75 Best Racing Quotes That Put The Pedal To The Metal
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A race always brings out the competitive side of people.
Competition is what makes us work harder. The end result of winning is a prize that grabs our focus towards the journey leading towards it.
Be it Formula 1 car racing or marathons, the spirit is high among participants as well as the audiences. You will find some of the most famous racing quotes in this article.
If you like this article about racing quotes, you may also want to check out Enzo Ferrari quotes and [Aryton Senna quotes].
Best Racing Quotes
Here are some of the famous quotes on racing and funny racing quotes by Enzo Ferrari, Fred Lebow and others.
1. “In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, I have finished. There is a lot more satisfaction in that.”
- Fred Lebow.
2. “There are only three sports: bull fighting, auto racing, and mountain climbing; all the rest are merely games.”
- Ernest Hemingway.
3. "Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal—a commitment to excellence—that will enable you to attain the success you seek."
- Mario Andretti.
4. "Race cars are neither beautiful nor ugly. They become beautiful when they win."
- Enzo Ferrari.
5. "Nobody remembers the guy who finished second, but the guy who finished second."
- Bobby Unser.
6. “Racing makes everything else look like a vague wish for something more or remotely adventurous.”
- Peter Egan.
7. "This is the track that will separate the brave from the weak after the boys are gone."
- Jimmy Thompson.
8. "You will never know the feeling of a driver when winning a race. The helmet hides feelings that cannot be understood."
- Ayrton Senna.
9. "When speed gets in the blood, one must drive to live."
– Rudolf Caracciola.
10. "A racing car is an animal with a thousand adjustments."
- Mario Andretti.
11. "What's behind you doesn't matter."
- Enzo Ferrari.
12. "In auto racing you win some, lose some, and wreck some."
13. "You're a car, but most of all, what you are, what you've become, is a mate. And that's what makes a car special. That's what makes a car great. You start to think of it as a person. You start to love it."
- Jeremy Clarkson.
14. “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.
15. "The lead car is unique, except for the one behind it which is identical."
- Murray Walker.
16. "The ideal race car will expire 100 yards past the finish line."
- Stirling Moss.
17. "I was a welder for about three or four months, and I was lucky enough to get out of it because there was a guy who wanted to support me and pay for my racing."
- Kevin Magnussen.
18. "Racing is an escape from society. From symbols of status, and self-perception. A chance to just be. For everyone to just be, with each other."
- Erin Beresini.
19. "When I was three years old, I had race-car wallpaper, a race-car bed, race-car toys. That was all I wanted. And nothing has changed. Except now I have a race-car!"
- Joey Logano.
20. "There is magic in misery. Just ask any racer."
- Dean Karnazes.
21. "For me, races are the celebration of my training."
- Dan Browne.
Formula 1 Racing Quotes
Here you will find racing quotes and sayings along with competition quotes.
22. "If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have more horsepower."
- Mark Donohue.
23. "Racing is the constant search for the weakest link."
- Duane Bailey.
24. "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough."
- Mario Andretti.
25. “Auto racing began five minutes after the second car was built.”
- Henry Ford.
26. "There have been other tracks that separated the men from the boys."
- Jimmy Thompson.
27. "Racing, competing, it's in my blood. It's part of me; I have been doing it all my life and it stands out above everything else."
- Ayrton Senna.
28. "With half the race gone, there is half the race still to go."
- Murray Walker.
29. "Motor racing is like one big family, ultimately, and when you come back to it, that's really what it feels like."
- Mario Andretti.
30. "They can be a handful to drive, it's like driving a piece of chain down a race track."
- James Day.
31. "No, it will never have enough power until I can spin the wheels at the end of the straightaway in high gear. Too much power is never enough."
- Mark Donohue.
32. "No, I don’t drive her to win, I just drive her as fast as she will go."
- Juan Fangio.
33. "Speed cuts through the fog of drab and keeps us on our toes. Speed works. Speed is good. And we should have more of it, not less."
- Jeremy Clarkson.
34. "I think fear is what keeps us from going over the edge. I mean, I don't think what makes a good race car driver is a fearless person."
- Jeff Gordon.
35. "Through F1, I learned to fly my own plane and helicopter. And my job with my company is a reflection of everything motor racing taught me."
- Nelson Piquet.
36. "As racing drivers, you always have those moments that it gets a bit heated, but then you start from zero again."
– Max Verstappen.
37. "The only healing I’ve ever known is getting back in that race car — for all us racers."
- Clint Bowyer.
38. "The crashes people remember, but drivers remember the near misses."
- Mario Andretti.
39. "I hate to take compromises with a racing car. The more standard a car is, the more compromises you have to take."
– Michael Schumacher.
Inspiring Racing Quotes
Here you will find inspirational racing quotes.
40. "I'm going to work so that it's a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it."
41. "We are much more than just drivers who drive a race car."
- Bubba Wallace
42. "Once you've raced, you never forget it, and you never get over it."
- Richard Childress.
43. "Racing is the fun part; it's the reward of all the hard work."
- Kara Goucher.
44. "Nothing, not even pain, lasts forever. If I can just keep putting one foot in front of the other, I will eventually get to the end."
- Kim Cowart.
45. "Everyone in life is looking for a certain rush. Racing is where I get mine."
- John Trautmann.
46. "I will continue to get behind the wheel of a racing car as long as I am able. But that could all end tomorrow."
- Paul Newman.
47. "I think a race car driver is somebody who is comfortable being behind the wheel of something that's somewhat out of control."
- Jeff Gordon.
48. "The winner ain't the one with the fastest car. It's the one who refuses to lose."
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
49. "My entire life has been focused on being the best race car driver I can be."
- Scott Pruett.
50. "Straight roads are for fast cars, turns are for fast drivers."
- Colin McRae.
51. "I've been racing for my whole life, and I know what I need to do to be able to win."
- J. R. Celsk.
52. "Big races which have been eagerly anticipated almost to the point of dread, are where great deeds can be accomplished."
- Jack Lovelock.
53. "Driving race cars was an avenue for me to learn how to build my own car, and that was my ambition all along."
- Carroll Shelby.
54. "Racing is what I live for, and it makes my world go around."
- Charlie Kimball.
55. "When I'm outside the car, I'm just kind of relaxed but when I get in the race car, I don't feel like anybody can beat me."
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
56. “If winning the race won't please you, then why are you racing like your life depends on it?"
- Scaylen Renvac.
57. "I don't think I will drive forever, because it is not so much a question of being competitive, but of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel."
- Alex Zanardi.
58. "Most days don't have races anyway. Winning is about struggle and effort and optimism, and never, ever, ever giving up."
- Amby Burfoot.
59. "The thing about racing that appeals to me is your destiny is in your own hands at that moment."
- Robert Carradine.
60. "There have been some ups and downs. I've not always had it my own way. That's the way racing is supposed to be."
- Lewis Hamilton.
61. "I get around that race car, I completely change. The focus changes. The competitive juices get flowing."
- Denny Hamlin.
Racing Movie Quotes
Here you will find quotes about racing from the movies.
62. “Need I remind you, 007, that you have a licence to kill, not to break the traffic laws.”
- 'Golden Eye'.
63. "Did it ever occur to you that, by going eight miles an hour slower, we might save some gasoline and ease the burden on the poor taxpayers out there who pay our salaries?"
- 'Dragnet'.
64. “It’s not how you stand by your car, it’s how you race your car”
- 'The Fast And Furious'.
65. “Put your seat belt on, boy. I don't ride with anybody unless they wear their seat belt. It's one of my rules.”
- 'Repo Man'.
66. “What's the point of racing around the galaxy if you aren't going to have fun?”
- Zoraida Cordova, 'A Crash Of Fate'.
67. "If you ain't first, you're last"
- 'Talledega Nights'.
68. "Sometimes all I want to do is head west on 20 in a car I can't afford with a plan I don't have, just me, my music, and the road.”
- 'Babydriver'.
69. "James Hunt: In many ways, I feel responsible for what happened.
Niki Lauda: You were, but trust me... watching you win those races while I was fighting for my life, you were equally responsible for getting me back in the car.”
- 'Rush'.
70. “To remember is to disengage from the present. In order to reach any kind of success in automobile racing, a driver must never remember.”
- Garth Stein, 'The Art Of Racing In The Rain'.
71. "When you have quit the Tour, nobody really knows what to say or do."
- David Millar, 'Racing Through The Dark'.
Marathon Race Quotes
Here you will find the spirit behind racing sayings.
72. "The half-way point only marks the end of the beginning."
- Joe Henderson.
73. "You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can't know what's coming."
-Frank Shorter.
74. "I dare you to train for a marathon, and not have it change your life."
- Susan Sidoriak.
75. "Learn to run when feeling the pain: then push harder."
- William Sigei.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for racing quotes then why not take a look at mechanic quotes or speed quotes?
Article image credit: Bruce Alan Bennett / Shutterstock.com
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Master of Arts specializing in Mass Communication/Media Studies
Srija ChandaMaster of Arts specializing in Mass Communication/Media Studies
An aspiring media professional, Srija is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Mass Communication at St. Xavier's University, Kolkata, after completing her degree in journalism. With experience in PR and social media, she has also honed her leadership skills through her participation in a youth parliament. Srija's interests include devouring books, watching movies, and exploring new places through travel.
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