Jordan Anderson thought Daytona finish would be his 'Days of Thunder' moment

Jordan Anderson doesn't make many starts in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, but he usually makes a splash when he does appear.

That was the case in Saturday's season-opening United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway, where Anderson had an outside shot at the victory on the final lap before Austin Hill pulled away. 

Anderson finished fourth after he received little drafting help on the exit of turn 4 on the final lap. But the 34-year-old driver briefly thought he'd have a moment akin to that of Tom Cruise's character Cole Trickle in the 1990 film "Days of Thunder," where Trickle wins at Daytona with a crafty crossover move.

No Hollywood ending for Jordan Anderson

"As we kept getting closer and closer, I'm like, 'Alright, it's go time'," Anderson told CW Sports. "We came off turn 2 on the backstretch there, [and] I'm like, 'This is it, this is like the Days of Thunder moment.' I thought the seas had parted. We had the steam and it just kinda ran out when I got to the 21."