Both Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have suffered self-inflicted wounds while campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination.

For Romney, it has been comments that play into the stereotype he’s an elitist, out of touch with the common Joe, or not a committed conservative.

For Santorum, his long-held, far-right positions on social issues may make it difficult for him to sway independents and disaffected Democrats that he would need to win the general election.

Here’s a look at their greatest, er, hits:

Romney: ‘I have some great friends who are NASCAR team owners’

During a stop at the Daytona 500, Romney was asked if he was a fan of the popular sport. Romney told an Associated Press sports reporter that he was - kind of - “but I have some great friends who are NASCAR team owners.”

Romney: ‘A couple of Cadillacs’

During a speech in the nation’s automotive capital before the Michigan primary, Romney casually told the Detroit Economic Club that he drove a Mustang and a Chevrolet pickup and his wife, Ann, drove “a couple of Cadillacs” (one at each of their two homes) as he tried to show his family’s commitment to buying American cars.

Romney: ‘I’m not concerned about the very poor’

Speaking to CNN’s Soledad O’Brien on “Starting Point,” Romney said, “I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich; they’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of America, the 90%-95% of Americans who right now are struggling.”

Critics took the first part of that quote and ran with it.

Romney: ‘I like being able to fire people who provide services’

While trying to explain his views on health care and health insurance in January, Romney said, “I like being able to fire people who provide services to me." In the same exchange, Romney also said, “If someone doesn't give me a good service that I need, I want to say I'm going to go get someone else to provide that service to me."

Again, the first part of that quote gave critics fodder to portray Romney as a heartless corporate raider.

Romney: ‘I wondered if I was going to get a pink slip’

The day before his comment about firing people, Romney failed in another attempt to connect with the average voter. While speaking about his experience in the private sector during a campaign rally, Romney, who helped found and run a successful venture capital firm, said he has worried about being fired during his career.

"I know what it's like to worry about whether you're going to get fired. There were a couple of times I wondered if I was going to get a pink slip," Romney added.

Santorum: Obama ‘a snob’ for wanting people to go to college

Speaking in Michigan, Santorum slammed President Barack Obama for pushing higher education.

“Not all folks are gifted in the same way,” Santorum said. “Some people have incredible gifts with their hands. Some people have incredible gifts and use - and want to work out there making things. President Obama once said he wants everybody in America to go to college. What a snob! There are good, decent men and women who go out and work hard every day and put their skills to the test that aren’t taught by some liberal college professor trying to indoctrinate them. Oh, I understand why he wants you to go to college; he wants to remake you in his image. I want to create jobs so that people can remake their children into their image, not his.”

Santorum: Nausea and JFK’s church and state speech

Santorum, who would be only the nation’s second Catholic president after John F. Kennedy if elected, said that when he read the words of Kennedy’s historic address on the separation of church and state, it made him want to “throw up.”

“To say that people of faith have no role in the public square? You bet that makes you throw up. What kind of country do we live in that says only people of nonfaith can come into the public square and make their case?” Santorum said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Kennedy’s 1960 speech was intended to address concerns that as a Catholic, he would be more beholden to the Vatican than the American people. The speech was hailed for the message of religious tolerance that it sent.

Apparently, Santorum later regretted his use of words, telling conservative talk-show host Laura Ingraham that “I wish I had that particular line back.”

Santorum: Conception that results from rape is a ‘gift’ from God

In a January interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan, Santorum expounded on his views about abortion, which he opposes even in cases of rape.

“I believe and I think the right approach is to accept this horribly created, in the sense of rape, but nevertheless gift, in a very broken way, gift of human life and accept what God has given to you. And, as you know, we have to - in lots of different aspects of our life, we have horrible things happen to us. I can’t think of anything more horrible, but nevertheless we have to make the best out of a bad situation. And I would make the argument that is making the best of it.”

Santorum: Women in combat ‘compromising’

Asked about his views on women in combat, Santorum said he had concerns about recent changes at the Pentagon that made it possible for women to serve in more front-line combat functions. Santorum said he wanted “to create every opportunity for women to serve this country,” but the former senator also expressed misgivings about women in combat.

“I do have concerns about women in front-line combat,” Santorum said on CNN’s “John King, USA.“ “I think that could be a very compromising situation where people naturally may do things that may not be in the interests of the mission because of other types of emotions that are involved.”

Santorum later explained his comment referred to a concern that men in combat alongside women might be more focused on protecting women than the mission itself.