Tom Cruise has been a film star for more than 40 years and starred in one of the most memorable motorsport movies of all time in Days of Thunder, but prior to this he did actually race.
The star of Top Gun, Mission Impossible, Risky Business and many more high grossing films did have a short stint as a racing driver in late-1980s, an opportunity afforded by another movie star.
After meeting together on the set of The Color of Money in 1986, Cruise and Paul Newman became close friends leading to the young star at the time racing for the film legend’s Nissan-supported team.
Newman was a successful race driver in his own right, having won multiple Sports Car Club of America titles and a class win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
It was team co-owner Bob Sharp, who introduced Newman to competition back in 1971 and this partnership extended to the factory Nissan operation Cruise drove for in 1987.
Cruise adapted quickly to racing and won four races out of 16 during his first year, impressing many with his raw speed.
Starting off in a Showroom Stock Nissan 300ZX featuring a 3.0-litre V6 modified with Jim Wolf Technologies camshafts, MSA headers and throttle body, with an HKS exhaust package completed the engine specs.
Nismo anti-roll bars partnered with Tokico springs and shocks improved the handling.
Stepping up to a highly modified 200sx (or Gazelle here in Australia) in 1988, Cruise only completed part-seasons due to his film commitments.
This racing experience somewhat became useful when he starred in Days of Thunder in 1990 opposite Australian Nicole Kidman.
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