Jenson Button reveals watching his first NASCAR race that inspired him to drive the stock car one day

Jenson Button has disclosed the NASCAR race that enticed him to race in the series. The race Button referred to was the fictitious one where Tom Cruise won the Daytona 500 in the movie 'Days of Thunder'.

Nine-year-old Button was inspired by the action flick starring Cruise. The film follows the journey of Cole Trickle (portrayed by Cruise) who ditches open-wheel racing to drive stock cars in NASCAR. Button revealed that the film's captivating storyline instilled in him a dream to drive stock cars.

The kid from Somerset, who went on to achieve ultimate glory in the pinnacle of motorsports, is now realizing his childhood dream.

The 2009 F1 champion announced his NASCAR debut on FOX's Racehub show, where he discussed his three-race contract and the upcoming Le Man's project.

The 43-year-old stated in the interview:

"Where I grew up we had four channels on TV, so we didn’t have any NASCAR racing coverage. So, the first NASCAR race I ever watched was Days of Thunder!"

He added:

"I was like ‘this is so cool’. I was nine at the time, watching with my dad. To get the chance to live out that dream, it’s really cool."

Jenson Button is now on a similar journey to Cole Trickle as he retired from F1 in 2016. Since then, the Briton has driven in various categories like the LMP1 prototype, rallycross, and off-road racing. He won the Japanese Super GT title in 2018.

The 43-year-old spoke about his interest in other categories, as he said:

"In F1 I got to a point where I wasn’t learning anything new,” he reflects of his career. “I wanted to try different things – I think of myself as a racing driver, not just an F1 driver."

He added:

"I knew I’d love to try a stock car, and I watched it for decades with my dad, we used to sit down and watch it, and I loved Dale Earnhardt, and obviously Tony [Stewart], Jeff [Gordon], and Jimmie [Johnson, his Garage 56 team-mate]."

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Jenson Button prepping for his debut at COTA

Jenson Button will drive the #15 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing. He returns to the track where he has five F1 starts, however, this time he will be driving a different beast.

The former F1 champion acknowledged the challenge as he said:

"I’m excited and very nervous at the same time,” says Button. “It’s so different. I’ve seen so many drivers from background in Formula 1 getting into a stock car, a Cup car, and it’s really difficult. And you don’t get much practice either."

Button spoke in high regard about the Cup Series drivers and expects modest results in Austin. He said:

"I’m up for a challenge, I’ve got the utmost respect for the drivers and teams I’ll be racing against. It’s staggering the attention to detail they go to, to be competitive. It’s going to take a bit of time; patience will be key while I’m learning. Not to overdrive it and get frustrated, that’s the thing."

After his debut outing, Jenson Button will drive at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Chicago Street course.