Days of Thunder (1990) - full transcript
Cole Trickle enters the high-pressure world of Nascar racing. He's a hot driver with a hot temper, and this attitude gets him into trouble not only with other drivers, but members of his own team as well.
Ladies and gentlemen,
welcome to the Daytona 500,
the Super Bowl of
motor racing events.
Walking onto the
grid is the two-time
Daytona 500 and defending
champion Rowdy Burns.
And perennial contender
from Reading,
Pennsylvania, Aldo Bennedetti.
Gentlemen, start your engines.
Big turn back for number
43, Richard Petty.
Petty spins to the
inside of the track.
A tough break for Richard Petty.
Richard Petty is out
of the Daytona 500.
Speaking of people who
are out of the race,
perhaps it's time to remember the
legendary crew chief, Harry Hogge,
whose great driver,
Buddy Bretherton,
died here last year
in a fiery crash,
hitting the wall at
over 195 miles an hour.
So you're enjoying the
good life, Harry?
Yeah.
I never minded spreading a little
fertiliser around now and then.
There's worse things.
- How's the truck running?
- Runs good.
I want you to build me a car.
Now, Tim, everybody knows
some downtown car dealer
can't afford a race team.
No driver worth a damn
is gonna sign with you.
Because they wreck one car, you
can't afford to build them another
and they're out of
the deal, you know.
And no car's gonna win
without a driver.
Not even mine.
If you built the car,
I'd get a damn driver.
What kind of driver are you going
to find after the
season's started?
Some old boy who's washed up and
wasn't worth a shit to begin with.
You can work with him.
You can build a driver like
you build a car, Harry.
Tim, take a look at that hound.
That's the best coon dog I've
ever seen or heard about.
And I didn't teach
him a damn thing.
Well, I got somebody.
- Who?
- Take a look at him.
Anybody I gotta take a
look at, ain't somebody.
Then take a look at nobody.
Look, Tim, I gave up racing. You
gotta know that. All right?
You didn't give up racing, Harry.
You quit to avoid an investigation
into Buddy's crash at Daytona.
Hey, I didn't avoid any
goddamn investigation.
Anyway, I talked to NASCAR
and if you come back in there
won't be any investigation.
How the hell did you
sell them on that deal?
I'm a hell of a salesman.
Now, that's a race car driver.
When's your driver due?
Harry tells me your guy
runs those Indy type deals.
Yeah. Sprints, mainly.
Two World of Outlaw championships,
three all-star wins,
seven straight feature wins
and he's been driving ASA.
Hey.
Got yourself a real
statistician there.
Does he know anything
about drivers?
We'll see.
Harry, where'd you say
your driver's from?
Eagle Rock.
It's up around
Wilkesboro, isn't it?
No. Glendale, California.
He's a Yankee?
Not exactly. If you're from
California, you're not a Yankee.
You're not really anything.
You said it.
The shocks are right,
we're dialled in, buddy.
Don't change a thing.
Hey, you ain't buried in
horse manure after all.
Looking pretty good.
You're the one who's looking good.
It hadn't been easy, Harry,
I'll guran-damn-tee you,
but this bitch is ready to run.
I can't tell you how
much we all appreciate
you letting us use the car, Rowdy.
I told you about this, Rowdy.
Harry's got some new driver
and he needs a car just
to turn a couple of laps.
I told you it was
Harry Hogge who'd
asked us personally, as a favour.
Who is this driver?
Tim tells me you've been
running open-wheels.
That's right.
And now you just want
to up and drive NASCAR?
That's right.
What do you know about
stock car racing?
Well, I've watched it on
television, of course.
You've seen it on television?
ESPN, the coverage is excellent.
You'd be surprised at how
much you can pick up.
I'm sure I would.
Look, this may not be the best
time for you to run this car.
Was there some problem?
No, sir. You all go right ahead.
But you bend this bitch
the least little bit,
I'm gonna tear your balls off.
Okay. Would you mind very
much holding on to this?
Didn't he hear what that man said?
Hold on a minute. Don't you
think we ought to talk?
What? About how I'm
gonna run? Sure.
About how you've managed to
live as long as you have.
Look, I ain't gonna let
you race this car.
- What's going on?
- He's had second thoughts.
- You said you'd look at him.
- I've looked at him.
I paid $2,500 to use
this track today, Harry.
Forget it. He needs a brand name
like Exxon or Richard Petty.
Well, I know a damn race
driver when I see one.
What's going on, Harry? Is
this happening or what?
Do us all a favour, Harry.
Let me drive. I won't
make a fool out of you.
That tunnel turn's real tricky.
Now, whether it's hot or cold,
it gets as slick as a butt.
Then you'll slip
and slide and slam
yourself into the wall
before you know it.
So just take it easy.
- I'm dropping the hammer.
- No, you're not.
It's under Rowdy's time.
Well, it might have been better
if he cracked up the car.
- That was fast.
- Yeah?
Thirty-one flat.
That's good enough to take the
pole in the last race here.
Hell, I thought this
was gonna be a joke.
You never drove a
stock car before?
No, sprints mainly.
- What's your name?
- Buck Bretherton. What's yours?
Cole Trickle. It's damn
nice to meet you, Buck.
Damn nice to meet you, too, Cole.
You were one lucky son of a
bitch in that tunnel turn.
That car was way out of shape.
Well, if you think it was
luck, let's do it again.
- You run good.
- Thank you.
Now, go get your own car and
we'll see how you do in a crowd.
So, how come you don't
stick to open wheels?
I lost my ride.
After two championships and seven
straight wins, you were fired?
I lost my ride.
Doesn't matter. I'd
have quit regardless.
- Why's that?
- I wasn't going anywhere.
- Where do you want to go?
- Indianapolis.
But you can't win in Indy
without a great car.
And my name's not
Andretti or Unser.
On the other hand, stock cars are
stock cars. Pretty much the same.
Hey, there's nothing
stock about a stock car.
Look, I'm not trying
to insult you.
All I'm saying is, stock
cars are built to run equal.
- Isn't that right?
- So the rule books say.
So I don't have to worry about
getting beat by another car.
In other words, all
you have to worry
about is getting beat
by other drivers.
Yeah.
You build me a car, and
I'll win Daytona next year.
I'm gonna give you an
engine low to the ground.
Extra-big oil pan that'll cut
the wind from underneath you.
That'll give you 30 to
40 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.
And when we get you primed,
painted and weighed,
you're going to be ready to go out
on that racetrack. You hear me?
You're gonna be perfect.
Okay. I'm going to pull
this rookie's chain.
Cole, you're wandering
all over the track.
Yeah. Well, that son of a
bitch just slammed into me.
No, he didn't slam into you, he
didn't bump you, he
didn't nudge you.
He rubbed you, and
rubbing, son, is racing.
There goes the fender.
There goes the quarter panel.
All right. Get back.
All right, while we're
still under a caution,
I want you to go back out on
that track and hit the pace car.
- Hit the pace car?
- Hit the pace car.
What for?
Because you hit every other
goddamn thing out there.
I want you to be perfect.
Now, go on. Go. Go. Go.
You're going too high.
Stay in the group.
How about that? This side
we don't have to fix.
I don't want you spoiled, Buck.
This is gonna hurt.
Move. Move. Move.
Did you see that guy?
I've got to pit.
I don't think so. We're busy now.
- You're what?
- We're eating ice cream.
Ice cream?
Now, you're welcome to
come on and get one,
but I don't believe NASCAR
would think much of you trying to
eat an ice cream cone out there.
You have enough trouble riding
around the track as it is.
Take it easy.
Come on now, Cole.
Cole. Cole.
We messed up big-time on Sunday.
I had sponsors in the stands
and I'm hugging and holding hands
and kissing them in the air and
praying for a good showing.
And what do we do?
We end up looking like a monkey
fucking a football out there.
Everybody out, please.
Except you two.
I've got a question.
What is the one thing
you absolutely
need to do to win a race?
- It's pretty damn obvious...
- You keep quiet.
You need to finish the race.
Tim, I realise Harry's
been around a long time.
I'm not saying that his
ways are antiquated
but it'd help to have
a car that handled
properly and didn't blow engines.
Well, if he wouldn't get excited
and over rev the son of a bitch,
the engine wouldn't blow.
Now, Cole, when you
shift the gear,
and that little needle on
the tach goes into the red
and reads 9,000 rpm, that's bad.
It's also my fault if the tyres
blow, if you ask this old fart.
Well, hell yes, it's your fault.
There's 40 other
vultures out there
who managed to finish the
race on their tyres.
You see Darrell Waltrip
using up his tyres?
There's nothing I can't
do with a race car.
Well, that's the difference
between you and me.
- There's only so much I can do.
- That's obvious.
Harry, he doesn't need to
appreciate your job to do his.
Well, he sure as hell does.
How can he expect to race
if he don't know what a
race car can and can't do?
What is this shit, huh?
You want me to work the
pit and you drive?
Fine. We'll try that.
I can't talk to this
son of a bitch.
I can't talk to that son of a
bitch. I really can't. I can't...
- You think he can drive?
- He can drive.
He can drive beyond the
limits of the tyres,
the engine, the
car, anything else.
If the son of a bitch
listened to me,
we wouldn't hardly
ever lose a race.
If we don't get us a sponsor
in the next couple of races,
my ass is fried.
I'm liable to be out of the
car business altogether.
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 going
to win a damn race.
Hey, Harry.
We've gotta talk, all right?
All right, Harry. Talk.
No. On the radio during the race.
Now, you wanna run right on the
ragged edge all the damn time,
you've got to tell us what's
going on with the car.
Or you just want to change
the way I drive it.
Maybe.
Well, maybe you can set up the
car so I don't have to change.
I'd be happy to.
- You just tell me how.
- What do you want to know?
Well, hell, Cole,
you are the driver.
You think she's running
loose or tight? Tell us.
We give a turn here, take
some wedge out there,
we'll win some races.
That's all there is to it.
- I can't do that.
- Why the hell not?
Because I don't know what the
hell you're talking about.
How do you mean that?
Because I don't know
much about cars, okay?
Well, hey, Cole,
that don't make you
a damn bit different from
any driver I ever met.
No, I mean, I really don't know.
I don't know what
you just said about
a turn here and a wedge there.
- I don't know. I don't know.
- How can that be?
What's the difference?
They told me to get in a car
and drive. And I could drive.
The point is, I'd like
to help out but I can't.
I'm an idiot. I don't
have the vocabulary.
- Well...
- Well?
We're just gonna have to
figure one out, aren't we?
Don't worry about it.
All right?
How does she feel?
Her ass is all over the place.
Well, the rear end's
loose. Car's fast.
"Loose" is fast, and "on the
edge," you're out of control.
Now, Cole, there
is something else.
Tyres is what wins a race.
Yeah. What the hell are
you talking about?
If we can't figure
you a way to run
so you don't melt the damn tyres,
we can't finish a race.
So, what do you want?
I'll tell you what,
you run 50 laps any way you like,
then 50 laps like I want you to.
Give me an honest run. If
you do, I'm gonna beat you.
All right. Now we're going to do
it 50 laps my way, all right?
Now, when you were racing
Indy cars out west,
the tyres were twice as wide and
the car weighed half as much.
Now your car weighs twice as much
and the tyres are half as wide
and you're burning
them up, all right.
Now, if you do... When you
burn them up, they melt,
when they melt, they get
greasy and you slip and slide.
And you're out of
control. All right?
Let's go.
His way, my way.
I was six seconds faster.
You can buy me some lunch
at the highway joint, Tim.
What's wrong?
We're trying to figure
out what to do.
- About what?
- About what? We're in trouble.
Rowdy took the pole in 30.25.
We run 31.10. We're almost
a second off the pace.
We're looking for some
speed out of this.
The car's perfect, Harry.
It's the first race
of the season here
at the legendary Darlington
International Speedway.
And the most treacherous
turn is number four.
30:90. Leader's 30:80.
You're running 12th.
Thirty laps to go.
Thanks, Harry.
You're gonna burn the damn
tyres, Cole. So take it easy.
Harry, I'm not going faster.
Everybody else is going slower.
He's right, Harry. I
checked his lap times.
We just haven't fallen off
as much as everybody else.
That's right. You're doing good,
Cole. You're doing real good.
You're running fifth
and you're gaining half a
second a lap on the leader.
Fifteen to go.
Don't pass on the
outside of turn four.
That's right. Stay to the
inside, Cole. Ten laps to go.
And Trickle has moved
into the number two spot,
right behind Rowdy Burns.
- I'm right behind the leader.
- Five laps to go.
Remember me?
What in the hell's going on?
Just a little rubbing,
Harry. Rubbing's racing.
I'm going to take this
rookie once and for all.
All right, God damn
it. That's enough.
You can't play with
Rowdy like this.
He's gonna give you
a real ass ripping.
Just relax, Harry.
Somebody's got to give. And
it's Rowdy Burns who's out.
No. An incredible
recovery by Rowdy.
He retains his position
on the lead lap.
And we have a new leader.
Cole Trickle in the number
46 City Chevrolet Car.
We're under caution
with three laps to go.
- Caution's out. Come on in.
- What for? It's almost over.
You've been on the green for 68
laps. Everybody's
got to pit, Cole.
Go, go. Go, go.
The air gun's jammed,
give me another one.
Give me a gun. Give me a gun.
It's jammed. Come on,
switch it, guys.
Let's go.
- Damn it. Go. Go. Go.
- Go. Get them on quick.
God damn it. Son of a bitch.
Now, Cole...
Son of a bitch.
Cole, we're on the air, all right?
I come into the pit,
I'm in first place.
I go out, I'm in third
with two laps to go.
All right. First of all, don't
get excited, all right.
You're in third place. That's a
pretty respectable position.
Now, what you do is this.
When they slow down
into turn four,
you just keep your
foot on the gas and
drive right by them
on the outside.
Harry, you told me, nobody goes
to the outside on turn four.
Well, now I'm telling
you different. If
you go to the outside,
you can hold it.
He's going to end up in the wall.
All right. Cole, the pace car
is about ready to duck on off.
We don't have a whole lot
of time to talk about this.
Well, tell me how.
It's because we've got a real
good set of match tyres on.
- What?
- What?
Those tyres are matched perfect
and staggered special.
You're gonna get him killed.
Pace car's about
ready duck on off.
If you go to the outside,
you can hold it.
All right, Harry. When it comes
to the car I'll take your word.
The white flag is
out. One lap to go.
The boy don't have the balls
to pass me on the outside.
And they're heading into
treacherous turn four.
Yes.
And Cole Trickle wins his
first ever NASCAR victory.
Second place goes to Rowdy Burns.
Cole Trickle...
Cole, did you have any
idea you could run
the car wide open
into that last turn
and make it stick like that?
- I knew it all along.
- How's that?
Well, in our last
stop, when I came
in, Harry put on special tyres.
Special tyres? Harry Hogge,
what's special about them?
Well, nothing in particular.
Looks like Harry Hogge has
a little explaining to do.
You told me...
I lied. I had to tell you
something to calm you down.
You were acting like
such a candy-ass.
After the air gun stuck, I figured
you'd never get back
on the racetrack.
You son of a bitch.
Try this on for size. We've
got ourselves a sponsor.
Promise me one thing, boys,
whatever else we do from
here, we win Daytona.
That's a promise.
That's a promise.
Selling thousands of dollars
worth of useless mining stock
and they call that a
dog and pony show.
It may be funny, but it's not that
funny when it happens to you, son.
It happened to me.
What? You bought
worthless mining stock?
I told you I lost my ride.
That's how I lost it.
Team owner was a conman. Junk
bonds, worthless companies.
But mainly he sold stolen yachts.
When I won enough races, he even
used my name to promote the sales.
He went to jail and
I lost my ride.
It was pretty
humiliating, actually.
Hell, Cole, there's no
need to be embarrassed
by some lowlife,
piece of trash who
put you in that kind of position.
- Well, Harry, that depends.
- On what?
On whether or not you're related
to that lowlife, piece of trash.
He was my father.
I've never really stuck
with anything since.
They don't trust me,
I don't trust them.
You know how that goes.
Like for instance,
you lied to me today.
It was dumb luck I didn't
end up crashed or dead.
- I ought to punch you out.
- Yeah? Give it a try.
No.
Don't wanna get my ass
kicked by a 60-year-old man.
Fifty-nine.
- Whoop his ass, Harry.
- Come on, Cole.
Oh, God. Come on.
Drivers just don't go to the
outside like that, Cole.
But I knew you could
do it. I knew it.
I believed it in my heart.
- Peach or cherry?
- Cherry.
I'm taking a leak.
There you see now, there's
calculating drivers,
and then there's kamikaze drivers.
And our Cole here's a
kamikaze, like my pappy was.
- And who's that?
- Buddy Bretherton.
Buddy Bretherton was your dad?
- He died at Daytona, didn't he?
- Last year.
How did it happen? Mind my asking?
He hit the wall.
Which turn?
He was probably dead
before he hit it.
The coroner's report showed
massive heart attack.
I believe we've been pulled over.
All right. Everybody out and
up against the wall here.
You're under arrest.
Let's go. Move it.
- What the hell for?
- It's right there in your hand.
Transportation of illegal
alcohol across state lines
for the purpose of distribution.
Well, I don't know what this
looks like to you, Officer,
but this is not distribution.
This is consumption.
Well, that don't
exactly make it legal.
You know what...
Now up against the wall.
- What is this?
- Up against the wall.
Officer?
Well, looks like we've
found something.
- What's that?
- A concealed weapon.
- Where?
- Right here.
Now, the only question is,
will he actually use it?
Please don't be mad. Harry and the
boys just thought
you might like me.
Here we are for summer speed
weeks in Daytona Beach, Florida.
It's the Firecracker 400.
And the favourite here today
is newcomer Cole Trickle
in the number 46
Superflo Chevrolet.
He's the hottest young
rookie in NASCAR history
and has won an unprecedented
five out of his last six races.
Stop playing peek-a-boo in
Rowdy's rear-view mirror.
I thought you boys would've
had enough of that by now.
I'm not doing anything
like that, Harry.
Well, then what are you doing?
He rubbed me the wrong way
and loosened his bumper.
I'm just gonna have to
come all the way out.
Try that and his rear bumper's
liable to go through the radiator
and take you out of
the whole damn race.
That bumper gets
any looser, Rowdy,
they're gonna black-flag you.
Let him go by.
He's waving me by, I'm gonna
take him on the high side.
What are you so
worried about, Harry?
Well, you surely got my attention.
Great driving, great
recovery, Cole.
Cole Trickle now right behind
the number 51 car of Burns,
and they go at it again.
There's a crash coming
out of turn four, Cole.
I see it.
Can you hear me?
- I can't see anything.
- Wiggle your fingers for me.
Wiggle your toes.
I can't see anything.
I'm all right. Take this off.
Hey, what do we got?
Hook up the other monitor.
I'm not a car battery. I
don't need recharging.
Relax, it's just
standard procedure.
Hey, you go screw yourself, okay?
What was that, Mr Burns?
I wouldn't tell you
to do that, Doc.
- What's going on?
- Keep your head down.
Relax.
I can't see.
God, tell me what's going
on. I'm blind, God damn it.
- What's your name?
- What...
- What's your name?
- Cole. Cole.
Cole, would you help us out
and lie still, please?
C-spine and CAT scan, right away.
Yes, Doctor.
Can you move your fingers for me?
Just tell him he's
had a concussion.
His brain is bruised, and like
any bruise, it's gonna swell.
Now that swelling
is almost certainly
what's affecting his vision.
You have a concussion and
your brain is bruised
and it's going to swell. It's
certainly gonna
affect your vision.
You mean this will go away?
Tell him we're gonna run some
tests to confirm everything.
What did his helmet look
like and was it cracked?
No.
- Was it scratched?
- Are you a brain doctor?
Was the helmet scratched
at the front or the back?
I believe it was scratched
in the back and the front.
Are you a brain doctor?
Could someone talk to me?
When I'm driving, I
got a guy on the
radio who talks to
me. I can't see him.
But he talks to me.
Don't worry, we're going
to take care of him.
Harry.
- Are you okay, Harry?
- Yeah. Why?
You look all bent out of shape.
Hell, it's probably just my eyes.
No, it's me, I've
been here all night.
Jesus. What are they
giving me here?
Harry, what happened?
Rowdy was spinning
across the track.
The rule is you go
straight for them.
So I never took my
foot off the gas.
He should have been
gone by the time
I got there, man, but he wasn't.
I think another car hit you
and knocked you into Rowdy.
- He came out of nowhere.
- Yeah.
It's one of those things
that never happens.
I wouldn't even think
about it, you know.
- I'll get the doctor.
- I feel great.
Cole.
Damn nice to see you, Cole.
How you doing, buddy?
It's damn nice to see you, Buck.
How you doing?
Cole, you've met Dr Lewicki.
That's your doctor, Dr Lewicki.
I don't think he's
actually seen me before.
Sure, Harry.
- No...
- Dr Lewicki.
Smock, stethoscope. It's
a great costume, Harry.
So how are you, Doc?
No, Cole, this really
is Dr Lewicki.
I was just about to go off duty.
You thought you'd come
by to look me over.
Well, it's not a bad idea. I
figure your vision's restored?
I think so.
Nothing's blurred? You're
not seeing double?
No haloes around objects?
Flashing lights?
What are you going
to do with this?
Look into your eyes.
Doc, Doc.
Isn't this what you're
really looking for?
Well, that's
interesting enough, Mr
Trickle, but it's just
not my speciality.
She's the real thing?
Well, I wouldn't play no joke on
you in a situation like this.
Sorry, Cole, I'm
trying not to smile.
All right, get out.
Get out. Get out of here.
Get some rest, man.
I am not well.
I can walk, God damn it.
Not as long as you're in
this hospital you can't.
I don't want to be
next to this clown.
You mind picking up
the pace a little?
Hey, man, if you want drugs, you
have to see the nurse. Okay?
Wait.
Get out of the way.
Good morning, gentlemen.
Right this way.
So, neither Mr Burns, nor
in this case, Mr Trickle
present any significant
intracranial injury.
Now hold it, Doc. Let's
have that one in English.
Did they mess up
their squash or not?
Their brains are
intact. As much as
they were before the
accident anyway.
You're willing to
give them clearance
to get back on a racetrack?
Well, that's obviously a dangerous
way to spend your time.
That's a philosophical
objection, Doc,
and I'm looking for a medical one.
I'm not inclined to give
them clearance at this time.
- That's total horseshit.
- Gentlemen, please.
I think they're saying they
would like another opinion.
We would like to
talk to your boss.
You're welcome to, of course, but
Dr Wilhaire and I have consulted
and we're of the same opinion.
Which is a re-evaluation
in a week or two.
Thank you, Doc.
Now, we have a little something
we have to say to the boys here
and I don't think you
necessarily need to hear it.
Who's that?
Okay, Big John's turn.
If you wanna turn yourselves
into a greasy spot
on a country road
somewhere, go right ahead.
I don't give a shit and I don't
think anybody else does,
regardless of what
they say to your face.
But you two monkeys are not
going to do it on my racetrack.
Have you all heard of
Japanese inspection?
Japanese inspection.
You see, when the Japs
get in a load of lettuce
that they're not sure they
want to let in the country,
why, they just let it
sit on the docks until
they get good and
ready to look at it.
By then of course, it's all gone
rotten. Ain't nothing
left to inspect.
In other words, lettuce
is a perishable item
like you two monkeys.
You trade paint one more
time, you so much as touch,
I'm gonna black-flag
the two of you.
Gonna take apart your
race car for 300 laps.
Then if you pass the inspection,
and you put your car
back together, I
might let you get
back in the race.
Now, just to show us
there's no hard feelings,
we're all gonna go out
to dinner together.
- I've got other plans.
- Yeah, and so do I.
Well, you're gonna
have to change them.
And not only that, you two are
gonna drive to dinner together.
Dr Lewicki.
I want to apologise for
what happened with Cole
when you come into
the hospital room.
Mr Hogge, please, it's
nothing to worry about.
And in any case it was
hardly your doing.
Well, that's just it,
I believe it was.
You see, not too long ago
after he won Darlington,
we played a trick on Cole.
We dressed up a pretty girl
in a highway-patrol uniform.
Anyway, we told her to get real
hornery with him and she did.
- By hornery, you mean...
- I mean, real hornery.
Why would you want me
to know about this?
I don't want you to hold
a bad opinion of Cole.
I believe it scares him.
He needs reassurance
from you that he's okay.
After all, you're his doctor.
That's it.
Doc.
I heard you thought I was
a highway-patrol officer.
I also want to thank you
for taking care of me.
It's my job.
It's my life.
Well, this time let's shake hands.
- Of course. Of course.
- Good luck, Cole.
- Dr Lewicki, could I see you?
- You will, I promise.
No, I mean, have some
dinner, go catch
a movie. I'll take you to a race.
That's very sweet, really,
but it won't get you back
on the track any faster.
No, it's not what I meant.
- You got me here, now what?
- Here's how I see this deal.
Since you agree I ain't gonna let
you drive this car to dinner
and I agree you ain't gonna let
me drive this car to dinner,
there's only one way
to settle this.
What are you talking about?
Absolutely.
Let me tell you something, Tim.
If you can't control your race
drivers any better than this,
you might consider sticking
to something you can control.
Like used cars in
downtown Charlotte.
- Too close to call?
- Yeah.
- You're late.
- We had car trouble.
What kind of car trouble?
I believe it was the
radiator. Wasn't it, Cole?
Yes, Rowdy, I believe it was.
Tim, do you know anybody
at Daytona Memorial?
- The chief of staff. Why?
- Is he a race fan?
He was born in the South.
Tim wanted you to
meet Russ Wheeler.
He's gonna be driving for us till
you get your medical clearance.
It's a real pleasure to
race your car, Mr Trickle.
Yeah, thanks for helping out.
Yeah, Tim, I need a home
address of a doctor...
I'm only sorry I won't
be able to drive
it nearly as good as you though.
I'll see you later, Harry.
Yeah, the doctor that...
That...
What?
I was desperate to
get your attention.
Well, you got it. I
walked into a jungle.
No, it's nicely extravagant, but
really, I can't. I'm
a doctor on call.
And I'm a patient. Somebody has to
re-examine me. I need clearance.
Come up here and do that.
I'll take you to a race.
Come on, I don't want to watch you
guys going round and
round in circles,
chasing each other like a
pack of dogs on my day off.
Then how about chasing
me on your day off?
I don't have a day off.
I'm on call 24 hours.
Okay, Doctor, let's suppose you
had a couple of days off...
Sugar. Sugar.
With nothing else to do.
Could I interest you in the
North Carolina countryside?
- Speaking theoretically?
- Speaking theoretically.
Maybe. But you'd have
to convince my boss.
Good. Good. How tall are you?
What did he say?
"Doctor, fly to Charlotte
and check those boys out."
Boy, you're very quick.
You ought to see me drive.
Rowdy's not here.
Well, I told him to meet
us at the infield by 5:00.
Well, we should probably
get started on Cole.
Close your eyes. Palms up.
Open your eyes. Arms down.
Follow my finger.
Stand with your feet together
and close your eyes.
Walk one foot in front of
the other. Open your eyes.
And back on the table.
This is tough.
- Examinations always are.
- Why's that?
Because I'm looking you over and
I might not like what I see.
That has to worry you. Pick a
spot on the wall and look at it.
- Please, don't move. Your eyes.
- I didn't move.
Just focus on one spot.
- What do you see?
- The retina.
What does it look like?
Very pretty, actually.
- Seen enough?
- Just about.
- What did you do that for?
- It's the Babinski sign.
If the toe goes up,
you're in trouble.
You're fine. Put on your
clothes. You're cleared to race.
I'm sorry, it just drove
me nuts in there.
How could you ignore me like that?
I wasn't ignoring you.
I wasn't ignoring you. I gave
you a very thorough physical.
You're not gonna do anything
weird on my leg, are you, Cole?
No.
It's just something Harry
and I work on together.
It's called drafting.
One car tucks in behind another.
Two cars can go faster than one.
They divide the air
resistance between them.
Now, here's where it
gets interesting.
The lead car has to floor it
to hit 200 miles an hour.
But the car that's
stuck behind doesn't.
He can go just as fast and
still have power in reserve.
So, when these two cars
come off that last turn,
the car that's in back can
move out of the draught,
and slingshot past the lead car,
beat it to the finish line.
And he goes straight
to Victory Lane.
- You and Harry work on that, huh?
- More or less.
Yeah, right. Is there anything
you want to do besides racing?
Anything you say.
Cole, there must be
something else that
you want to do in
life, eventually.
I can tell you what I don't want
to be in life, that's a fraud.
I want to know it's
not just dumb luck
that gets me around
that racetrack.
But that's not the question
you're really asking.
What's the question
I'm really asking?
"How can I be in bed
with this guy?"
I know the answer to that one.
Maybe, but you're still asking it.
"How could I, a
brilliant brain doctor,
"be in bed with a guy who
drives a car for a living?"
What's your response
to that, by the way?
Do something to make
me respect you. Do it.
Tell me what you love
so much about racing.
The speed.
To be able to control it.
To know that I can control
something that's out of control.
I'd really have to show you.
Show me.
It's funny about this place.
When I grew up, I hated farming.
All I wanted to do was work on
race cars. Got into racing.
Now all I want to do is to make
enough money to work on a farm.
Hi, Claire, I'm Jennie.
Nice to meet you.
Hi, nice to meet you.
- Hi, Cole.
- Hey, Jennie.
Just beyond the top
of that knoll, we're
going to build our permanent home.
- Costs much to build up there?
- About $10 million.
Oh, Rowdy.
Jennie's gonna do the building.
She's designing the house.
We just want a place that
nobody's ever lived in but us.
Isn't that right, honey?
- Rowdy, what is it?
- I think I'm getting seasick.
Seasick? You've never been
seasick a day in your life.
You didn't forget about
the physical, did you?
Nobody in my family goes to a
doctor unless they're dying.
Just because you ain't
feeling good, shit.
Stand with your feet together.
Put your arms out.
Close your eyes.
Take it easy. Take it easy.
- I'm fine. I'm fine.
- Yeah, I've got you.
- I'm fine. I'm fine.
- All right.
We've got to get you
back to Daytona.
Bill Wilhaire, the head of
neurosurgery, is my boss.
He's as good as they come.
- Did you get sick in there?
- No.
- He did, he got sick.
- Rowdy.
You're one hell of a candy-ass.
I faint and you throw up.
Rowdy, it's imperative that you
get back to Daytona Memorial
and see Dr Wilhaire.
The report on the birth of
another new Winston Cup team.
Behind me, the bright orange
and blue colours of Hardee's
adorn this Chevrolet. Who's the
driver? Well, to
no one's surprise,
it's Russ Wheeler, the young
man who subbed so superbly
just weeks ago for the
injured Cole Trickle.
Listen to this horseshit.
Now joined by car
owner, Tim Daland.
Now, Tim, my question now is,
you've got two competitive
spirits here,
and will these competitive
spirits cause you a conflict?
Well, of course, Jerry,
we believe that we can
maintain the integrity and the
independence of these
two race teams,
otherwise, we
wouldn't be doing it.
Who will you be rooting
for come Sunday, Tim?
Well, I tell you, Jerry, I'll even
wave to him every time I lap him.
These new tyres are terrible.
You should have put on scuffs.
You're doing good, Cole.
I'm too loose.
The car just feels all wrong.
- What's wrong?
- Cole's upset.
- What about?
- About being in that race car.
Wheeler just passed
the eighth car.
He's coming up on your inside.
Jesus.
- What happened?
- The engine blew.
- How?
- I'm not a mechanic, Harry.
Claire, I'm in Georgia today.
Rowdy's in North Carolina.
Well, somebody better talk
him into coming down here.
Claire, we've got a
trauma in the ER.
He's almost certainly
haemorrhaging.
The longer he ignores it,
the more damage is gonna
be done to his brain.
He's your friend, Cole.
- Where's Cole?
- He's on the phone.
He could use a little privacy.
What's wrong with him?
I'll tell you what's wrong
in this deal, it's you, Tim.
You're a victim of your
own goddamn creation.
Two race teams. That's one too
many roosters in the hen house.
It doesn't seem to
bother Russ Wheeler.
Oh, no, no, no. Ever since
that Daytona crash,
Cole's been called a troublemaker.
Wheeler figures he can bump
and bam Cole all he wants.
I don't see Russ doing
anything like that,
NASCAR doesn't see Russ
doing anything like that.
I guess it ain't happening then,
under the watchful eyes of
experts like you and NASCAR.
I tell you what is happening.
Cole's not running good,
he's not looking good,
and now he's got sponsor trouble.
But you don't, is that it?
As far as that goes, no, I don't.
But I want to keep the
sponsor and Cole.
He's the one that really
made this happen for us
and I haven't forgotten
that, Harry.
Right. Right.
You on the phone with
the doc? Fighting?
She's too busy to talk right now.
Here's your owner, Tim Daland.
What do you think about
this young man, Tim?
I think Russ ran a
great race today.
I'm really, really very pleased.
One hundred and two laps complete,
but we're under caution
here at North Wilkesboro.
How come Cole hasn't
seen Rowdy yet?
Cole's no different
from any other driver.
What do you mean
he's no different?
Well, I mean, of course Cole
doesn't want to see Rowdy.
Drivers can't stand
to be reminded of
what can happen to
them in a race car.
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 made history, Doc.
- He's blocking me.
- That's right.
Move the son of a bitch.
Son of a bitch.
Trickle moving to
the bottom of the
track with both
right-side tyres flat.
Russ Wheeler takes the
chequered flag...
Russ Wheeler don't
deserve to win, Tim.
If NASCAR won't call it lowdown,
shit-assed racing, you better.
- It's just racing, Harry.
- Oh, yeah?
- Cole overreacted. Yeah.
- Oh, yeah?
Change my tyres.
I don't know what
for, Cole. It's over.
Change my tyres.
There seems to be a
little post-race
activity just outside
the pit lane.
You shit.
He's destroyed both my cars.
He's destroyed both my cars.
He's fired. You're fired.
You're all fired. You hear me?
Are you going to get your
bags, head off to Daytona?
Where are you going from here?
I'll take you to the airport,
drop off the rental car,
catch a flight to Charlotte.
You want me to come with you?
You don't have to go
back to the hospital?
- We could also try to see Rowdy.
- Yeah.
Is there anything wrong with that?
Of course not.
I guess I just forgot about that.
Yeah, I know.
Cole.
Let me out of the car, Cole.
Let me out of the car, Cole.
Let me out of the car.
Let me out of the car. Let
me out or I'm getting out.
Hey. Hey, hey.
Claire. Wait. Just wait.
Get away or I'll call the police.
You'll what?
- You heard me.
- Okay, call the police.
But I'm not leaving
until you talk.
- I've got nothing to say.
- Well, I do.
Okay, great. Let's hear it.
- That's it? Fine.
- Just...
You shouldn't be
driving a car anyway.
Not on a road, not on a racetrack,
and not in a parking lot.
You're selfish, you're
crazy and you're scared.
- I'm not scared.
- You are scared to death.
You and Rowdy, you have the same
sickness. It's called denial.
And it's probably going
to kill you both.
You want to control something
that's out of control,
that's what you said
to me, wasn't it?
I'm going to let you
in on a little secret
that almost everybody else in
this world automatically knows.
Control is an illusion,
you infantile egomaniac.
Nobody knows what's
gonna happen next.
Not on a freeway, not
in an aeroplane,
not inside our own bodies,
and certainly not on a racetrack
with 40 other
infantile egomaniacs.
Nobody knows and nobody
controls anything.
Now, you've gotten a glimpse
of that and you're scared.
You might not have the
courage to race any more.
You may never have had it.
God, I hate you for this,
you son of a bitch.
You make me sound like a doctor.
Jennie.
Why are you here?
Where is he?
- I hear you're out of a job.
- Yeah.
You're not looking too good.
How many of these things
do you chew every day?
What did you come here for?
To take you to the hospital.
If it had been anybody
but a damn woman doctor,
I'd have been back on
the track weeks ago.
- Is that right?
- Yeah, that's right.
Listen, man, I've raced with
my legs broke, heart bruised,
eyes popping out of my head
like they're on springs.
This is going to go away
just like anything else.
As far as I'm concerned,
I'm going to live forever,
unless I go to some damn
hospital where they
take your shoes off,
and make you shut
your eyes, and bang, you're dead.
What did you win this for?
This one right here. What
did you win this for?
Doesn't it say?
Yeah, it's the Winston
Cup, buddy. Well,
hell, that's an
easy one to forget.
What's your name? Or has
that slipped your mind, too?
- Screw you, man.
- Okay.
We can go down there and fix your
head or we can fix it right here.
Now, what's it gonna be?
Rowdy would like to see you.
- How is he?
- He's okay.
- How are you?
- Good.
Think he'll make Daytona?
It's not for a few months.
I think he'll make it
out of the hospital.
But he'll never drive
a race car again.
Cole, this is Dr Wilhaire. He's
going to be doing the surgery.
- Cole Trickle.
- Cole.
So, how is he?
Well, the doc here says I
need minor brain surgery.
Well, that's not
exactly how I put it.
Well, listen, Doc, any surgery on
his brain is bound to be minor.
You all mind if I talk
to this guy a second?
Of course.
They say I got a busted
blood vessel in my brain.
So, they want to
drill a hole in my
head and get rid of
the leaky blood.
You think I should let
them do it, Cole?
Yeah.
- You'd let them if it was you?
- I would.
Okay, then I've got to ask
you to do something for me.
Well, name it.
- Drive my car.
- What are you talking about?
Daytona.
No, Rowdy, you have plenty of
time to get ready for Daytona.
You don't need me.
I lost my sponsor. They put
their money on me, not the car.
Now, they ain't too sure I'm
going to come out of this deal.
Are you?
I've got a lot of land and a
lot of plans I ain't paid for.
So the only way to get my
sponsor back is to make sure
my car runs good at Daytona.
All that network
TV shit, you know.
Well, you don't need
me. There's plenty
of other drivers.
You don't need me.
Don't give me that mealy-mouthed
shit, you son of a bitch.
I got to put a driver in my car
that'll finish in the top five,
before my sponsors will pick
up the tab for the year.
Maybe after Daytona,
maybe I can drive.
Maybe it'll be a different driver.
But in the meantime, I want
the best for my family.
So don't you bullshit me, Cole.
Is there some other
reason why I ain't
good enough for you to drive for?
Then you'll do it?
Shit, man. You had me going.
Now, let's get down to business
here. What's your
deal with Daland?
Hell, we'll work that out,
okay? Excuse me for a second.
- Cole, what's wrong?
- Just tell Rowdy I'll call him.
No, no, no, no, sir.
Can't use them. Don't want them.
Couldn't afford them if I did.
What the hell are
you talking about?
Race car drivers. I know all
about you and Rowdy Burns.
And I ain't setting
up that car for
Daytona or anywhere else, Cole,
but you're welcome to come on in.
We'll bring out the
moonshine and start
telling lies and
calling up the women.
But no talk about racing. Come on.
All right, no talk about racing.
Come on, Buck,
I'll race your ass.
I believe I'm gonna take
off. Good night, Harry.
Why won't you set up the car?
Ever since you and Rowdy crashed
at Daytona and Rowdy got sick,
you've been waiting for
the other shoe to drop,
waiting on something
bad to happen to you.
Just like Buddy Bretherton.
He started hearing voices.
All kinds of them, everywhere.
Atlanta, Richmond, Wilkesboro.
And all of them only had
but one thing to say,
"Get out of that race
car. Get out..."
You pegged the engine in Atlanta,
red lined the son of a bitch
and blew it sky-high.
Done it deliberate.
Done it deliberate.
9,400 rpms according to the
little telltale button.
You was worried if
you didn't get out
of that car right
quick, you'd die.
Now call me a liar.
You're not lying.
All right. What the hell
are we talking about then?
Racing Rowdy's car at Daytona.
I can't do it without you.
You can't do it period.
And I ain't going
back there, Cole.
Buddy didn't really die of
a heart attack, did he?
No, he didn't, but you
don't wanna hear about it.
NASCAR privately claimed the setup
on the car is what killed Buddy.
You used thin-walled tubing
to keep the weight down.
The exhaust fumes broke
through the fire wall
and carbon monoxide
knocked Buddy out.
Horseshit. When Buddy hit
the wall at the third turn,
he was jabbering on the radio
about as fast as he was driving.
Carbon monoxide, my ass.
That was the loudest-talking
unconscious man
you ever heard in your life.
Nothing killed Buddy
but his imagination.
Why didn't you let them
investigate, Harry? Why? Why?
Because I should have
known better than
to let him drive in
the first place.
You see, Buddy...
Buddy was a terrible pain
in the ass. He really was.
He thought he knew about cars,
which made him twice
as ignorant as you.
But still...
I look at guys like Buddy...
I've seen him do things in my race
car that's absolutely
unbelievable.
That really showed
me what I had done.
And then you see,
you're gonna automatically
have to sort of love that guy.
Whether you want to or not.
Buddy Bretherton.
I have to ask you
something, Harry.
Now, before Buddy hit the wall,
how was he actually
doing in that race?
- You hornery, no good...
- Hey, hey...
You set up that car.
You set up the car.
If you get back in that car,
you'll die. You'll die. You hear?
I'm not getting back in my
car, I'm getting in Rowdy's.
Well, I see how you're dumb
enough to be a race driver.
You think you'll hide from
your bad luck in his car?
What the hell for? For Rowdy?
If he could run tomorrow, he'd
crash you to win the race.
He's mean.
He's no particular friend, so why?
Because he asked me to.
Horseshit. You just
wanna race again.
Yeah. And so do you.
Well, you're scared.
- You're scared.
- Yeah, and so are you.
Yeah.
What?
I need this, Harry.
I don't have anything else.
You've given me a life.
God damn it, I don't
want to lose it.
Just put me in that race car.
Let me be the one to show
you what you've done.
Just trust me.
Let me drive, Harry. I won't
make a fool out of you.
I honestly just wouldn't know how
this deal's going
to turn out, Cole.
You know.
Neither do I, Harry.
I'm setting up for cool weather.
But if that sun breaks
after you're on the track,
you're liable to run
real loose real quick.
I don't wanna worry you enough,
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.
I couldn't handle that. So...
You've got to take care
of him. All right?
You've got to take care of him.
This is not the kind of answer
I'm looking for from you.
Daytona is a tough racetrack.
And I'm sure, myself
and everybody,
we're going to keep
an eye on Cole to see
if he's there, you know, all
his reflexes and everything.
He's plenty capable of
running that race car good
and I don't think
he has any kind of
effects from the
accident that would
be a factor in the
way he performs.
I'm glad he's well
enough to come back
and I hope I beat him
at the same time.
You know, a lot of
guys don't like him.
And it's just the situation where
the guy's got a lot of talent.
He's wide open, he doesn't
think about anything else,
he just wants to win. I like that.
Since the crash,
he's been a danger
to himself and to other drivers.
But if he comes near me, I'm
going to put him in the wall.
Simple as that.
I don't expect I'll
see too much of
him. Except in my
rear-view mirror.
Come in.
Harry said you wouldn't
mind if I stopped by.
- How's Rowdy?
- He's getting better every day.
Especially since you
told him how much
you were looking forward to
getting in his race car.
So I lied.
What are you thinking?
Just how much I'd like to
know what you're thinking.
I guess everybody's the same.
You've got to be good
at your job before
you can enjoy the
rest of your life.
This is my job.
It's all I know.
You know I can't
watch you do this.
Claire.
I'm more afraid of being nothing
than I am of being hurt.
Walk me out?
We welcome you to the
Daytona 500, the.
Super Bowl of motor racing events.
Certainly among the
favourites for today's race
has to be Russ Wheeler driving the
number 18 Hardee's sponsored car.
He has certainly given race
fans something to talk about
after winning the pole
for today's event.
But don't count out Cole Trickle,
who is returning to Daytona
for the first time
since his near-fatal
accident here last July.
Told me you guys
didn't have a sponsor.
Well, they gave us
just about enough
money to put their
name on the car.
- Tim.
- Cole.
Why is the hood up? What's
wrong with the car?
Take it easy. We had
to change engines.
We forgot to tighten the oil line.
Why did you have
to change engines?
Found some metal
in the oil filter.
- Where did you get the engine?
- Well, we stole it.
Claire, put the boy in his car,
tell him to get out on the track
before he starts
sweating, all right.
So, you're going to get
in your car and take off?
Drive carefully.
Gentlemen, start your engines.
We are underway. The
Daytona 500 is on.
We are 56 laps into
this 200-lap event
and Russ Wheeler is in the lead.
47:01 Lead is 45:90.
You're running last.
What's going on, Cole?
Are you all right?
Just past the halfway mark
and Wheeler still leads.
There's a crash at turn three, and
some oil at the
bottom of the track.
The lead is just taken.
Cars are sliding down from the top
of the track, so watch yourself.
You'd better go high, Cole. Pick
a line you can drive through.
Cole, are you all right?
Answer me, please.
Go around those wrecks.
You can drive through it.
I know it. I know it in my heart.
I'm through it, Harry.
I'm out of here.
Cole's moved up to ninth.
He's coming on strong.
Russ Wheeler in car number 18
continues to lead the way,
but the man on the
move is Cole Trickle.
I'm gonna make a hole
to get through here.
Here we go.
Wheeler knocked me into
Ganz. Ganz spun out.
He's going high.
God damn it.
And on the high side of the
track, Trickle takes the lead.
Go, Cole.
This is it, this is
what it's all about.
With just 23 laps to go,
Cole Trickle is leading.
- Take him now, Russ.
- He's all mine.
The accelerator is stuck, Harry.
It's stuck, it's
on the floorboard.
I can't slow down.
Step on the clutch and let the son
of a bitch blow it.
It's over, Cole.
Son of a...
Cole, you okay?
The good news is the
accelerator is fixed,
the bad news is the
transmission is screwed.
I'm coming in.
Are they out of the race, yet?
They will be in about 45 seconds.
That's the pace car.
Get me out in front of the pace
car or the race is over for us.
- The linkage is all twisted.
- Just give him the high gear.
Get me out there.
I got it.
Pace car's on its way.
Let's go.
- Come on, man, come on.
- Go. Go. Go.
Get out there and help
them. Go. Go. Go.
All right, all right,
we made it. Good work.
I owe you one.
Hey, you can't do that.
That's not your car.
It's my engine in that car,
I gave him that engine,
and that's what my
boys are pushing.
Cole, you better be at Max speed
when the green flag drops.
The pace car pulls off the track.
The green flag is out
and racing resumes.
Wheeler broke away,
he's still in the lead.
- Where am I?
- Running ninth.
- How many laps to go?
- Eight.
What's the interval
between me and Wheeler?
Trickle's fifth and
moving up fast, Russ.
Remember me?
I'm going to draught Wheeler, make
him pull me around the track.
The son of a bitch is on my ass.
He's going to take
me on the outside.
I'm going to put him in the wall.
- What's going on, Cole?
- I'm just setting him up, Harry.
There's the white
flag. One lap to go.
Last lap, Cole.
Don't keep this up, Cole, please.
Harry, this guy's going down.
Last turn, be careful.
He's going to
try and slingshot past you, Russ.
Don't worry, I know Cole. He
always goes to the outside.
This one's for you, Harry.
He's going high.
He's going low.
Son of a bitch.
Here come the cars
to the finish line,
it's Cole Trickle taking the win.
All right. All right.
I thought you weren't gonna watch.
I lied.
- Where's Harry?
- I don't know.
Harry.
Harry, say something, will you?
I really can't. I can't.
You didn't know how this one was
going to turn out, did you?
It's like you said.
There's nothing you
can't do in a race car.
- We won. We won.
- I know. Yeah.
Now, can you walk, or am I
going to have to carry you?
Where to?
- Victory Lane.
- Yeah.
Walk? Hell,
I'll race your ass.
welcome to the Daytona 500,
the Super Bowl of
motor racing events.
Walking onto the
grid is the two-time
Daytona 500 and defending
champion Rowdy Burns.
And perennial contender
from Reading,
Pennsylvania, Aldo Bennedetti.
Gentlemen, start your engines.
Big turn back for number
43, Richard Petty.
Petty spins to the
inside of the track.
A tough break for Richard Petty.
Richard Petty is out
of the Daytona 500.
Speaking of people who
are out of the race,
perhaps it's time to remember the
legendary crew chief, Harry Hogge,
whose great driver,
Buddy Bretherton,
died here last year
in a fiery crash,
hitting the wall at
over 195 miles an hour.
So you're enjoying the
good life, Harry?
Yeah.
I never minded spreading a little
fertiliser around now and then.
There's worse things.
- How's the truck running?
- Runs good.
I want you to build me a car.
Now, Tim, everybody knows
some downtown car dealer
can't afford a race team.
No driver worth a damn
is gonna sign with you.
Because they wreck one car, you
can't afford to build them another
and they're out of
the deal, you know.
And no car's gonna win
without a driver.
Not even mine.
If you built the car,
I'd get a damn driver.
What kind of driver are you going
to find after the
season's started?
Some old boy who's washed up and
wasn't worth a shit to begin with.
You can work with him.
You can build a driver like
you build a car, Harry.
Tim, take a look at that hound.
That's the best coon dog I've
ever seen or heard about.
And I didn't teach
him a damn thing.
Well, I got somebody.
- Who?
- Take a look at him.
Anybody I gotta take a
look at, ain't somebody.
Then take a look at nobody.
Look, Tim, I gave up racing. You
gotta know that. All right?
You didn't give up racing, Harry.
You quit to avoid an investigation
into Buddy's crash at Daytona.
Hey, I didn't avoid any
goddamn investigation.
Anyway, I talked to NASCAR
and if you come back in there
won't be any investigation.
How the hell did you
sell them on that deal?
I'm a hell of a salesman.
Now, that's a race car driver.
When's your driver due?
Harry tells me your guy
runs those Indy type deals.
Yeah. Sprints, mainly.
Two World of Outlaw championships,
three all-star wins,
seven straight feature wins
and he's been driving ASA.
Hey.
Got yourself a real
statistician there.
Does he know anything
about drivers?
We'll see.
Harry, where'd you say
your driver's from?
Eagle Rock.
It's up around
Wilkesboro, isn't it?
No. Glendale, California.
He's a Yankee?
Not exactly. If you're from
California, you're not a Yankee.
You're not really anything.
You said it.
The shocks are right,
we're dialled in, buddy.
Don't change a thing.
Hey, you ain't buried in
horse manure after all.
Looking pretty good.
You're the one who's looking good.
It hadn't been easy, Harry,
I'll guran-damn-tee you,
but this bitch is ready to run.
I can't tell you how
much we all appreciate
you letting us use the car, Rowdy.
I told you about this, Rowdy.
Harry's got some new driver
and he needs a car just
to turn a couple of laps.
I told you it was
Harry Hogge who'd
asked us personally, as a favour.
Who is this driver?
Tim tells me you've been
running open-wheels.
That's right.
And now you just want
to up and drive NASCAR?
That's right.
What do you know about
stock car racing?
Well, I've watched it on
television, of course.
You've seen it on television?
ESPN, the coverage is excellent.
You'd be surprised at how
much you can pick up.
I'm sure I would.
Look, this may not be the best
time for you to run this car.
Was there some problem?
No, sir. You all go right ahead.
But you bend this bitch
the least little bit,
I'm gonna tear your balls off.
Okay. Would you mind very
much holding on to this?
Didn't he hear what that man said?
Hold on a minute. Don't you
think we ought to talk?
What? About how I'm
gonna run? Sure.
About how you've managed to
live as long as you have.
Look, I ain't gonna let
you race this car.
- What's going on?
- He's had second thoughts.
- You said you'd look at him.
- I've looked at him.
I paid $2,500 to use
this track today, Harry.
Forget it. He needs a brand name
like Exxon or Richard Petty.
Well, I know a damn race
driver when I see one.
What's going on, Harry? Is
this happening or what?
Do us all a favour, Harry.
Let me drive. I won't
make a fool out of you.
That tunnel turn's real tricky.
Now, whether it's hot or cold,
it gets as slick as a butt.
Then you'll slip
and slide and slam
yourself into the wall
before you know it.
So just take it easy.
- I'm dropping the hammer.
- No, you're not.
It's under Rowdy's time.
Well, it might have been better
if he cracked up the car.
- That was fast.
- Yeah?
Thirty-one flat.
That's good enough to take the
pole in the last race here.
Hell, I thought this
was gonna be a joke.
You never drove a
stock car before?
No, sprints mainly.
- What's your name?
- Buck Bretherton. What's yours?
Cole Trickle. It's damn
nice to meet you, Buck.
Damn nice to meet you, too, Cole.
You were one lucky son of a
bitch in that tunnel turn.
That car was way out of shape.
Well, if you think it was
luck, let's do it again.
- You run good.
- Thank you.
Now, go get your own car and
we'll see how you do in a crowd.
So, how come you don't
stick to open wheels?
I lost my ride.
After two championships and seven
straight wins, you were fired?
I lost my ride.
Doesn't matter. I'd
have quit regardless.
- Why's that?
- I wasn't going anywhere.
- Where do you want to go?
- Indianapolis.
But you can't win in Indy
without a great car.
And my name's not
Andretti or Unser.
On the other hand, stock cars are
stock cars. Pretty much the same.
Hey, there's nothing
stock about a stock car.
Look, I'm not trying
to insult you.
All I'm saying is, stock
cars are built to run equal.
- Isn't that right?
- So the rule books say.
So I don't have to worry about
getting beat by another car.
In other words, all
you have to worry
about is getting beat
by other drivers.
Yeah.
You build me a car, and
I'll win Daytona next year.
I'm gonna give you an
engine low to the ground.
Extra-big oil pan that'll cut
the wind from underneath you.
That'll give you 30 to
40 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.
And when we get you primed,
painted and weighed,
you're going to be ready to go out
on that racetrack. You hear me?
You're gonna be perfect.
Okay. I'm going to pull
this rookie's chain.
Cole, you're wandering
all over the track.
Yeah. Well, that son of a
bitch just slammed into me.
No, he didn't slam into you, he
didn't bump you, he
didn't nudge you.
He rubbed you, and
rubbing, son, is racing.
There goes the fender.
There goes the quarter panel.
All right. Get back.
All right, while we're
still under a caution,
I want you to go back out on
that track and hit the pace car.
- Hit the pace car?
- Hit the pace car.
What for?
Because you hit every other
goddamn thing out there.
I want you to be perfect.
Now, go on. Go. Go. Go.
You're going too high.
Stay in the group.
How about that? This side
we don't have to fix.
I don't want you spoiled, Buck.
This is gonna hurt.
Move. Move. Move.
Did you see that guy?
I've got to pit.
I don't think so. We're busy now.
- You're what?
- We're eating ice cream.
Ice cream?
Now, you're welcome to
come on and get one,
but I don't believe NASCAR
would think much of you trying to
eat an ice cream cone out there.
You have enough trouble riding
around the track as it is.
Take it easy.
Come on now, Cole.
Cole. Cole.
We messed up big-time on Sunday.
I had sponsors in the stands
and I'm hugging and holding hands
and kissing them in the air and
praying for a good showing.
And what do we do?
We end up looking like a monkey
fucking a football out there.
Everybody out, please.
Except you two.
I've got a question.
What is the one thing
you absolutely
need to do to win a race?
- It's pretty damn obvious...
- You keep quiet.
You need to finish the race.
Tim, I realise Harry's
been around a long time.
I'm not saying that his
ways are antiquated
but it'd help to have
a car that handled
properly and didn't blow engines.
Well, if he wouldn't get excited
and over rev the son of a bitch,
the engine wouldn't blow.
Now, Cole, when you
shift the gear,
and that little needle on
the tach goes into the red
and reads 9,000 rpm, that's bad.
It's also my fault if the tyres
blow, if you ask this old fart.
Well, hell yes, it's your fault.
There's 40 other
vultures out there
who managed to finish the
race on their tyres.
You see Darrell Waltrip
using up his tyres?
There's nothing I can't
do with a race car.
Well, that's the difference
between you and me.
- There's only so much I can do.
- That's obvious.
Harry, he doesn't need to
appreciate your job to do his.
Well, he sure as hell does.
How can he expect to race
if he don't know what a
race car can and can't do?
What is this shit, huh?
You want me to work the
pit and you drive?
Fine. We'll try that.
I can't talk to this
son of a bitch.
I can't talk to that son of a
bitch. I really can't. I can't...
- You think he can drive?
- He can drive.
He can drive beyond the
limits of the tyres,
the engine, the
car, anything else.
If the son of a bitch
listened to me,
we wouldn't hardly
ever lose a race.
If we don't get us a sponsor
in the next couple of races,
my ass is fried.
I'm liable to be out of the
car business altogether.
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 going
to win a damn race.
Hey, Harry.
We've gotta talk, all right?
All right, Harry. Talk.
No. On the radio during the race.
Now, you wanna run right on the
ragged edge all the damn time,
you've got to tell us what's
going on with the car.
Or you just want to change
the way I drive it.
Maybe.
Well, maybe you can set up the
car so I don't have to change.
I'd be happy to.
- You just tell me how.
- What do you want to know?
Well, hell, Cole,
you are the driver.
You think she's running
loose or tight? Tell us.
We give a turn here, take
some wedge out there,
we'll win some races.
That's all there is to it.
- I can't do that.
- Why the hell not?
Because I don't know what the
hell you're talking about.
How do you mean that?
Because I don't know
much about cars, okay?
Well, hey, Cole,
that don't make you
a damn bit different from
any driver I ever met.
No, I mean, I really don't know.
I don't know what
you just said about
a turn here and a wedge there.
- I don't know. I don't know.
- How can that be?
What's the difference?
They told me to get in a car
and drive. And I could drive.
The point is, I'd like
to help out but I can't.
I'm an idiot. I don't
have the vocabulary.
- Well...
- Well?
We're just gonna have to
figure one out, aren't we?
Don't worry about it.
All right?
How does she feel?
Her ass is all over the place.
Well, the rear end's
loose. Car's fast.
"Loose" is fast, and "on the
edge," you're out of control.
Now, Cole, there
is something else.
Tyres is what wins a race.
Yeah. What the hell are
you talking about?
If we can't figure
you a way to run
so you don't melt the damn tyres,
we can't finish a race.
So, what do you want?
I'll tell you what,
you run 50 laps any way you like,
then 50 laps like I want you to.
Give me an honest run. If
you do, I'm gonna beat you.
All right. Now we're going to do
it 50 laps my way, all right?
Now, when you were racing
Indy cars out west,
the tyres were twice as wide and
the car weighed half as much.
Now your car weighs twice as much
and the tyres are half as wide
and you're burning
them up, all right.
Now, if you do... When you
burn them up, they melt,
when they melt, they get
greasy and you slip and slide.
And you're out of
control. All right?
Let's go.
His way, my way.
I was six seconds faster.
You can buy me some lunch
at the highway joint, Tim.
What's wrong?
We're trying to figure
out what to do.
- About what?
- About what? We're in trouble.
Rowdy took the pole in 30.25.
We run 31.10. We're almost
a second off the pace.
We're looking for some
speed out of this.
The car's perfect, Harry.
It's the first race
of the season here
at the legendary Darlington
International Speedway.
And the most treacherous
turn is number four.
30:90. Leader's 30:80.
You're running 12th.
Thirty laps to go.
Thanks, Harry.
You're gonna burn the damn
tyres, Cole. So take it easy.
Harry, I'm not going faster.
Everybody else is going slower.
He's right, Harry. I
checked his lap times.
We just haven't fallen off
as much as everybody else.
That's right. You're doing good,
Cole. You're doing real good.
You're running fifth
and you're gaining half a
second a lap on the leader.
Fifteen to go.
Don't pass on the
outside of turn four.
That's right. Stay to the
inside, Cole. Ten laps to go.
And Trickle has moved
into the number two spot,
right behind Rowdy Burns.
- I'm right behind the leader.
- Five laps to go.
Remember me?
What in the hell's going on?
Just a little rubbing,
Harry. Rubbing's racing.
I'm going to take this
rookie once and for all.
All right, God damn
it. That's enough.
You can't play with
Rowdy like this.
He's gonna give you
a real ass ripping.
Just relax, Harry.
Somebody's got to give. And
it's Rowdy Burns who's out.
No. An incredible
recovery by Rowdy.
He retains his position
on the lead lap.
And we have a new leader.
Cole Trickle in the number
46 City Chevrolet Car.
We're under caution
with three laps to go.
- Caution's out. Come on in.
- What for? It's almost over.
You've been on the green for 68
laps. Everybody's
got to pit, Cole.
Go, go. Go, go.
The air gun's jammed,
give me another one.
Give me a gun. Give me a gun.
It's jammed. Come on,
switch it, guys.
Let's go.
- Damn it. Go. Go. Go.
- Go. Get them on quick.
God damn it. Son of a bitch.
Now, Cole...
Son of a bitch.
Cole, we're on the air, all right?
I come into the pit,
I'm in first place.
I go out, I'm in third
with two laps to go.
All right. First of all, don't
get excited, all right.
You're in third place. That's a
pretty respectable position.
Now, what you do is this.
When they slow down
into turn four,
you just keep your
foot on the gas and
drive right by them
on the outside.
Harry, you told me, nobody goes
to the outside on turn four.
Well, now I'm telling
you different. If
you go to the outside,
you can hold it.
He's going to end up in the wall.
All right. Cole, the pace car
is about ready to duck on off.
We don't have a whole lot
of time to talk about this.
Well, tell me how.
It's because we've got a real
good set of match tyres on.
- What?
- What?
Those tyres are matched perfect
and staggered special.
You're gonna get him killed.
Pace car's about
ready duck on off.
If you go to the outside,
you can hold it.
All right, Harry. When it comes
to the car I'll take your word.
The white flag is
out. One lap to go.
The boy don't have the balls
to pass me on the outside.
And they're heading into
treacherous turn four.
Yes.
And Cole Trickle wins his
first ever NASCAR victory.
Second place goes to Rowdy Burns.
Cole Trickle...
Cole, did you have any
idea you could run
the car wide open
into that last turn
and make it stick like that?
- I knew it all along.
- How's that?
Well, in our last
stop, when I came
in, Harry put on special tyres.
Special tyres? Harry Hogge,
what's special about them?
Well, nothing in particular.
Looks like Harry Hogge has
a little explaining to do.
You told me...
I lied. I had to tell you
something to calm you down.
You were acting like
such a candy-ass.
After the air gun stuck, I figured
you'd never get back
on the racetrack.
You son of a bitch.
Try this on for size. We've
got ourselves a sponsor.
Promise me one thing, boys,
whatever else we do from
here, we win Daytona.
That's a promise.
That's a promise.
Selling thousands of dollars
worth of useless mining stock
and they call that a
dog and pony show.
It may be funny, but it's not that
funny when it happens to you, son.
It happened to me.
What? You bought
worthless mining stock?
I told you I lost my ride.
That's how I lost it.
Team owner was a conman. Junk
bonds, worthless companies.
But mainly he sold stolen yachts.
When I won enough races, he even
used my name to promote the sales.
He went to jail and
I lost my ride.
It was pretty
humiliating, actually.
Hell, Cole, there's no
need to be embarrassed
by some lowlife,
piece of trash who
put you in that kind of position.
- Well, Harry, that depends.
- On what?
On whether or not you're related
to that lowlife, piece of trash.
He was my father.
I've never really stuck
with anything since.
They don't trust me,
I don't trust them.
You know how that goes.
Like for instance,
you lied to me today.
It was dumb luck I didn't
end up crashed or dead.
- I ought to punch you out.
- Yeah? Give it a try.
No.
Don't wanna get my ass
kicked by a 60-year-old man.
Fifty-nine.
- Whoop his ass, Harry.
- Come on, Cole.
Oh, God. Come on.
Drivers just don't go to the
outside like that, Cole.
But I knew you could
do it. I knew it.
I believed it in my heart.
- Peach or cherry?
- Cherry.
I'm taking a leak.
There you see now, there's
calculating drivers,
and then there's kamikaze drivers.
And our Cole here's a
kamikaze, like my pappy was.
- And who's that?
- Buddy Bretherton.
Buddy Bretherton was your dad?
- He died at Daytona, didn't he?
- Last year.
How did it happen? Mind my asking?
He hit the wall.
Which turn?
He was probably dead
before he hit it.
The coroner's report showed
massive heart attack.
I believe we've been pulled over.
All right. Everybody out and
up against the wall here.
You're under arrest.
Let's go. Move it.
- What the hell for?
- It's right there in your hand.
Transportation of illegal
alcohol across state lines
for the purpose of distribution.
Well, I don't know what this
looks like to you, Officer,
but this is not distribution.
This is consumption.
Well, that don't
exactly make it legal.
You know what...
Now up against the wall.
- What is this?
- Up against the wall.
Officer?
Well, looks like we've
found something.
- What's that?
- A concealed weapon.
- Where?
- Right here.
Now, the only question is,
will he actually use it?
Please don't be mad. Harry and the
boys just thought
you might like me.
Here we are for summer speed
weeks in Daytona Beach, Florida.
It's the Firecracker 400.
And the favourite here today
is newcomer Cole Trickle
in the number 46
Superflo Chevrolet.
He's the hottest young
rookie in NASCAR history
and has won an unprecedented
five out of his last six races.
Stop playing peek-a-boo in
Rowdy's rear-view mirror.
I thought you boys would've
had enough of that by now.
I'm not doing anything
like that, Harry.
Well, then what are you doing?
He rubbed me the wrong way
and loosened his bumper.
I'm just gonna have to
come all the way out.
Try that and his rear bumper's
liable to go through the radiator
and take you out of
the whole damn race.
That bumper gets
any looser, Rowdy,
they're gonna black-flag you.
Let him go by.
He's waving me by, I'm gonna
take him on the high side.
What are you so
worried about, Harry?
Well, you surely got my attention.
Great driving, great
recovery, Cole.
Cole Trickle now right behind
the number 51 car of Burns,
and they go at it again.
There's a crash coming
out of turn four, Cole.
I see it.
Can you hear me?
- I can't see anything.
- Wiggle your fingers for me.
Wiggle your toes.
I can't see anything.
I'm all right. Take this off.
Hey, what do we got?
Hook up the other monitor.
I'm not a car battery. I
don't need recharging.
Relax, it's just
standard procedure.
Hey, you go screw yourself, okay?
What was that, Mr Burns?
I wouldn't tell you
to do that, Doc.
- What's going on?
- Keep your head down.
Relax.
I can't see.
God, tell me what's going
on. I'm blind, God damn it.
- What's your name?
- What...
- What's your name?
- Cole. Cole.
Cole, would you help us out
and lie still, please?
C-spine and CAT scan, right away.
Yes, Doctor.
Can you move your fingers for me?
Just tell him he's
had a concussion.
His brain is bruised, and like
any bruise, it's gonna swell.
Now that swelling
is almost certainly
what's affecting his vision.
You have a concussion and
your brain is bruised
and it's going to swell. It's
certainly gonna
affect your vision.
You mean this will go away?
Tell him we're gonna run some
tests to confirm everything.
What did his helmet look
like and was it cracked?
No.
- Was it scratched?
- Are you a brain doctor?
Was the helmet scratched
at the front or the back?
I believe it was scratched
in the back and the front.
Are you a brain doctor?
Could someone talk to me?
When I'm driving, I
got a guy on the
radio who talks to
me. I can't see him.
But he talks to me.
Don't worry, we're going
to take care of him.
Harry.
- Are you okay, Harry?
- Yeah. Why?
You look all bent out of shape.
Hell, it's probably just my eyes.
No, it's me, I've
been here all night.
Jesus. What are they
giving me here?
Harry, what happened?
Rowdy was spinning
across the track.
The rule is you go
straight for them.
So I never took my
foot off the gas.
He should have been
gone by the time
I got there, man, but he wasn't.
I think another car hit you
and knocked you into Rowdy.
- He came out of nowhere.
- Yeah.
It's one of those things
that never happens.
I wouldn't even think
about it, you know.
- I'll get the doctor.
- I feel great.
Cole.
Damn nice to see you, Cole.
How you doing, buddy?
It's damn nice to see you, Buck.
How you doing?
Cole, you've met Dr Lewicki.
That's your doctor, Dr Lewicki.
I don't think he's
actually seen me before.
Sure, Harry.
- No...
- Dr Lewicki.
Smock, stethoscope. It's
a great costume, Harry.
So how are you, Doc?
No, Cole, this really
is Dr Lewicki.
I was just about to go off duty.
You thought you'd come
by to look me over.
Well, it's not a bad idea. I
figure your vision's restored?
I think so.
Nothing's blurred? You're
not seeing double?
No haloes around objects?
Flashing lights?
What are you going
to do with this?
Look into your eyes.
Doc, Doc.
Isn't this what you're
really looking for?
Well, that's
interesting enough, Mr
Trickle, but it's just
not my speciality.
She's the real thing?
Well, I wouldn't play no joke on
you in a situation like this.
Sorry, Cole, I'm
trying not to smile.
All right, get out.
Get out. Get out of here.
Get some rest, man.
I am not well.
I can walk, God damn it.
Not as long as you're in
this hospital you can't.
I don't want to be
next to this clown.
You mind picking up
the pace a little?
Hey, man, if you want drugs, you
have to see the nurse. Okay?
Wait.
Get out of the way.
Good morning, gentlemen.
Right this way.
So, neither Mr Burns, nor
in this case, Mr Trickle
present any significant
intracranial injury.
Now hold it, Doc. Let's
have that one in English.
Did they mess up
their squash or not?
Their brains are
intact. As much as
they were before the
accident anyway.
You're willing to
give them clearance
to get back on a racetrack?
Well, that's obviously a dangerous
way to spend your time.
That's a philosophical
objection, Doc,
and I'm looking for a medical one.
I'm not inclined to give
them clearance at this time.
- That's total horseshit.
- Gentlemen, please.
I think they're saying they
would like another opinion.
We would like to
talk to your boss.
You're welcome to, of course, but
Dr Wilhaire and I have consulted
and we're of the same opinion.
Which is a re-evaluation
in a week or two.
Thank you, Doc.
Now, we have a little something
we have to say to the boys here
and I don't think you
necessarily need to hear it.
Who's that?
Okay, Big John's turn.
If you wanna turn yourselves
into a greasy spot
on a country road
somewhere, go right ahead.
I don't give a shit and I don't
think anybody else does,
regardless of what
they say to your face.
But you two monkeys are not
going to do it on my racetrack.
Have you all heard of
Japanese inspection?
Japanese inspection.
You see, when the Japs
get in a load of lettuce
that they're not sure they
want to let in the country,
why, they just let it
sit on the docks until
they get good and
ready to look at it.
By then of course, it's all gone
rotten. Ain't nothing
left to inspect.
In other words, lettuce
is a perishable item
like you two monkeys.
You trade paint one more
time, you so much as touch,
I'm gonna black-flag
the two of you.
Gonna take apart your
race car for 300 laps.
Then if you pass the inspection,
and you put your car
back together, I
might let you get
back in the race.
Now, just to show us
there's no hard feelings,
we're all gonna go out
to dinner together.
- I've got other plans.
- Yeah, and so do I.
Well, you're gonna
have to change them.
And not only that, you two are
gonna drive to dinner together.
Dr Lewicki.
I want to apologise for
what happened with Cole
when you come into
the hospital room.
Mr Hogge, please, it's
nothing to worry about.
And in any case it was
hardly your doing.
Well, that's just it,
I believe it was.
You see, not too long ago
after he won Darlington,
we played a trick on Cole.
We dressed up a pretty girl
in a highway-patrol uniform.
Anyway, we told her to get real
hornery with him and she did.
- By hornery, you mean...
- I mean, real hornery.
Why would you want me
to know about this?
I don't want you to hold
a bad opinion of Cole.
I believe it scares him.
He needs reassurance
from you that he's okay.
After all, you're his doctor.
That's it.
Doc.
I heard you thought I was
a highway-patrol officer.
I also want to thank you
for taking care of me.
It's my job.
It's my life.
Well, this time let's shake hands.
- Of course. Of course.
- Good luck, Cole.
- Dr Lewicki, could I see you?
- You will, I promise.
No, I mean, have some
dinner, go catch
a movie. I'll take you to a race.
That's very sweet, really,
but it won't get you back
on the track any faster.
No, it's not what I meant.
- You got me here, now what?
- Here's how I see this deal.
Since you agree I ain't gonna let
you drive this car to dinner
and I agree you ain't gonna let
me drive this car to dinner,
there's only one way
to settle this.
What are you talking about?
Absolutely.
Let me tell you something, Tim.
If you can't control your race
drivers any better than this,
you might consider sticking
to something you can control.
Like used cars in
downtown Charlotte.
- Too close to call?
- Yeah.
- You're late.
- We had car trouble.
What kind of car trouble?
I believe it was the
radiator. Wasn't it, Cole?
Yes, Rowdy, I believe it was.
Tim, do you know anybody
at Daytona Memorial?
- The chief of staff. Why?
- Is he a race fan?
He was born in the South.
Tim wanted you to
meet Russ Wheeler.
He's gonna be driving for us till
you get your medical clearance.
It's a real pleasure to
race your car, Mr Trickle.
Yeah, thanks for helping out.
Yeah, Tim, I need a home
address of a doctor...
I'm only sorry I won't
be able to drive
it nearly as good as you though.
I'll see you later, Harry.
Yeah, the doctor that...
That...
What?
I was desperate to
get your attention.
Well, you got it. I
walked into a jungle.
No, it's nicely extravagant, but
really, I can't. I'm
a doctor on call.
And I'm a patient. Somebody has to
re-examine me. I need clearance.
Come up here and do that.
I'll take you to a race.
Come on, I don't want to watch you
guys going round and
round in circles,
chasing each other like a
pack of dogs on my day off.
Then how about chasing
me on your day off?
I don't have a day off.
I'm on call 24 hours.
Okay, Doctor, let's suppose you
had a couple of days off...
Sugar. Sugar.
With nothing else to do.
Could I interest you in the
North Carolina countryside?
- Speaking theoretically?
- Speaking theoretically.
Maybe. But you'd have
to convince my boss.
Good. Good. How tall are you?
What did he say?
"Doctor, fly to Charlotte
and check those boys out."
Boy, you're very quick.
You ought to see me drive.
Rowdy's not here.
Well, I told him to meet
us at the infield by 5:00.
Well, we should probably
get started on Cole.
Close your eyes. Palms up.
Open your eyes. Arms down.
Follow my finger.
Stand with your feet together
and close your eyes.
Walk one foot in front of
the other. Open your eyes.
And back on the table.
This is tough.
- Examinations always are.
- Why's that?
Because I'm looking you over and
I might not like what I see.
That has to worry you. Pick a
spot on the wall and look at it.
- Please, don't move. Your eyes.
- I didn't move.
Just focus on one spot.
- What do you see?
- The retina.
What does it look like?
Very pretty, actually.
- Seen enough?
- Just about.
- What did you do that for?
- It's the Babinski sign.
If the toe goes up,
you're in trouble.
You're fine. Put on your
clothes. You're cleared to race.
I'm sorry, it just drove
me nuts in there.
How could you ignore me like that?
I wasn't ignoring you.
I wasn't ignoring you. I gave
you a very thorough physical.
You're not gonna do anything
weird on my leg, are you, Cole?
No.
It's just something Harry
and I work on together.
It's called drafting.
One car tucks in behind another.
Two cars can go faster than one.
They divide the air
resistance between them.
Now, here's where it
gets interesting.
The lead car has to floor it
to hit 200 miles an hour.
But the car that's
stuck behind doesn't.
He can go just as fast and
still have power in reserve.
So, when these two cars
come off that last turn,
the car that's in back can
move out of the draught,
and slingshot past the lead car,
beat it to the finish line.
And he goes straight
to Victory Lane.
- You and Harry work on that, huh?
- More or less.
Yeah, right. Is there anything
you want to do besides racing?
Anything you say.
Cole, there must be
something else that
you want to do in
life, eventually.
I can tell you what I don't want
to be in life, that's a fraud.
I want to know it's
not just dumb luck
that gets me around
that racetrack.
But that's not the question
you're really asking.
What's the question
I'm really asking?
"How can I be in bed
with this guy?"
I know the answer to that one.
Maybe, but you're still asking it.
"How could I, a
brilliant brain doctor,
"be in bed with a guy who
drives a car for a living?"
What's your response
to that, by the way?
Do something to make
me respect you. Do it.
Tell me what you love
so much about racing.
The speed.
To be able to control it.
To know that I can control
something that's out of control.
I'd really have to show you.
Show me.
It's funny about this place.
When I grew up, I hated farming.
All I wanted to do was work on
race cars. Got into racing.
Now all I want to do is to make
enough money to work on a farm.
Hi, Claire, I'm Jennie.
Nice to meet you.
Hi, nice to meet you.
- Hi, Cole.
- Hey, Jennie.
Just beyond the top
of that knoll, we're
going to build our permanent home.
- Costs much to build up there?
- About $10 million.
Oh, Rowdy.
Jennie's gonna do the building.
She's designing the house.
We just want a place that
nobody's ever lived in but us.
Isn't that right, honey?
- Rowdy, what is it?
- I think I'm getting seasick.
Seasick? You've never been
seasick a day in your life.
You didn't forget about
the physical, did you?
Nobody in my family goes to a
doctor unless they're dying.
Just because you ain't
feeling good, shit.
Stand with your feet together.
Put your arms out.
Close your eyes.
Take it easy. Take it easy.
- I'm fine. I'm fine.
- Yeah, I've got you.
- I'm fine. I'm fine.
- All right.
We've got to get you
back to Daytona.
Bill Wilhaire, the head of
neurosurgery, is my boss.
He's as good as they come.
- Did you get sick in there?
- No.
- He did, he got sick.
- Rowdy.
You're one hell of a candy-ass.
I faint and you throw up.
Rowdy, it's imperative that you
get back to Daytona Memorial
and see Dr Wilhaire.
The report on the birth of
another new Winston Cup team.
Behind me, the bright orange
and blue colours of Hardee's
adorn this Chevrolet. Who's the
driver? Well, to
no one's surprise,
it's Russ Wheeler, the young
man who subbed so superbly
just weeks ago for the
injured Cole Trickle.
Listen to this horseshit.
Now joined by car
owner, Tim Daland.
Now, Tim, my question now is,
you've got two competitive
spirits here,
and will these competitive
spirits cause you a conflict?
Well, of course, Jerry,
we believe that we can
maintain the integrity and the
independence of these
two race teams,
otherwise, we
wouldn't be doing it.
Who will you be rooting
for come Sunday, Tim?
Well, I tell you, Jerry, I'll even
wave to him every time I lap him.
These new tyres are terrible.
You should have put on scuffs.
You're doing good, Cole.
I'm too loose.
The car just feels all wrong.
- What's wrong?
- Cole's upset.
- What about?
- About being in that race car.
Wheeler just passed
the eighth car.
He's coming up on your inside.
Jesus.
- What happened?
- The engine blew.
- How?
- I'm not a mechanic, Harry.
Claire, I'm in Georgia today.
Rowdy's in North Carolina.
Well, somebody better talk
him into coming down here.
Claire, we've got a
trauma in the ER.
He's almost certainly
haemorrhaging.
The longer he ignores it,
the more damage is gonna
be done to his brain.
He's your friend, Cole.
- Where's Cole?
- He's on the phone.
He could use a little privacy.
What's wrong with him?
I'll tell you what's wrong
in this deal, it's you, Tim.
You're a victim of your
own goddamn creation.
Two race teams. That's one too
many roosters in the hen house.
It doesn't seem to
bother Russ Wheeler.
Oh, no, no, no. Ever since
that Daytona crash,
Cole's been called a troublemaker.
Wheeler figures he can bump
and bam Cole all he wants.
I don't see Russ doing
anything like that,
NASCAR doesn't see Russ
doing anything like that.
I guess it ain't happening then,
under the watchful eyes of
experts like you and NASCAR.
I tell you what is happening.
Cole's not running good,
he's not looking good,
and now he's got sponsor trouble.
But you don't, is that it?
As far as that goes, no, I don't.
But I want to keep the
sponsor and Cole.
He's the one that really
made this happen for us
and I haven't forgotten
that, Harry.
Right. Right.
You on the phone with
the doc? Fighting?
She's too busy to talk right now.
Here's your owner, Tim Daland.
What do you think about
this young man, Tim?
I think Russ ran a
great race today.
I'm really, really very pleased.
One hundred and two laps complete,
but we're under caution
here at North Wilkesboro.
How come Cole hasn't
seen Rowdy yet?
Cole's no different
from any other driver.
What do you mean
he's no different?
Well, I mean, of course Cole
doesn't want to see Rowdy.
Drivers can't stand
to be reminded of
what can happen to
them in a race car.
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 made history, Doc.
- He's blocking me.
- That's right.
Move the son of a bitch.
Son of a bitch.
Trickle moving to
the bottom of the
track with both
right-side tyres flat.
Russ Wheeler takes the
chequered flag...
Russ Wheeler don't
deserve to win, Tim.
If NASCAR won't call it lowdown,
shit-assed racing, you better.
- It's just racing, Harry.
- Oh, yeah?
- Cole overreacted. Yeah.
- Oh, yeah?
Change my tyres.
I don't know what
for, Cole. It's over.
Change my tyres.
There seems to be a
little post-race
activity just outside
the pit lane.
You shit.
He's destroyed both my cars.
He's destroyed both my cars.
He's fired. You're fired.
You're all fired. You hear me?
Are you going to get your
bags, head off to Daytona?
Where are you going from here?
I'll take you to the airport,
drop off the rental car,
catch a flight to Charlotte.
You want me to come with you?
You don't have to go
back to the hospital?
- We could also try to see Rowdy.
- Yeah.
Is there anything wrong with that?
Of course not.
I guess I just forgot about that.
Yeah, I know.
Cole.
Let me out of the car, Cole.
Let me out of the car, Cole.
Let me out of the car.
Let me out of the car. Let
me out or I'm getting out.
Hey. Hey, hey.
Claire. Wait. Just wait.
Get away or I'll call the police.
You'll what?
- You heard me.
- Okay, call the police.
But I'm not leaving
until you talk.
- I've got nothing to say.
- Well, I do.
Okay, great. Let's hear it.
- That's it? Fine.
- Just...
You shouldn't be
driving a car anyway.
Not on a road, not on a racetrack,
and not in a parking lot.
You're selfish, you're
crazy and you're scared.
- I'm not scared.
- You are scared to death.
You and Rowdy, you have the same
sickness. It's called denial.
And it's probably going
to kill you both.
You want to control something
that's out of control,
that's what you said
to me, wasn't it?
I'm going to let you
in on a little secret
that almost everybody else in
this world automatically knows.
Control is an illusion,
you infantile egomaniac.
Nobody knows what's
gonna happen next.
Not on a freeway, not
in an aeroplane,
not inside our own bodies,
and certainly not on a racetrack
with 40 other
infantile egomaniacs.
Nobody knows and nobody
controls anything.
Now, you've gotten a glimpse
of that and you're scared.
You might not have the
courage to race any more.
You may never have had it.
God, I hate you for this,
you son of a bitch.
You make me sound like a doctor.
Jennie.
Why are you here?
Where is he?
- I hear you're out of a job.
- Yeah.
You're not looking too good.
How many of these things
do you chew every day?
What did you come here for?
To take you to the hospital.
If it had been anybody
but a damn woman doctor,
I'd have been back on
the track weeks ago.
- Is that right?
- Yeah, that's right.
Listen, man, I've raced with
my legs broke, heart bruised,
eyes popping out of my head
like they're on springs.
This is going to go away
just like anything else.
As far as I'm concerned,
I'm going to live forever,
unless I go to some damn
hospital where they
take your shoes off,
and make you shut
your eyes, and bang, you're dead.
What did you win this for?
This one right here. What
did you win this for?
Doesn't it say?
Yeah, it's the Winston
Cup, buddy. Well,
hell, that's an
easy one to forget.
What's your name? Or has
that slipped your mind, too?
- Screw you, man.
- Okay.
We can go down there and fix your
head or we can fix it right here.
Now, what's it gonna be?
Rowdy would like to see you.
- How is he?
- He's okay.
- How are you?
- Good.
Think he'll make Daytona?
It's not for a few months.
I think he'll make it
out of the hospital.
But he'll never drive
a race car again.
Cole, this is Dr Wilhaire. He's
going to be doing the surgery.
- Cole Trickle.
- Cole.
So, how is he?
Well, the doc here says I
need minor brain surgery.
Well, that's not
exactly how I put it.
Well, listen, Doc, any surgery on
his brain is bound to be minor.
You all mind if I talk
to this guy a second?
Of course.
They say I got a busted
blood vessel in my brain.
So, they want to
drill a hole in my
head and get rid of
the leaky blood.
You think I should let
them do it, Cole?
Yeah.
- You'd let them if it was you?
- I would.
Okay, then I've got to ask
you to do something for me.
Well, name it.
- Drive my car.
- What are you talking about?
Daytona.
No, Rowdy, you have plenty of
time to get ready for Daytona.
You don't need me.
I lost my sponsor. They put
their money on me, not the car.
Now, they ain't too sure I'm
going to come out of this deal.
Are you?
I've got a lot of land and a
lot of plans I ain't paid for.
So the only way to get my
sponsor back is to make sure
my car runs good at Daytona.
All that network
TV shit, you know.
Well, you don't need
me. There's plenty
of other drivers.
You don't need me.
Don't give me that mealy-mouthed
shit, you son of a bitch.
I got to put a driver in my car
that'll finish in the top five,
before my sponsors will pick
up the tab for the year.
Maybe after Daytona,
maybe I can drive.
Maybe it'll be a different driver.
But in the meantime, I want
the best for my family.
So don't you bullshit me, Cole.
Is there some other
reason why I ain't
good enough for you to drive for?
Then you'll do it?
Shit, man. You had me going.
Now, let's get down to business
here. What's your
deal with Daland?
Hell, we'll work that out,
okay? Excuse me for a second.
- Cole, what's wrong?
- Just tell Rowdy I'll call him.
No, no, no, no, sir.
Can't use them. Don't want them.
Couldn't afford them if I did.
What the hell are
you talking about?
Race car drivers. I know all
about you and Rowdy Burns.
And I ain't setting
up that car for
Daytona or anywhere else, Cole,
but you're welcome to come on in.
We'll bring out the
moonshine and start
telling lies and
calling up the women.
But no talk about racing. Come on.
All right, no talk about racing.
Come on, Buck,
I'll race your ass.
I believe I'm gonna take
off. Good night, Harry.
Why won't you set up the car?
Ever since you and Rowdy crashed
at Daytona and Rowdy got sick,
you've been waiting for
the other shoe to drop,
waiting on something
bad to happen to you.
Just like Buddy Bretherton.
He started hearing voices.
All kinds of them, everywhere.
Atlanta, Richmond, Wilkesboro.
And all of them only had
but one thing to say,
"Get out of that race
car. Get out..."
You pegged the engine in Atlanta,
red lined the son of a bitch
and blew it sky-high.
Done it deliberate.
Done it deliberate.
9,400 rpms according to the
little telltale button.
You was worried if
you didn't get out
of that car right
quick, you'd die.
Now call me a liar.
You're not lying.
All right. What the hell
are we talking about then?
Racing Rowdy's car at Daytona.
I can't do it without you.
You can't do it period.
And I ain't going
back there, Cole.
Buddy didn't really die of
a heart attack, did he?
No, he didn't, but you
don't wanna hear about it.
NASCAR privately claimed the setup
on the car is what killed Buddy.
You used thin-walled tubing
to keep the weight down.
The exhaust fumes broke
through the fire wall
and carbon monoxide
knocked Buddy out.
Horseshit. When Buddy hit
the wall at the third turn,
he was jabbering on the radio
about as fast as he was driving.
Carbon monoxide, my ass.
That was the loudest-talking
unconscious man
you ever heard in your life.
Nothing killed Buddy
but his imagination.
Why didn't you let them
investigate, Harry? Why? Why?
Because I should have
known better than
to let him drive in
the first place.
You see, Buddy...
Buddy was a terrible pain
in the ass. He really was.
He thought he knew about cars,
which made him twice
as ignorant as you.
But still...
I look at guys like Buddy...
I've seen him do things in my race
car that's absolutely
unbelievable.
That really showed
me what I had done.
And then you see,
you're gonna automatically
have to sort of love that guy.
Whether you want to or not.
Buddy Bretherton.
I have to ask you
something, Harry.
Now, before Buddy hit the wall,
how was he actually
doing in that race?
- You hornery, no good...
- Hey, hey...
You set up that car.
You set up the car.
If you get back in that car,
you'll die. You'll die. You hear?
I'm not getting back in my
car, I'm getting in Rowdy's.
Well, I see how you're dumb
enough to be a race driver.
You think you'll hide from
your bad luck in his car?
What the hell for? For Rowdy?
If he could run tomorrow, he'd
crash you to win the race.
He's mean.
He's no particular friend, so why?
Because he asked me to.
Horseshit. You just
wanna race again.
Yeah. And so do you.
Well, you're scared.
- You're scared.
- Yeah, and so are you.
Yeah.
What?
I need this, Harry.
I don't have anything else.
You've given me a life.
God damn it, I don't
want to lose it.
Just put me in that race car.
Let me be the one to show
you what you've done.
Just trust me.
Let me drive, Harry. I won't
make a fool out of you.
I honestly just wouldn't know how
this deal's going
to turn out, Cole.
You know.
Neither do I, Harry.
I'm setting up for cool weather.
But if that sun breaks
after you're on the track,
you're liable to run
real loose real quick.
I don't wanna worry you enough,
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.
I couldn't handle that. So...
You've got to take care
of him. All right?
You've got to take care of him.
This is not the kind of answer
I'm looking for from you.
Daytona is a tough racetrack.
And I'm sure, myself
and everybody,
we're going to keep
an eye on Cole to see
if he's there, you know, all
his reflexes and everything.
He's plenty capable of
running that race car good
and I don't think
he has any kind of
effects from the
accident that would
be a factor in the
way he performs.
I'm glad he's well
enough to come back
and I hope I beat him
at the same time.
You know, a lot of
guys don't like him.
And it's just the situation where
the guy's got a lot of talent.
He's wide open, he doesn't
think about anything else,
he just wants to win. I like that.
Since the crash,
he's been a danger
to himself and to other drivers.
But if he comes near me, I'm
going to put him in the wall.
Simple as that.
I don't expect I'll
see too much of
him. Except in my
rear-view mirror.
Come in.
Harry said you wouldn't
mind if I stopped by.
- How's Rowdy?
- He's getting better every day.
Especially since you
told him how much
you were looking forward to
getting in his race car.
So I lied.
What are you thinking?
Just how much I'd like to
know what you're thinking.
I guess everybody's the same.
You've got to be good
at your job before
you can enjoy the
rest of your life.
This is my job.
It's all I know.
You know I can't
watch you do this.
Claire.
I'm more afraid of being nothing
than I am of being hurt.
Walk me out?
We welcome you to the
Daytona 500, the.
Super Bowl of motor racing events.
Certainly among the
favourites for today's race
has to be Russ Wheeler driving the
number 18 Hardee's sponsored car.
He has certainly given race
fans something to talk about
after winning the pole
for today's event.
But don't count out Cole Trickle,
who is returning to Daytona
for the first time
since his near-fatal
accident here last July.
Told me you guys
didn't have a sponsor.
Well, they gave us
just about enough
money to put their
name on the car.
- Tim.
- Cole.
Why is the hood up? What's
wrong with the car?
Take it easy. We had
to change engines.
We forgot to tighten the oil line.
Why did you have
to change engines?
Found some metal
in the oil filter.
- Where did you get the engine?
- Well, we stole it.
Claire, put the boy in his car,
tell him to get out on the track
before he starts
sweating, all right.
So, you're going to get
in your car and take off?
Drive carefully.
Gentlemen, start your engines.
We are underway. The
Daytona 500 is on.
We are 56 laps into
this 200-lap event
and Russ Wheeler is in the lead.
47:01 Lead is 45:90.
You're running last.
What's going on, Cole?
Are you all right?
Just past the halfway mark
and Wheeler still leads.
There's a crash at turn three, and
some oil at the
bottom of the track.
The lead is just taken.
Cars are sliding down from the top
of the track, so watch yourself.
You'd better go high, Cole. Pick
a line you can drive through.
Cole, are you all right?
Answer me, please.
Go around those wrecks.
You can drive through it.
I know it. I know it in my heart.
I'm through it, Harry.
I'm out of here.
Cole's moved up to ninth.
He's coming on strong.
Russ Wheeler in car number 18
continues to lead the way,
but the man on the
move is Cole Trickle.
I'm gonna make a hole
to get through here.
Here we go.
Wheeler knocked me into
Ganz. Ganz spun out.
He's going high.
God damn it.
And on the high side of the
track, Trickle takes the lead.
Go, Cole.
This is it, this is
what it's all about.
With just 23 laps to go,
Cole Trickle is leading.
- Take him now, Russ.
- He's all mine.
The accelerator is stuck, Harry.
It's stuck, it's
on the floorboard.
I can't slow down.
Step on the clutch and let the son
of a bitch blow it.
It's over, Cole.
Son of a...
Cole, you okay?
The good news is the
accelerator is fixed,
the bad news is the
transmission is screwed.
I'm coming in.
Are they out of the race, yet?
They will be in about 45 seconds.
That's the pace car.
Get me out in front of the pace
car or the race is over for us.
- The linkage is all twisted.
- Just give him the high gear.
Get me out there.
I got it.
Pace car's on its way.
Let's go.
- Come on, man, come on.
- Go. Go. Go.
Get out there and help
them. Go. Go. Go.
All right, all right,
we made it. Good work.
I owe you one.
Hey, you can't do that.
That's not your car.
It's my engine in that car,
I gave him that engine,
and that's what my
boys are pushing.
Cole, you better be at Max speed
when the green flag drops.
The pace car pulls off the track.
The green flag is out
and racing resumes.
Wheeler broke away,
he's still in the lead.
- Where am I?
- Running ninth.
- How many laps to go?
- Eight.
What's the interval
between me and Wheeler?
Trickle's fifth and
moving up fast, Russ.
Remember me?
I'm going to draught Wheeler, make
him pull me around the track.
The son of a bitch is on my ass.
He's going to take
me on the outside.
I'm going to put him in the wall.
- What's going on, Cole?
- I'm just setting him up, Harry.
There's the white
flag. One lap to go.
Last lap, Cole.
Don't keep this up, Cole, please.
Harry, this guy's going down.
Last turn, be careful.
He's going to
try and slingshot past you, Russ.
Don't worry, I know Cole. He
always goes to the outside.
This one's for you, Harry.
He's going high.
He's going low.
Son of a bitch.
Here come the cars
to the finish line,
it's Cole Trickle taking the win.
All right. All right.
I thought you weren't gonna watch.
I lied.
- Where's Harry?
- I don't know.
Harry.
Harry, say something, will you?
I really can't. I can't.
You didn't know how this one was
going to turn out, did you?
It's like you said.
There's nothing you
can't do in a race car.
- We won. We won.
- I know. Yeah.
Now, can you walk, or am I
going to have to carry you?
Where to?
- Victory Lane.
- Yeah.
Walk? Hell,
I'll race your ass.