Jess Burns is thrown out of Blair when he and his fellow ranch hands plunder the town on payday. His final act is to blow up the general store by throwing bullets into the fireplace. To evade Sheriff Stanton's posse, Jess hops a freight train and finds himself in a boxcar with a race car and its mechanic, Chuck Morse. Chuck tells him the car is owned by Jim and Lillian Howard. If the Howards lose another car race to their rivals, the Parkers, they will lose their ranch. Unknown to Jess, Chuck has bound and gagged his friend, Sandy Adams, the factory mechanic, so he can swindle the Howards out of their winnings. Chuck convinces Jess to be the driver, even though Jess has never driven a car before, and when they arrive, nicknames him "Speed" to impress the Howards. Jess is impressed by Howard's lovely daughter, Lillian, who urges him to win the race so she does not have to marry Sam Parker, Jr., who will be racing against him. Meanwhile, Chuck brings Jess his beloved horse, Silver, and some regular cowboy clothes because Jess does not feel comfortable in the Eastern-style getup that Chuck originally gave him. The night before the race, Jess attends a dance and dances with Lillian. Sam becomes jealous, and while everyone is busy, sabotages the Howards' race car. When Jess discovers the wreck, Chuck confesses that he is not the real mechanic and they will have to find out from Sandy how to fix the car in time. Unfortunately, Sandy is in jail because Chuck made everyone think he is crazy. They are able to obtain the information and work all night to fix the car. Sam approaches Stanton and tells him of Jess's whereabouts so he will be arrested and will not be able to race. In spite of Sam's sabotage, Jess manages to get the car to the track in time and enters the race by crashing through the wall. Jess wins the race but bumps Sam's car off the track and into the fields where, after they park, they fight and Sam gets his just reward. Jess turns himself in to Stanton, who has no interest in arresting him, and both Jess and Lillian are delighted when Howard hires him as the new foreman.