With a ‘Days of Thunder’ sequel – starring Tom Cruise and Anne Hathaway – confirmed to be racing into theatres in the Summer of 2028, could Cruise, a 64-year-old international movie star, find himself behind the wheel of a real-life race car sometime in the next two years?
Apparently, if it were solely Cruise’s decision, the answer would be yes.
In a wide-ranging interview with Front Office Sports, Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s new Chief Executive Officer, talked about the process of making the wildly popular sequel that fans have been waiting almost 40 years for, and the process of getting things done.
While O’Donnell did reveal that NASCAR itself will likely be on the hook for building more than 80 race cars for the film (some of which won’t be returned in pristine condition, the potentially more shocking revelation came when the long-time NASCAR executive talked about how Tom Cruise, who will reprise his role as Cole Trickle, wants to prepare.
At 64 years old, Cruise wants to race in the ARCA Menards Series.
“I was shocked,” said Steve O’Donnell, CEO of NASCAR. “We have an ARCA [Menards Series], which is our National Touring Series, and Tom [Cruise] wanted to go race in one of those. I’m not sure that’s going to happen,” O’Donnell added with a laugh. “But we want it to be authentic as it can be, we’ll still see how the storylines play out and all that.”
It’s proof that Cruise is a method actor.
“I think if you look at the first [movie], I think it showcased what NASCAR was at the time, a long time ago, and in talking to Tom Cruise while he was at Daytona, it’s all about where we are today and going forward, so it’s embracing – instead of a car being put together back in a garage, embracing the technology, embracing everything that goes into the sport.”
“And Tom’s message to us was ‘I’m going to be putting you in front of an entirely new audience, and you need to be ready.’”
O’Donnell says there are some things that they’ll have to work towards conveying in the movie, like allowing the common viewer to understand the points system, the Chase, the length of the races, and the mechanics of the race.
FULL INTERVIEW WITH O’DONNELL AND FOS:
