NASCAR CEO: “I was shocked.”
Days of Thunder 2 is on the way. The sequel was confirmed by Tom Cruise at Daytona International Speedway a few months back.
Days of Thunder 2 confirmed by Tom Cruise at Daytona (Video)
60 cars were used in the original film in 1990. However, they were constantly repaired by Hendrick Motorsports. In many cases, the paint wasn’t even dry after repairs, which is why so much dirt stuck to the cars in the original.
Filming is expected to start shortly.
For the upcoming movie, NASCAR is building 80 cars for the movie. And this time, the cars will be built by NASCAR themselves at the R&D Center.
NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell recently announced more details regarding the upcoming film. That includes Tom Cruise’s desire to run an ARCA Menards Series race…
Steve O’Donnell comments
“I was shocked,” NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell about Tom Cruise’s idea.
“We have an ARCA Series, which is our national touring series, and Tom wanted to go race in one of those. I’m not sure that’s going to happen. But he wants it to be authentic as it can be. We’ll still see how the story lines play out.”
“I think the first one 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,” O’Donnell added.
“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.’ “
“There’s some things that we’ll work together on. Do people understand the points system, how does the Chase work, how long are your races. All these things to make sure if a new fan comes out to the race track understands. For us, this is a whole new open door to bring in new fans.”
The original movie brought in $157.9M at the box office worldwide. And it catapulted NASCAR to a new level.
NASCAR driver Christopher Bell hasn’t seen Days of Thunder
