Days of Thunder - Plot

Plot

Cole Trickle (Tom Cruise) is a young racer with years of experience in open-wheel racing. He is recruited by car dealership tycoon Tim Daland (Randy Quaid) to race for his team in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Daland also convinces former crew chief and car builder Harry Hogge (Robert Duvall) to come out of retirement and lead Cole's pit crew. During his first few races, Cole has difficulty adjusting to the larger NASCAR stock cars and communicating with his crew while being intimidated on the track by Winston Cup Champion Rowdy Burns (Michael Rooker); this results in Cole not finishing the races, mostly due to crashes or engine blowouts. After discovering that Cole does not understand the common terminology used by NASCAR teams, Harry puts him in a series of rigorous training. This pays off at the Darlington race, when Cole uses a slingshot maneuver from the outside line to overtake Rowdy and win his first race.

The rivalry between Cole and Rowdy intensifies throughout the season until tragedy strikes. At the Firecracker 400 in Daytona, both drivers are seriously injured after their cars are destroyed by "The Big One". While recovering from his injuries in Daytona Beach, Cole develops a romantic relationship with Dr. Claire Lewicki (Nicole Kidman), the neurosurgeon attending to his health. At the same time, Cole and Rowdy change from bitter rivals to close friends.

As Cole is still undergoing therapy, Daland hires hot shot rookie Russ Wheeler (Cary Elwes) to take over his spot. Weeks later, Cole returns to active duty, with Daland now fielding two teams – the second car driven by Russ. Though Cole shows signs of his old self, he finds himself intimidated by his own teammate. Then, at North Wilkesboro, Russ gets dirty on pit road and spins Cole out to win the race. In retaliation, Cole crashes his car into Russ's car during the victory lap, resulting in Cole and Harry's team being fired by Daland.

When Rowdy discovers that he has to undergo brain surgery to fix a broken blood vessel, he asks Cole to drive his car at the Daytona 500. Cole reluctantly agrees and convinces Harry to be his crew chief again. Hours prior to the race, Harry discovers that the car is leaking oil, so he manages to have Daland provide him a new engine. During the race, Cole's car suffers a malfunctioning gear shifter after being spun out by Russ, but the combined efforts of his pit crew, as well as those working for Daland, manage to fix the problem and get him back on the lead lap. This sets the tone for a final showdown between Cole and Russ. On the final lap, Russ predicts that Cole will attempt his signature slingshot maneuver from outside, but Cole tricks him with a crossover, overtaking him from the inside to win his first Daytona 500.

Cole drives into victory lane, where he celebrates with Claire and his pit-crew. As he looks around to see where Harry is, he spots him sitting alone on a concrete barrier near the pit stop. Cole walks up to Harry and challenges him to a foot race to victory lane.