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What Happened to Cars From Days Of Thunder?

What happened to the cars from Days of Thunder? First of all – can we all agree that “Days Of Thunder” is the Top Gun for NASCAR? Beyond Tom Cruise…

Tom Cruise
(Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)

What happened to the cars from Days of Thunder? First of all - can we all agree that "Days Of Thunder" is the Top Gun for NASCAR?

Beyond Tom Cruise starring in both movies - Days of Thunder was stylish, funny and ahead of it's time in camera shots. Now there are a couple of things I wonder about:

  1. What happened to Russ Wheeler after the race? Yeah he was a complete a**hole to Cole - but he had secured a good sponsor with Hardee's, the car was fast and he looked comfortable in front of the camera. Maybe if he didn't take so much on his car radio (telling his crew chief his every move on the track....no wonder Cole knew what he was going to do)
  2. Did Harry have to build the car in his barn? I'm sure there were a lot of clean garages all over North Carolina that he could've gone to and worked...plenty of tools, no hay in the welds, not worrying about cow manure getting in the fuel system. Just a thought.

Okay, back to the cars from Days Of Thunder. First off - check out this graveyard of cars:

Now what about the #51 Mello Yello? Here's another video that might make you cry:

I'll admit that this bothered me for some reason. I know they're just movie cars - but Days of Thunder is comfort food for me. Perfect way to unwind and how can you not love Robert Duvall's character? And since we're talking NASCAR - did you know the history of racing in #Detroit goes back to 1951? It's an amazing story about the track and sheer number of entrants (mind blowing...lol).

Jim O'Brien is the Host of "Big Jim's House" Morning Show at 94.7 WCSX in Detroit. Jim spent eight years in the U.S. Naval Submarine Service, has appeared on Shark Tank (Man Medals Season 5 Ep. 2), raised over two million dollars for local charities and is responsible for Glenn Frey Drive and Bob Seger Blvd in the Motor City. Jim's relationship with Classic Rock includes considering Bob Seger, Phil Collen from Def Leppard, Wally Palmer of the Romantics and many others good friends. Jim writes about ‘80s movies, cars, weird food trends and “as seen on TikTok” content.