At Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon expressed his desire for a “Days of Thunder” sequel and mentioned that he has been in contact with Tom Cruise to bring the idea to fruition. AP/Daytona Beach, Fla. Tom Cruise, help him! At Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon expressed his desire for a “Days of Thunder” sequel and mentioned that he has been in communication with the Hollywood star to bring the idea to fruition. “I’ve absolutely talked to Tom about it because I want him to do the project,” Gordon stated. “If it were to occur, we would like to be involved.”
In November, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Cruise had discussed a sequel to his 1990 NASCAR racing movie with Paramount. The original was a summer blockbuster that received harsh criticism and was widely ridiculed for its extravagant and exaggerated content among the NASCAR community. Race fans continue to reference the movie, which has become a cult classic in NASCAR circles over the years. The timeless quote from Robert Duvall’s character, crew commander Harry Hogge, “Rubbin’, son, is racin’,” endures. Excited by his success on “Top Gun,” Cruise came up with the concept for a film about fast automobiles and the people who raced them. The creation of “Days of Thunder” then started. Gordon might be motivated to bring back Cole Trickle from Cruise in the day, though the character was loosely based on the late Tim Richmond.
Gordon, who is currently Hendrick Motorsports’ vice chairman, won the Daytona 500 on Sunday alongside driver William Byron and team owner Rick Hendrick. Gordon and Cruise have maintained their friendship, as seen by Cruise’s attendance at a 2015 NASCAR dinner honoring the retiring Gordon. This could increase the likelihood that Gordon and Hendrick Motorsports will be involved in a follow-up. “He seems to like to tease it, so I don’t know,” Gordon observed on Sunday evening. “We’ll observe the situation. If not, I’m very certain that there will be a project that will bring NASCAR back to the big screen, if not a really awesome docuseries or something more than what we’re currently witnessing. In the end, the film exposed NASCAR to a larger audience that had extremely limited exposure to stock-car racing before that summer.
Though there had been previous racing films, such as Thunder Road, Grand Prix, Stroker Ace, or even Smokey and the Bandit, none had shown NASCAR in such a popular way. “They had race cars with cameras in the race, and the cameras were big, so it’s hard to imagine how you pull that off today,” Gordon remarked. “Maybe you could pull it off because cameras have gotten much smaller, but how do you do it and make it realistic and truly authentic?” Since “Days of Thunder,” NASCAR’s representation on the big or small screen has seen more ups and downs than red flags.
There are ten more bombs for every “Talladega Nights,” like comedian Kevin James’ doomed comedy series “The Crew” on Netflix. Gordon expressed his optimism that NASCAR’s future in the entertainment sector is brighter. “I see a lot more interest and a lot more momentum in projects like coming to Hendrick Motorsports and through NASCAR,” he stated. That’s good, isn’t it? It discusses a variety of topics, including the current state of the sport, its future directions, the incredible audience that attended over the weekend rather than just today, and potential TV partners.
