Actor Tom Cruise paid a touching tribute to late NASCAR driver Kyle Busch while announcing his latest sequel project. 

Cruise announced at a driver’s meeting before Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway that a sequel to ‘Days of Thunder’ is in the works.

The film, released in 1990, saw Cruise star as hotshot racing driver Cole Trickle. The actor will reprise the role in the sequel, set for a 2028 release.

But as Cruise took his seat at the driver’s meeting, he noticed that he was placed next to an empty chair that was set aside for Busch.

Photographers captured Cruise patting the empty chair in a heartbreaking gesture just months on from the sudden and tragic passing of the driver from pneumonia-inflicted sepsis at the age of 41.

Busch’s death in May hit the NASCAR community hard and has left a vacuum in the sport – and in his family.

Tom Cruise was seen paying tribute to the late Kyle Busch at a driver’s meeting at Daytona

The tribute comes as the racing world continues to mourn Busch after his death in May at 41

Cruise attended the driver’s meeting to announce a sequel to his race movie ‘Days of Thunder’

Last week, Busch’s widow, Samantha, 40, gave a speech at the Carlos Rodon Foundation’s Third Annual Willow Gala, hosted by New York Yankees star Carlos Rodon and his wife Ashley in support of couples struggling with infertility. 

Samantha was recognized for her efforts to support in vitro fertilization treatments, receiving the Seeds of Hope Award in New York City, according to People. 

She honored her late husband, with whom she welcomed their two children through IVF, in an emotional address, saying that his death was ‘the greatest heartbreak of my life.’

‘If I’m being truthful, there are still so many things I don’t understand and so many times I wish God’s plan looked different than it does,’ Samantha said. 

‘Caring for the things that Kyle and I built together can feel incredibly heavy because he should still be here doing it beside me. But I also know that the same God who carried us through infertility is still carrying me now,’ she added.

Tributes poured in at the following race – with Samantha, their children and Kyle’s brother and fellow NASCAR driver Kurt all taking part in the solemn occasion.

Since then, the sport has honored the driver known as ‘Rowdy’ at tracks throughout the country.

As for the movie, actress Anne Hathaway is linked to the project as she appeared with Cruise in an image announcing the film. It’s unclear what her role will be as the project has just gone into development.