This just in from ESPN:

TOM CRUISE TO APPEAR ON ‘NASCAR NOW’

The Friday, Feb. 6, edition of ESPN2’s NASCAR Now will include an original interview with actor Tom Cruise at 5 p.m. ET. Cruise discusses his interest in NASCAR and how he drove a race car at Daytona while filming the 1990 movie Days of Thunder. The movie featured a young Cruise playing the role of Cole Trickle — a hotshot rookie driver looking for success in NASCAR’s premiere division. From the big screen to real life, Cruise has had a lifelong passion for racing. The NASCAR season begins this weekend at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Excerpts:
Cruise on NASCAR racing:

“You know it’s just…it’s just America. It’s something about driving in a car. For me as a kid growing up, I always wanted to race cars. I came up with the idea to make this movie about NASCAR, it’s just a piece of America and these icons who were there in the beginning and created this sport, you just see our history through time, our love affair with the automobile. It’s a very unique kind of racing that feels very American. Rubbin’s racin’, you know.”

Cruise on filming at Daytona:

“My personal Daytona memory is getting up close to 200 mph, personally driving on that track in the car. Having that opportunity to drive those cars on the track, meet those drivers that I got to meet. Making movies, I love it because I get to enter into a world and you meet these people, and the generosity that I’ve been extended by these people — whether it’s NASCAR or Jerry McGuire — it’s a great life because I’m interested in life and in engaging in life, and to have those experiences I feel very privileged.”