Throwback: When Engine Trouble Cut Short Hollywood Superstar Tom Cruise’s NASCAR Stint With Hendrick Motorsports

Published 01/05/2023, 12:15 PM EST
With NASCAR celebrating its 75th this year, there is a lot to look back to. Over these years, there have been such brilliant moments leading the NASCAR community to where it has reached today. The level of success as a sports fraternity and the love from fans it has received is immense. From notable inventions to passionate driving fans, NASCAR has witnessed it all.
DAYTONA, FL – JANUARY 12: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the #5 Hendrick Motorsports Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet, during Next Gen Testing on January 12, 2022 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fl. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Recently, a writer of NASCAR and Auto Racing history articles named nascarman on Twitter posted a throwback. The picture is from the year 1987, with Hollywood favorites Tom Cruise and Paul Newman. In the picture, we can see Cruise sitting in a Hendrick Motorsports car and Newman beside him. Adding the picture nascarman wrote, “January 3, 1987: Tom Cruise and Paul Newman tested a Busch Series car for Hendrick Motorsports at Daytona. Newman made laps over 190 mph while Cruise got up to 178 mph before engine troubles.”
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The incident is from the time when Tom Cruise and legendary actor Paul Newman, an avid racer, met post his success with the movie “Top Gun”. It was then decided to take a plunge into making a movie on NASCAR and the lives of car racers.
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Both Tom and Paul were not unknown names when it came to Hollywood. Paul Newman was inspired to take up auto racing after his film “Winning” in 1969. The film was based on the life of an auto-car racer. Newman was the oldest person to win the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, setting a record in the Guinness Book. For Tom, after the massive success of one of his films, meeting with Paul and practicing laps in Daytona inspired him. Thus, the idea of creating a film on the lives of race drivers came into its initiation.
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A lot of big names from Hollywood got involved and movies were based on actual stories of NASCAR drivers. The film and its story shaped into something even remembered today. NASCAR star Tim Richmond inspired Tom Cruise’s character, which ended up as a tribute to him. The success stories of team owners like Hendrick Motorsports and all the good and bad times of the drivers on tracks added to all the spice they needed. All the passion, drive, and personalities that came out as a result added more feathers to NASCAR’s hat.