First it was Helio Castroneves in 2025, then Jimmie Johnson this year, taking advantage of a new “exemption” NASCAR has unveiled to add a world-class driver to Cup Series races whenever the opportunity arises.
Jimmie has also announced he’ll race next year’s Daytona 500 and then hang up the helmet. We assume he’ll again use that new rule, officially known as the Open Exemption Provisional.
So it was natural that we put together a poll, asking you which driver you’d like to see use that OEP in the future.
And while this might not be a natural segue, we figured, “why not?” In a parallel universe, preferably one where make-believe can become reality, which of these cinematic racers would you most like to see enter a future Daytona 500 …
Cole Trickle
Tom Cruise played Cole Trickle in the 1990 film “Days of Thunder,” which co-starred Robert Duval, among others. Cole Trickle drove the No. 46 Chevrolet in NASCAR’s Winston Cup Series. The movie included real-life race footage gathered from “movie cars” inserted into races, including the actual Daytona 500.
Ricky Bobby
Unlike a few other movies on this list, “Talladega Nights” was short on dramatics but big on laughs. Will Ferrell teamed with John C. Reilly (“Shake & Bake”) in this 2006 classic.
Michael Delaney
The 1971 film, “Le Mans,” was Steve McQueen’s passion project. Fellow Hollywood legend Paul Newman would later become famous for his real-world ability behind the wheel, but McQueen not only raced cars, but off-road motorcycles.
Sonny Hayes
Brad Pitt starred in “F1” as a driver-for-hire who returns to Formula One three decades after life-threatening crash. Like “Days of Thunder,” a good bit of this 2025 film was shot at Daytona.
Stroker Ace
Six years after hot-rodding a Trans Am in “Smokey and the Bandit,” Burt Reynolds went back behind the wheel in 1983 to star as Stroker Ace, a three-time NASCAR champ (and playboy, of course) relegated to driving a car sponsored by the Chicken Pit restaurant chain. His crew chief: Jim Nabors as Lugs Harvey. No kidding.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Vote for Cole Trickle, Ricky Bobby or another ‘racer’ for Daytona 500
Reporting by Ken Willis, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
