Years later, Sylvester Stallone explained why he agreed to appear in this movie. "Menahem Golan kept offering me more and more money, until I finally thought, 'What the hell - no one will see it!'"
John Brzenk, the real-life arm-wrestler who inspired the Lincoln Hawk character, won in the Truckers Class of the actual "Over the Top" tournament, and won the Volvo White Truck and Trail-mobile Trailer that were the grand prize in the movie. It was worth about $250,000. Brzenk then took the truck on tour across the country to promote the film. He later sold it and bought a 1987 Corvette with some of the money.
Rick Zumwalt was paid $10,000 to shave his head for the film. He liked it so much he never let his hair grow back.
Sylvester Stallone was reportedly unhappy with the final film. In an interview with Ain't It Cool News, he said that if he'd directed the film he would've changed the setting to an urban environment, used scored music instead of rock songs, and made the Las Vegas finale more ominous.
Rick Zumwalt was actually the studio's third choice for Sylvester Stallone's rival. They originally wanted Arm Wrestling Champion Cleve Dean, but he was so massive compared to Stallone that it wouldn't have looked believable, so they went with Professional Wrestler Ox Baker. When Baker didn't pan out, the role went to Zumwalt.