“He was a lot shorter”: When Dale Earnhardt Jr. recalled his fanboy moment with Tom Cruise

NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared in a 2015 edition of 12 Questions, his fanboy moment meeting Tom Cruise when he was prepping for his role in the NASCAR film, Days of Thunder. He also revealed that, supposedly, Tom Cruise wanted Dale Earnhardt to play a role in the film.

Cruise had visited Dale Jr.’s garage before the filming of the Hollywood classic to ask him to play a role in the film. Dale Jr. and his sister Kelley were excited to meet the famous actor and realized that he was much shorter than they had first anticipated and looked like a normal young guy rather than a glamorous movie star.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also revealed that he got TC’s autograph that day, which was a big deal for a kid like him. Jeff Gluck asked Junior:

"Who is an autograph you got as a kid that seemed to be a big deal to you at the time?"

To which Dale Jr. replied:

"I got Tom Cruise's autograph when he came. He was preparing for his role in Days of Thunder and he was going around talking to people. They brought him over to Dad's farm, and him and Dad went into Dad's office and sat in there for about an hour."

"It was Tom and one of the producers, and it was pretty early in putting the film together. And the rumor is they had actually asked Dad in that meeting to play Rowdy Burns. But I don't know if that's true. He never said that, but that was kind of the rumor that went around. I was only a little kid, so I was going to believe that."

"But I think I got Tom's autograph that day, and it was pretty neat to meet him. He was a lot shorter than I thought, and he was younger — he had a lot of pimples — and he just looked like a normal guy. I thought that was pretty cool," he added.

In 2015, Dale Earnhardt Jr. produced a fabulous season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with three wins and 16 top-fives, tying his previous best for top-five finishes in one season, which was previously set in 2004. His three wins included two spectacular wins at Daytona International Speedway’s Coke Zero 400 where he started on the pole, led 96 laps and finished atop the podium with his teammate, Jimmie Johnson, in a Hendrick Motorsports one-two finish.

Furthermore, Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored wins at Talladega Superspeedway and Phoenix Raceway, with Phoenix being the final win for Dale Jr. in the NASCAR Cup Series, just before the season finale.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. says Hollywood star wanted Dale Earnhardt to act in famous NASCAR movie

Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed on his podcast that Hollywood star Tom Cruise personally visited Dale Sr. at his shop before filming Days of Thunder to discuss the possibility of Earnhardt Sr. playing the role of Rowdy Burns, the antagonist in the movie. Cruise, who was preparing for his role as Cole Trickle, wanted the legendary NASCAR driver to bring authenticity to the character.

"Tom Cruise came by Dale Earnhardt incorporated back when it was just the deer head shop. This was before they had ever started shooting Days of Thunder. He and dad go into dad's office and they talked for like an hour. They come out, shook hands, hey man, great time. Basically came by to sit down and talk to dad because dad's character was Rowdy Burns and dad even said that in the conversation. Tom mentioned that dad should play the role and dad was like, 'You know I really don't want to be the villain'. Dad is not an actor," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.

However, Earnhardt Sr. declined the offer, feeling uncomfortable playing the villain and acknowledging that acting was not his forte. The meeting lasted about an hour, and although Cruise was enthusiastic, the producers likely would have opposed casting a non-actor in the role, which eventually went to Michael Rooker.