Days of Thunder

Rowdy Burns

Cole Trickle, Rowdy Burns, Harry Hogge, and Buddy Bretherton are nominated for best character name. Rowdy Burns wins because the name immediately conveys a fiery, unruly personality.

Dr. Claire Lewicki

Dr. Claire Lewicki is selected as the worst character name because the panel finds it ill-matched to the Australian character and weaker than the racing names.

Wheelchair race; Give Me Some Lovin montage; Rowdy meets Cole

Cole's motorcycle entrance, test-drive challenge, and status contest with Rowdy are proposed. Cole's disastrous first races and the Give Me Some Lovin montage are proposed. Cole's first win, Harry's tire deception, and the low-side pass are proposed. The staged police stop and its sexual joke are proposed, alongside questions about what happens after the scene. Cole mistaking Dr. Lewicki for another stripper and the hospital wheelchair race are proposed. The beach rental-car race and valet exchange are proposed. Cole ruining Russ Wheeler's victory lap is proposed. Cole and Harry's confrontation over driving Rowdy's car is praised as the principal acting scene, with objections to the abruptly revived backstory. Cole's Daytona comeback through the smoke and the final high-versus-low pass are proposed. The wheelchair race is a final selection for one participant. The Give Me Some Lovin montage is a separate final selection. Rowdy's first encounter with Cole is a separate final selection.

David Coverdale sings the theme at Tom Cruise’s request

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman falling in love during the production is proposed. The Tide, Snickers, Skoal, Exxon, and Mello Yello sponsorships are proposed. Russ Wheeler's girlfriend, her hair, and her boxy blazer are proposed as distinctly 1990. The winning choice is Tom Cruise requesting Whitesnake singer David Coverdale for the film's theme song.

Robert Duvall, craft, cast, and racing lessons

Robert Duvall's committed crew-chief performance is praised and argued to hold the movie together. Tom Cruise's hair and Nicole Kidman's curly hair are praised. Nicole Kidman and Robert Duvall sharing serious scenes is praised in light of their later careers. John C. Reilly's Bucky is praised as an early version of Reed Rothchild. Cary Elwes is praised for reliably playing an antagonist. Tom Cruise's unconvincing drunk acting is enjoyed as comedy. The movie's racing lessons about crew-chief trust, tires, team ownership, and driver temperament are praised. The wheelchair race is praised as more entertaining than the car races, including Rowdy batting away a nurse’s assistance.

Two Sweet’N Low packets

Mello Yello sponsorship and the dinner crudités are proposed. The two Sweet’N Low packets placed on Claire’s thigh win.

Daytona cars beneath rising balloons

A low-angle Daytona shot of the cars passing as balloons rise is selected for its color and scale. The physical-exam two-shot revealing the height difference between Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise is an alternate comic choice.

Rowdy's wife as house designer

Rowdy's plan to let his wife design an expensive house despite no stated architecture or project-management experience is the selection.

The post-crash middle section

Rowdy never receiving a full-intensity Michael Rooker scene is identified as a small weakness. Too much talking and too little racing in the second half is the principal weakness. The crash is argued to occur too early, leaving too little of Cole racing at his peak. Rowdy's injury subplot and Cole and Claire's conflict are criticized; killing Rowdy or giving Harry an illness subplot are proposed alternatives.

Nicole Kidman as an elite neurosurgeon

A visibly young Nicole Kidman playing an elite neurosurgeon is selected as implausible casting.

Video game, overloaded subplots, rushed win, courtship, and sex scenes

The Days of Thunder video game is criticized as unusually poor for a film suited to an arcade adaptation. The film is criticized for carrying too many underdeveloped backstories, including Bucky's father. Cole's muted reaction to winning Daytona is criticized as rushed and insufficiently celebratory. Cole's pursuit of Claire is criticized as intrusive from the exam-room contact through the parking-lot wait and apartment flowers. Harry's rapid car-building montage is criticized for skipping potentially interesting craft detail. Tim Daland's generic name and the unclear financing of the two-car team are questioned. Cole's bedroom scene with Claire is criticized as another awkward, ambiguous Tom Cruise love scene.

Tom Cruise in the car; Robert Duvall laughing

Tom Cruise's car outbursts are proposed for overacting. Robert Duvall's delighted laugh after provoking Cole is a separate proposal.

Old Tom Cruise teeth; Cocktail 2

The production indirectly enabled Eyes Wide Shut because Dr. Jerry Punch recommended Nicole Kidman after Dead Calm. Days of Thunder is tested and rejected as better than Top Gun. Tom Cruise's original teeth are preferred to his later straightened teeth. Michael Rooker should have become a much bigger star, though a lack of comic range or conventional leading-man looks is offered as an explanation. The film would be better as Cocktail 2, with Brian Flanagan leaving the bar business for racing.

Kurt Russell, Robin Wright, Tom Sizemore, Dale Earnhardt, Paul Newman

Kurt Russell is discussed as the initial Rowdy Burns choice before Backdraft. Robin Wright as Claire Lewicki, Tom Sizemore as Tim Daland, Dale Earnhardt as Rowdy, and Paul Newman as Harry are proposed or reported alternatives. Dale Earnhardt's refusal to play a perceived villain is questioned because Rowdy is not ultimately the villain. Don Simpson's self-casting as Aldo Bennedetti and the cutting of most of his performance are discussed.

NASCAR figures and Dr. Jerry Punch

Richard Petty, Rusty Wallace, Neil Bonnett, Harry Gant, and Dr. Jerry Punch are listed as playing themselves.

J. C. Quinn

J. C. Quinn is selected for his recognizable roles in Maximum Overdrive, Vision Quest, and The Program. Nick Searcy is an alternate for his law-enforcement roles in The Fugitive and Justified and his appearance in Cast Away. Margo Martindale is noted as having graduated beyond That Guy status.

Leilani Sarelle

Fred Dalton Thompson is runner-up for his brief, commanding and racially dated team-owner scenes. Leilani Sarelle wins for the staged police officer, linked to her later role as Roxy in Basic Instinct.

Val Kilmer as Russ Wheeler

Val Kilmer is proposed as Russ Wheeler, potentially carrying his Jim Morrison styling into the role.

No replacement beats Days of Thunder

Daytona, Trickle, Dropping the Hammer, and Checkered Flag are considered as alternatives. The panel remains dissatisfied with the title but does not find a clearly better replacement.

Cars, birds, relationships, speeding, and role preparation

Hendrick Motorsports supplied the main cars, which were entered in real races for footage. Birdseed used for the rental-car beach scene reportedly led to birds being struck during filming. Donna Scott appeared in the police-stop scene, later dated Tony Scott, and married him. Tom Cruise reportedly received a speeding ticket in North Carolina during production. Nicole Kidman reportedly wanted to study neurosurgery, but producers discouraged it.

Mello Yello and car-racing movies; several near-apex cases

Tom Cruise is placed near, but not definitively at, his apex. Robert Duvall and Nicole Kidman are rejected as being at their apex; Cruise's hair and teeth are accepted. NASCAR and Don Simpson production stories are proposed as apex cases. Michael Rooker is assigned Cliffhanger; Cary Elwes is assigned The Princess Bride. Hans Zimmer and Simpson–Bruckheimer are rejected as apex cases. Car-racing movies are debated against Talladega Nights. Mello Yello is accepted as an apex case. Cruise is accepted in the Cruise-or-Hanks comparison.

Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese is selected for the imagined version because of the panel’s affection for The Color of Money and the prospect of a darker production story.

Russ Wheeler, Harry Hogge, Bucky, or Big John

Philip Seymour Hoffman is proposed as an older Harry Hogge or younger Bucky. Russ Wheeler is favored as a cocky antagonist, with Big John as another scene-stealing possibility.

Cole Tricklers; Japanese Inspection

Cole Trickle and Cole Tricklers are proposed as team names. Japanese Inspection is proposed as a punk-band name.

I'm more afraid of being nothing than I am of being hurt

I'm more afraid of being nothing than I am of being hurt is proposed. You can't hide from your bad luck is proposed. Rowdy's reflection that he hated farming until racing made him want a farm is proposed.

Origins, romance, safety, car knowledge, and repetitive passing

Cole's background as an Eagle Rock NASCAR driver is questioned. Claire falling for Cole almost immediately despite his conduct is questioned. Claire having no boyfriend and claiming to work around the clock while remaining available for races are questioned. Claire's condemnation of racing danger is contrasted with riding a motorcycle without a helmet. The trope of a passenger threatening to jump from a moving car is questioned. Cole's open-wheel experience is inconsistent with his claimed ignorance of cars. His rapid shift to technical car expertise is questioned. The racing action relies too heavily on high-side passes. Cole being a fast learner is offered as a counterexplanation for his rapid acquisition of car expertise.

A sequel with Tom Cruise

A Days of Thunder sequel is discussed, with skepticism that Tom Cruise would yield the central driving role to a younger character. Cole's minor eye injury is criticized as inadequate for the severity of the crash.

Wilford Brimley in The Firm

A Wayne Jenkins-style riff imagines pressure on Cole to pass Russ. Wilford Brimley's character from The Firm wins with a blackmail scenario involving the staged police-stop photographs. Tony Romo-style racing commentary is an alternate.

Hans Zimmer

Hans Zimmer is selected for the film’s one Oscar. Robert Towne and the sound work are mentioned and rejected as alternatives.

Daytona odds, pace car, Cruise–Kidman timing, and alternate Harry

Cole's Daytona odds after his crash and in another driver's car are estimated at 100-to-1 or longer. The panel doubts it would be good at driving a pace car because of the banking and attention. The timing of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman beginning their relationship is debated as either casting or after the hallway kiss. Jack Nicholson is proposed as Harry if Robert Duvall had made The Godfather Part III instead. That substitution is recognized as potentially changing A Few Good Men.

Mello Yello racing suit

A Superflo hat is proposed. Cole Trickle's embroidered Mello Yello racing suit wins as a possible child Halloween costume.

Cole and Claire break up

The panel agrees Cole and Claire are unlikely to remain together. Claire's racing objections and improbable availability to attend races are cited as sources of incompatibility.

Rubbing is racing

I'm more afraid of being nothing than being hurt is selected as a life lesson. Rubbing is racing is selected as an alternate lesson applicable beyond the track.

Days of Thunder, Far and Away, and Eyes Wide Shut

A rule-breaking triple feature traces the Tom Cruise–Nicole Kidman relationship through Days of Thunder, Far and Away, and Eyes Wide Shut.

No consensus: Roxy (Leilani Sarelle), Tom Cruise, Tony Scott, or Robert Duvall

Roxy (played by Leilani Sarelle), Tom Cruise, Tony Scott, and Robert Duvall receive separate winner choices.

Positive

The producer praises the film’s American spectacle, music, and presentation after watching it for the first time. The producer argues the movie should be longer because character setup and crash aftermath feel abruptly cut. The final freeze-frame race between Harry and Cole is praised. Cole's unpunished post-race collision with Russ is flagged as an extreme rules violation. The absence of contemporary ESPN or SportsCenter coverage is identified as a missed opportunity. The film is praised as an ideal movie to have playing in a bar. The producer says younger viewers may have missed Cruise's early work and prefers the young Cruise persona.