Tom Cruise took the racing world by storm when Days of Thunder was released back in 1990. Together with Nicole Kidman and NASCAR greats Richard Petty and Rusty Wallace, Cruise’s sports action drama continues to be one of the best movies on NASCAR ever made. Along with the praises for the movie, Cruise’s driving prowess also grabbed enormous attention.

One of the finest actors in Hollywood, Cruise is known to perform all his daring stunts himself. Whether it’s his Mission Impossibles or Top Guns, he loves putting his life at risk to give everything to his fans. Interestingly, while shooting Days of Thunder, he did something similar, driving Rick Hendrick‘s car at an astonishing 178 mph!

The Mission Impossible star and his love for cars

Back in the 80s, precisely in 1987, Tom Cruise paid a visit to the renowned Daytona International Speedway. In the early days of January, Cruise tested a Busch (Xfinity) Series car over there. This was when he showcased his skill with the driving wheel, something that took a NASCAR legend aback.

According to a recently surfaced social media post by @nascarman on X, Cruise stepped up into Hendrick Motorsports’ Chevrolet and just let loose. As per reports, he clocked a jaw-dropping 178 mph with Rick Hendrick’s car before pitting with engine issues. In that moment, Cruise wasn’t just an actor or an average guy. He drove like a real racer. And he wasn’t alone.

Tom Cruise was accompanied by another legendary actor Paul Newman, who also showed his prowess. During the drive, he even beat Cruise, picking up speed upto 190 mph. Moving on from 1987, the Cruise and Newman duo also did sports car racing in 1988.

After their friendship grew while preparing for The Color of Money (1986), Paul Newman actually got Cruise into real racing beyond just stock-car testing. He gave Cruise a chance to compete in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) events with the Newman/Sharp team in a Nissan 300ZX.

During that stint, Cruise entered about 16 races and even recorded multiple wins in the Nissan 300ZX. This helped him gain some real racing experience that he got to use in Days of Thunder eventually.

Days of Thunder was produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. Tony Scott directed the movie, who had also worked with Cruise on Top Gun. Besides Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, Randy Quaid, Robert Duvall, Michael Rooker, and Cary Elwes played important roles.

The film was based on several real-life stories of multiple NASCAR personalities. From Tim Richmond, Geoff Bodine, Bill France Jr., to Dale Earnhardt Sr., Richard Childress, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., there were many.

The movie was produced at a budget of $60 million. After some fairly mixed reviews, it garnered $157.9 million at the box office, thanks to the young and fearless Cole Trickle played by Tom Cruise. Why fearless? Because in one scene, Cruise risked the life of Kidman to race with a NASCAR champion!

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Tom Cruise took racing too far by risking Nicole Kidman’s life in Rick Hendrick’s car

In the movie Days of Thunder, Tom Cruise, who plays Cole Trickle, falls in love with Nicole Kidman’s character. In one of the iconic scenes, Kidman, who plays Dr. Claire Lewicki, praises Trickle for his speed.

As a result of the praise, Trickle takes her out for a spin. However, the real story unfolded a year prior to the release of Days of Thunder, in 1989. This was the time when Cruise raced Jack Sprague, the NASCAR Truck Series legend.

In a conversation with Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Sprague unraveled how he once got a call from Hendrick Motorsports.

Speaking about it, Sprague recalled that the then-HMS operation head Jimmy Johnson asked him if he could bring his car to the track to race with one of his ‘buddies.’ Initially hesitant, Sprague agreed only to see that he would be racing Tom Cruise!

As he was ready to race, he saw Cruise and Kidman in the Late Model car. It frightened Sprague, as he was not only worried about Kidman, who had an X bar to hold onto, but also for Cruise, who was a newbie to high-speed stock cars.

“He goes out there with her, and he’s—Tom Cruise—only three-tenths slower,” Sprague recalled. “And he’s running by himself. I’m like, ‘Oh no.’ Yeah, that’s crazy. If he hit something, there’s going to be parts everywhere.”

Impressed by Tom Cruise’s stellar driving ability, Jack Sprague hailed him. He also admitted that the Hollywood actor wasn’t there just for fun — he could seriously drive.

Besides Days of Thunder, Cruise has shown his driving prowess in many of his works, like Knight and Day and Jack Reacher. His latest stunt was seen in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, in which he drives the BMW 5 Series on the streets of Rome with one hand, then switches into a tiny Fiat 500 to do the same.

Had it not been for acting, Cruise surely seemed to have a bright racing career. And who knows, with F1: The Movie being the talk of the town last year, it won’t be surprising if we see Cole Trickle back driving on NASCAR tracks again!