Stock car racer Dave Owens plays into the hands of whiskey runners by agreeing to drive in a cross-country road race.

Stock car racer Tommy Callahan is forced to join Pete Madsen's thrill circus after his blackouts cause a fatal accident that gets him thrown off the circuit.

Rick Bowman, a drag racing street punk, comes to the attention of crafty businessman Grant Willard. Willard bails him out of jail and offers him sponsorship as a stock car driver. Bowman accepts and enters the demolition derby-adjacent world of "figure eight" racing. As Bowman moves up in the ranks, his regard for his friends slips-- giving way to outright obsession with becoming the best.

A race car driver tries to outrun the beautiful tax auditor out to settle his account.