to pieces. I'd see an accident like that and be so weak inside that I wanted to quit - stop the car and walk away. I could hardly make myself go past it. But I'm older now. When I see something really horrible, I put my foot down. Hard! Because I know that everyone else is lifting his.

Louise Frederickson: What a terrible way to win.

Jean-Pierre Sarti: No, there is no terrible way to win. There is only winning.

"I live my life 10 seconds at a time"

ducks and runs for cover

"When I raced a car last it was at a time when sex was safe and racing was dangerous. Now, it's the other way round." - Hans Stuck

"Nobody remembers who finished second but the guy who finished second." - Bobby Unser

"Racing is dangerous, but I've been in a lot worse situations as a pipe fitter." - Neil Bonnett

"Aerodynamics is for those who cannot manufacture good engines" - Enzo Ferrari

"You're not a racing driver, you're a f***ing idiot!" - Ayrton Senna

"Yah, I wass driving very fast, ah, faster than I could see, and den it wass 90 left and I rrolled it" --Mikkola

Who say's "there's no money in racing?" I've put lots of it there.

Clem

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: "You're not a racing driver, you're a f***ing idiot!" - Ayrton Senna

This one adorns the trophy for our autocross team championship.

I have a poster which is the top ten reasons racing is better then sex

1)You're Expected to Burn Rubber 2) It's Ok to be a spectator 3) There is a pit crew to help you out 4) The faster you are the better you are 5) It lasts for several hours 6) It's acceptable to tailgate 7) You're supposed to finish first 8) Earplugs are ok to drown out noise 9)You don't have to kiss the race car 10) You get a trophy when you finish

aussiesmg wrote: "I live my life 10 seconds at a time" ducks and runs for cover

Not quite right. "I live my life a quarter mile at a time."

It frightens me that I know that factoid.

I'm paraphrasing here but: Oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Understeer is when you hit it with the front.

griffin729 wrote: I'm paraphrasing here but: Oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Understeer is when you hit it with the front.

HP is how fast you hit it and torque is how far you drag it.

Don't try to impress me, because you won't. Don't try to scare me, because I already am.

You forgot "the one rule of italian driving..."

What's-a behind a me is-a not important! - Franco Beltline (Raul Julia in "Gumball Rally")

Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports... all others are just games. - Ernest Hemingway

"I wanna go fast!" -Ricky Bobby

I think it was Richard Childress talk about becoming a NASCAR team owner. He said that if you think you want to own a race team, go to the top of a tall building with a 5-gallon bucket full of $100 bills. Start throwing those bills off the roof one at a time. If, before you empty the bucket, you decide to stop, you're not ready to be a big-time owner.

Fangio's advice to a Maserati team-mate (in the 50's) who was not as fast: The great driver thought deeply for a few moments with brows furrowed struggling for the right words and then said haltingly, More gas, less brakes...

"Anything worth doing is worth doing to an excess."- Bolus and Snopes Racing (from Car & Driver magazine, back when it was good)

When asked after a crash how he made it through Richard Petty replied, "Amazing what you can do with your eyes closed!"