'Days of Thunder' put Button on road to NASCAR

Jenson Button's boyhood fascination with the Hollywood movie 'Days of Thunder' sparked his passion for stock cars and the former Formula One champion will live out a childhood dream when he returns to the starting grid for three NASCAR Cup races.

The 1990 high-octane, fender-banging blockbuster starring Tom Cruise was Button's introduction to the world of stock car racing and when Rick Ware Racing offered him a chance to be part of the action driving their Mobil 1 Ford Mustang he grabbed it.

The Briton, 43, will begin his NASCAR adventure on March 26 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas and then compete in the inaugural Chicago Street Race on July 2 before racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Aug. 13.

"Growing up in the UK we had four channels on TV back in the late 80s and we didn't get any real sport outside of European sport so it was Days of Thunder that actually first of all brought me to NASCAR," Button said during a media call.

"It was the first time I got to see any NASCAR. It was a movie and as an eight-year-old I thought it was insane, I thought it was amazing, worlds away from European motorsport."

Button, F1 champion in 2009, becomes the latest former drivers' champion to try his luck in NASCAR.

He will be joined on the starting grid at the Circuit of the Americas by Finland's 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen, while Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 champion, has also raced in NASCAR, including at the Daytona 500.

While Button has not yet turned a single lap in NASCAR, he is not ruling out the possibility of a longer term commitment and taking on the challenge of high-speed ovals, including one of motorsport's marquee events the Daytona 500.

"There is always a possibility I guess but