"I want him to do the project": Jeff Gordon gets real about NASCAR’s big screen future with Tom Cruise

Former NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon recently came out and detailed NASCAR’s and Hendrick Motorsports plans to make a comeback on the big screen with a movie featuring Tom Cruise. The HMS Vice Chairman spoke with the media after the 67th running of the Daytona 500 and revealed the possibility of the Top Gun star working in a NASCAR-based movie.

Days of Thunder is a movie based on stock car racing which was released in 1990 and starred Tom Cruise. The story revolves around a young driver (Cruise) who rose up the ladder and faced off with a competitor on track throughout the season. According to reports, plans to create a sequel for the same are currently being discussed.

Jeff Gordon discussed the possibility and feasibility of the same as he detailed how NASCAR has made a resurgence in terms of popularity in recent years, and that a docu-series or a movie will further help the cause. The Hendrick Motorsports VC revealed that he spoke with Tom Cruise regarding the project and detailed HMS’ involvement in the project:

“I’ve absolutely talked to Tom about it because I want him to do the project. And we want to be a part of it if it were to happen. He seems to like to tease it, so I don’t know. 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.” (1:02 onwards)

Jeff Gordon and Tom Cruise are good friends. The Hollywood star has been spotted in the former NASCAR driver's pit box a couple of times and was also present at Gordon's retirement speech at the 2015 NASCAR Awards.

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Jeff Gordon on William Byron's Daytona 500 victory

William Byron won the 2025 Daytona 500 and became the most recent back-to-back winner as he also won the event in 2024. Byron was outside the Top 5 before the crash on the penultimate lap. The HMS driver avoided the mayhem of the crash and came out in the lead. Jeff Gordon commented on the same as he said while speaking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio:

“Daytona is always unpredictable, right? And you never know, but I really didn't think we had a shot at it yet. Bowman was in position there towards the end; he got shuffled out.

“And I didn't even realize where William was because so much was happening, and when those two started crashing, I saw this red blur go through, and I was like, did he get through? And then the next camera angle is the Axalta #24 and William leading the race.”

Denny Hamlin was the last back-to-back Daytona 500 winner, winning the event in 2019 and 2020, before Williams Byron’s victory at this year's event.