I mean, when I was growing up, my family was always into racing. So, we'd always have the TV on on Sundays watching the Cup races or whatever, and ultimately I kinda thought about wanting to become a race car driver. I thought it would be cool to get paid to do what you love to do most.

My favorite was Jeff Gordon. I just followed him growing up because I started watching racing when he came on the scene.

When I was coming up through the ranks, I won a lot - and probably won too much.

There's no better benefit than being out on the racetrack, learning what's going on with the track and the tire and all that stuff. To me, that's a big influence.

I didn't know anybody in show business, and I never thought it was the path I'd go down. I was hoping it was sports, like so many kids.

I rarely felt or noticed any real divide between girls and boys when I was growing up. Maybe it was because I was so involved in sports and competed with the boys. Maybe it was my mom and dad, who constantly instilled confidence in me and never made me feel as though there were boy activities and girl activities.

Some of my friends said I wouldn't have a future in football, as did some of my family, but I still believed in the potential I had. My mum would tell me I needed to get a proper job, but for me, I didn't want to be anything other than a footballer. That led to some tension and frustration between us.

When I met Michael Jordan on a basketball court at an athletic club - we hooped together in Chicago - he came to me and asked me if I wanted to do a song for his upcoming movie. I was like, 'Yeah!' I didn't even ask what it was.