A Days of Thunder sequel is officially in production, which ensures that Tom Cruise’s “sequel” era will remain intact. The perennial leading man dropped the big news earlier this month alongside co-star Anne Hathway. Since then, there’s been speculation regarding plot details, though no one’s spilling the beans on the Jonathan Levine-directed film just yet. That hasn’t stopped real-life NASCAR drivers from pitching themselves for the movie, though, and they have some fun ideas about how they could factor into the plot. Several of NASCAR’s most esteemed drivers were recently polled in regard to the Days of Thunder follow-up’s development. USA Today specifically asked them to share whether they’d prefer to appear as themselves in the film and play a teammate or rival to Cruise’s Cole Trickle. The answers ultimately varied, with Austin Hill, Chase Briscoe and Rajah Caruth throwing their hats in the teammate ring. You can see below what their rationale is for joining that camp: Austin Hill: I would say teammate. I'm already too much on the bad guy program as it is, so I want to be on the good side of things. So, I'll be his teammate, I'll push him to the win.Chase Briscoe: I'd rather be his teammate. I feel like the fan perception of the people that go and watch the movie — if they're not NASCAR fans — if they turn on a race on Sunday, they'd probably rather cheer for Cole Trickle’s teammate than his rival.Rajah Caruth: Well, think about it: What this will probably be like is, Cole Trickle is probably, what, 50-something? Like close to retired. So, I'd say teammate because then — I mean, you saw ‘F1,’ right? So you could be the young teammate.I can certainly understand the allure of wanting to play one of Cole’s teammates, especially since such a casting could lead to some on-screen moments of camaraderie with Cruise. On a side note, I also love that Caruth mentions the dynamic between Brad Pitt and Damson Idris’ characters in F1 (which has been mentioned in crossover talk with Days of Thunder). I do, however, get why the likes of Joey Logano, Carson Hocevar and Chris Buescher would want to play Cole’s rivals:Joey Logano: I pick the rival. Always pick the rival… I think that's one of the first movies you watch as a kid is ‘Days of Thunder.’ I know my kids have watched it already. I don't know if they're old enough to actually do that, but we watched it because it's a classic.Carson Hocevar: Probably the rival. I think he’d get a little more screentime.Chris Buescher: I’m going to have to be his rival because we're going to be in a Ford and we're going to be working against him… That is pretty exciting. That was my favorite racing movie growing up. And I know a lot of people my age will lean towards the ‘Talladega Nights’ side, but that one didn't do it for me.There’s just something appealing about being the “heel,” so to speak, and to do that when acting against Tom Cruise could be a fun prospect for an actor (or racecar driver). Of course, it remains to be seen whether any of those racers will actually appear in the movie. It does seem like a given, though, considering Cruise and co. seem to be collaborating with NASCAR on it. Racing veteran Jeff Gordon even claimed over a year ago that he’d been in contact with Cruise about the sports organization’s potential involvement in the film. Not to mention the fact that Richard Petty, Neil Bonnett and other notable drivers appear in the original 1990 film.It’s hard to say which real-life racers may or may not lap Cole Trickle in Days of Thunder but, at the very least, I’m psyched that Anne Hathaway is joining the film. The Oscar winner is playing a character who’s both an owner and an engineer, and Cruise shared glowing thoughts about her taking on the role. Fans seem pleased as well, with many also hyping the fact that Hathway’s latest role further drives home the point that she remains booked and busy.As can be expected from a Tom Cruise movie, this latest sequel is set to be quite ambitious, and it’s going to be shot for the IMAX format. I can practically hear the roaring engines and screaming crowds of the stadiums now, and I hope those raceways are populated by NASCAR veterans eager to make cameos. Check out the Days of Thunder sequel when it hits theaters on June 2, 2028 and, right now, stream the first movie with a Paramount+ subscription.