Famous drag racer Lonnie 'Lucky Man' Johnson drives a funny car and is the star driver of his sponsor Fast Company, managed by the corrupt Phil Adamson. He also becomes a mentor to the promising racer Billy 'The Kid' Crocker. When Adamson makes a deal with Lonnie's competitor, Gary 'The Blacksmith' Black, he steals the funny car from Lonnie and Billy. When they find out, they take back the car with plans to run it independently in the next race. This infuriates Adamson, who aims to put a clamp on his former star's plans by any means necessary.