 Tom Cruise (qv) and Robert Duvall (I) (qv)s characters are  (very) loosely based on former driver Tim Richmond (qv) and his  crew chief Harry Hyde (II) (qv). Richmond was known as an  overnight sensation, and Hyde was the veteran crew chief. The scene  where Duvalls character teaches Cruise about tire management is  based on an actual incident between Hyde and Richmond. Tim Richmond  died of AIDS complications the year before the film was released.