Who is Cole Trickle supposed to be?
3. While Days Of Thunder was neither based on a true story, nor a biographical film, Cruise's character Cole Trickle was very loosely based on the careers of American Motorsport drivers Tim Richmond and Geoff Bodine, and several scenes reenacted or referenced real-life stories and personalities from NASCAR history.
Richard Childress and Dale Earnhardt Jr. discussed how Days of Thunder was based on the rivalry between Earnhardt Sr. and Bodine. One scene in which Cole deliberately blows his engine by over-revving it reflects upon an incident in which Tim Richmond was said to have done at Michigan in 1987.
The classic NASCAR film “Days of Thunder” was loosely based on the career of 13-time premier series victor Tim Richmond, who had earned the nickname “Hollywood.”
NASCAR driver Greg Sacks did most of Tom Cruise's stunt driving. Cruise wanted to do his own stunt driving, but wasn't allowed to for insurance reasons. The Chevrolets were prepared by Rick Hendrick's racing team, which later used some of the movie cars in real races. Thirty-five cars were wrecked during filming.
The character was largely based on Dale Earnhardt, and Cruise's Cole Trickle was a sketch of Tim Richmond. Randy Quaid was a slicker version of the team owner Rick Hendrick, and Robert Duvall's crew chief Hogge was, as Hendrick said, “a better Harry Hyde than Harry Hyde ever was.
The character of Rowdy Burns, antagonist to Cruise's Cole Trickle, played by Michael Rooker, has always been believed to have been based on Dale Earnhardt Sr., at the time one of the biggest names in NASCAR and in the midst of writing his own legend.
There will never be another film like Days of Thunder - Hagerty Media.
prior to the production of the film. It was rumored that Earnhardt was offered the role of Rowdy Burns, but he turned it down because he did not want to play the bad guy. Tom Cruise and Robert Duvall characters are (very) loosely based on former driver Tim Richmond and his crew chief Harry Hyde.
We all know the story… famously documented in Trickle's biopic Days of Thunder. Six Cup Series championships and 104 wins later – including 14 at Bristol – life has brought him back to where his racing career started.
On February 9, 1997, Trickle left his home in Las Vegas around 9 p.m. to play tennis with a friend at a lighted court. As he drove over the freeway, a car drove alongside and fired shots into his car hitting him in the head. Trickle died from complications of his wounds on March 25, 1998, 409 days after the shooting.