NASCAR interested in ‘Days of Thunder’ sequel, COO Steve O’Donnell says

After returning as Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick, could we see Tom Cruise reprise his role as Cole Trickle from Days of Thunder?

Evidently, it’s more likely than thought in years past. NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell confirmed to Adam Stern of the Sports Business Journal that NASCAR would be open to working with producers on a Days of Thunder sequel, which could be a smash-hit, if you look at the returns of Top Gun: Maverick.

“We’d love to see that,” O’Donnell told Stern. “The more places we can expose NASCAR to with a broader audience, the better. With Netflix, when they’re advertising us in the middle of Times Square right now [for the ‘Full Speed’ docuseries] — that’s huge, and it shows what a great partner they already have been.

“So anytime you can expose the sport outside of a regular race weekend broadcast is big for us.”

As O’Donnell mentioned, the NASCAR: Full Speed series at Netflix has been a rousing success, and could open more doors for the sport in the media world. If it results in a Days of Thunder sequel, that’d be an awesome development.

We’ll be keeping our eyes on whether or not Tom Cruise will return as Cole Trickle, but it’s something NASCAR fans and movie goes alike can agree on. Maybe we’ll get some news in the near future on the matter, fingers crossed.

More on NASCAR, Daytona 500

Moreover, the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season is readying to kickoff in grand fashion this weekend, with the Daytona 500, also known as The Great American Race, taking place on Sunday afternoon.

At the moment, the weather report looks promising, but the tradition year-in and year-out for the race is worrying about whether or not it’ll be affected by rain. Fans and drivers alike are hoping the race goes off without a hitch, but we’ve seen the race run on different days of the week in the past. We’ll see if the sunshine holds out long enough for the Cup Series to get their full allotment of laps in.

One of the reasons the Daytona 500 is such a beloved event is the unpredictable nature of the race. In the past, drivers you wouldn’t expect to reach Victory Lane have come up victorious in the biggest race of the season, even last season with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. claiming victory when the final lap ticked off.

With how much pomp and circumstance that surrounds the Daytona 500, the top drivers in the sport all want to win it, but many of the best in NASCAR haven’t been victorious in the event. Drivers like Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson are still searching for their first Daytona 500.

Time will tell if they’re able to get the job done, but they’ll have plenty of competition. We can’t wait for the Daytona 500, and the official start of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.