Tom Cruise returned to the NASCAR world at Daytona International Speedway over the weekend, but one of the actor’s most memorable moments had nothing to do with the movie that brought him there.
Cruise attended the NASCAR Cup Series drivers meeting ahead of Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, where he announced that a sequel to his 1990 racing film, “Days of Thunder,” is in development.
But as Cruise took his seat, he found an unmistakable reminder of the man NASCAR is still mourning.
An empty chair beside him had been reserved in honor of the late Kyle Busch.
Cruise was photographed reaching over and placing his hand on the chair bearing Busch’s name, quietly acknowledging the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion more than three months after his death.
It was a simple gesture, but an emotional one in a NASCAR season that has been filled with reminders of Busch’s enormous impact on the sport.
Tom Cruise Pays Tribute to Kyle Busch at Daytona
Cruise was seated directly beside the chair reserved for Busch during the drivers meeting at Daytona.
Rather than simply taking his place, the Hollywood star turned toward the empty seat and reached down to touch it.
The moment carried particular weight given the reason Cruise was at the track in the first place.
More than three decades after “Days of Thunder” brought a fictionalized version of NASCAR to movie theaters, Cruise returned to the garage as plans for a sequel begin to take shape. The original film followed Cruise as driver Cole Trickle and became one of the most recognizable racing movies ever made.
This time, however, the real-life story surrounding Cruise’s NASCAR appearance extended far beyond Hollywood.
Busch died in May at age 41 after bacterial pneumonia led to sepsis, sending shockwaves through NASCAR and leaving the sport without one of the defining drivers of his generation.
Since then, tributes to the former Cup champion have continued at tracks across the country.
The empty chair at Daytona provided another one.
And with Cruise seated beside it, the tribute produced an especially poignant image: one of Hollywood’s biggest stars returning to NASCAR while making sure Busch’s absence did not go unacknowledged.
NASCAR Continues to Honor Kyle Busch
Busch’s death has remained deeply felt throughout the NASCAR community.
His widow, Samantha Busch, has continued to honor her late husband while caring for the couple’s two children, Brexton and Lennix. Busch’s older brother, former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kurt Busch, has also been among the family members carrying on his legacy.
The tributes have extended well beyond Busch’s immediate family.
Drivers, teams, tracks and others throughout NASCAR have found their own ways to remember the driver known as “Rowdy,” whose career included two Cup Series championships and victories across all three NASCAR national series.
Cruise’s gesture at Daytona became the latest.
There was no lengthy speech attached to it and no elaborate production surrounding the moment. Instead, Cruise simply reached toward the empty chair next to him and acknowledged the driver who should have been there.
On a weekend when Cruise arrived with major news about the future of one of racing’s most famous movies, that quiet moment told a much different story.
NASCAR is moving forward. But Kyle Busch is still very much being remembered along the way.
Tom Cruise Honors Kyle Busch With Touching Gesture at Daytona