DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon is expressing his desire for a sequel to the iconic movie “Days of Thunder.” He mentioned during an event at the Daytona International Speedway that he has communicated with Tom Cruise regarding bringing this cinematic project to fruition.
“I’ve absolutely talked to Tom about it because I want him to do the project,” Gordon shared. “We want to be a part of it if it were to happen.”
Reports surfaced last November indicating that Cruise had discussions with Paramount Pictures about a potential continuation of his 1990 NASCAR film. While the original movie received mixed reviews and was often criticized by the NASCAR community for its exaggerated portrayal, it has since garnered a dedicated fan base and is frequently referenced among racing enthusiasts today.
One of the film’s most memorable quotes, “Rubbin’, son, is racin’,” delivered by Robert Duvall’s character, crew chief Harry Hogge, continues to resonate within NASCAR culture.
Cruise, riding high on the success of “Top Gun,” conceived a film that combined fast cars with the stories of the racers behind them, leading to the creation of “Days of Thunder.” Gordon, now vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, may have subtly influenced the character of Cole Trickle, although the role was primarily inspired by the late Tim Richmond. Recently, Gordon celebrated a successful Daytona 500 win with team owner Rick Hendrick and driver William Byron. He noted that his friendship with Cruise, who attended a NASCAR event honoring Gordon in 2015, might positively impact the chances of their involvement in a sequel.
“He seems to like to tease it, so I don’t know,” Gordon commented on the possibility. “We’ll see what happens. If that doesn’t happen, I feel pretty confident there’s a project out there that will get NASCAR back on the big screen, if not just a really cool docuseries or something beyond even what we’re already seeing right now.”
The original film successfully introduced NASCAR to audiences who had very limited knowledge of stock-car racing at that time. Although several racing movies had been made, such as “Thunder Road,” “Grand Prix,” “Stroker Ace,” and “Smokey and the Bandit,” none had showcased NASCAR in such a mainstream manner before.
“It’s hard to imagine how you pull that off today because they actually had race cars with cameras in the race, and the cameras were big,” Gordon explained. “Cameras have gotten a lot smaller so maybe you could pull it off, but how do you do it and make it realistic and really authentic?”
Since the release of “Days of Thunder,” NASCAR’s representation in film and television has seen more failures than successes. For every hit like “Talladega Nights,” there have been numerous misfires, including Kevin James’ unsuccessful Netflix series “The Crew.” Despite this, Gordon expressed optimism for the future of NASCAR in entertainment.
“I am seeing just a lot more momentum in projects like coming through NASCAR and coming to Hendrick Motorsports and just more interest,” he stated. “So that’s good, right? It talks a lot about where the sport is at, where it’s heading, the amazing crowd that was here all weekend, not just today, new TV partners.”
