The 'I Am Speed' meme features a memorable quote from Lightning McQueen in the animated film 'Cars', used to boost his confidence during races. The meme utilizes a screencap of McQueen, typically depicted driving on a racetrack with a focused expression, as the punchline in various image macros.
The phrase 'I am speed' originates from the 'Cars' movie series, where protagonist Lightning McQueen uses it as a self-motivational mantra during races. The first 'Cars' movie was released on May 26th, 2006, which included scenes of McQueen racing and reciting this phrase. The meme gained popularity on social media when a Reddit user posted an image macro incorporating this quote on March 18th, 2019, on the subreddit /r/dankmemes. The post quickly became popular, amassing significant interaction within just 48 hours.[1]