Scott Speed brings a resume (and personality) like no other to Global Rallycross, as he makes his rallycross debut at Global X Games in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil. He’s the only driver in the Global Rallycross field to have raced in both Formula 1 and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, having competed for Red Bull-owned teams in both.

But while many know Speed’s exploits on the track, not as many might be familiar with the Speed off of the track. In anticipation of his first Global Rallycross event, he sat down and helped us to get to know him a little better:

If I wasn’t a race car driver, I would be:
I think I would try to be an actor.

If someone made a movie of my life, I would be played by:
I’ve been told that I act and look a lot like Seann (William Scott), the guy from American Pie. I think that’d be a pretty accurate portrayal!

Something that most people don’t know about you:
I would say not much, because I’m probably the most open person I know. I’m certainly not hiding anything, but I think my persona and the way I act, certainly with Twitter these days—if I think something I tweet it, which is good and bad for me. But I think it makes it to where there isn’t really any aspect of my personality or life that isn’t out there. I like that openness.

The last car I bought was a:
A Ford Explorer. Awesome.

What chore do you absolutely hate doing?
Clothes. Anything to do with clothes. I like to take my clothes and throw them in the middle of my closet, and when I want to use them I pick them up. I hate having to mess with them in any way, shape or form. So Amanda typically does the laundry side and I do the dishes side. And I have no problem with that, and she really hates the dishes, so it works out well!

If you were reincarnated as an animal, what would it be?
A cheetah!

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done?
Learning to skateboard.

Oh man, another? We’ve got Bucky Lasek too…
No, no, hold on. Time out. You can’t even put the names in the same sentence there! Totally different level!

When I’m not at the race track, you’ll most likely find me doing this:
Golfing.

My first job was:
My dad is an electrical engineer, and he built electric components for go-karting, so I always worked there. Unfortunately I never received a paycheck, but certainly it was my job. But I got to go-kart race, so it was perfect.

My favorite form of social media is:
Twitter, by a landslide. It’s the only one I have, actually.

Who was your biggest inspiration in racing?
My dad.

My best piece of advice for young drivers is:
I would say to constantly ask questions to anyone, because there’s always someone out there doing it better than you are. Always, no matter what. There’s always some aspect of driving that someone is doing better than you. And when you’re young, it’s necessary—you’re confident, you think you’re the best in the world, and you need that, for sure. But if you have that and the ability to understand and learn new information, I think that’s what sets the guys that make it apart, honestly, that openness to learn from others. I think that was a good trait of mine, a good trait I’ve seen in a lot of people that have made it professionally—especially people that don’t come from money. Because let’s be honest, the percentage of drivers out there who made it that didn’t come from money is very few. So to make that, and to be that good, better than the average, good enough to make it and pay the bills yourself—it’s extremely difficult, and you have to be on top of your game, 100% of the time. So the ability to have that confidence that you are good, but still the ability to learn and ask questions from others, that’s good, I think.

What story does your family always like to tell about you?
Like I said, we’re pretty open, so there’s never really anything we don’t talk about. At the moment, the story that’s being told, because I have an 18 month old and another on the way, is we’re talking about baby stories. And when I was three, I poured a bunch of sand from our backyard into my dresser and made a “terrarium,” I called it. Obviously, the parents got that cleaned up, but the next day I made an “aquarium”—I got all the water from the bathroom and poured it in the dresser. So I pretty much ruined it!

We’ve been talking about how bad I was as a kid, basically. And I wasn’t bad as far as getting into any trouble, I was just bad as in always being curious, ha!

What I like the most about my fanbase is:
I think it’s just (their) understanding for the situation that we’re in at times. Right now, what we have to do in NASCAR, having to start and park races before we can run some, it’s a difficult situation to understand. But I feel like there’s a large majority of my fans that get it, understand the situation that we’re in, and part of that process of growing the team that I’m in. And it’s something as well, that when I announce that I’m doing this rally stuff, I think every one of them for the most part are going to be excited for it. They’re not just in that box of being excited to watch Scott go around in a circle, they’re excited to watch Scott do whatever it is that comes our way.

The Global Rallycross Star Car will make its much-anticipated debut at Global X Games in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, on April 21. Different drivers will take turns racing in the Star Car throughout the year, competing against the best drivers that GRC has to offer.

The first driver to race the Star Car will be Scott Speed, who has driven across the globe in a lengthy career that has seen him reach the upper echelons of motorsports in both Europe and North America. Speed has been successful in both open wheel racing and stock cars, winning two European Formula Renault championships in 2004 and winning his first NASCAR race in 2008.

Speed continues to race in NASCAR, but will fly to Brazil during an off weekend to make his first Global Rallycross start. In the meantime, he sat down to talk about adapting to another form of motorsports and his anticipation for the weekend:

First things first: tell us a little bit about your racing career, and how Global Rallycross now fits into that.
Currently, I’m running a relatively part-time schedule with LFR Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, and with that schedule, there are options to do certain things as I’m not racing every weekend. I’ve always been up for trying different things in racing. When I left Formula 1, Red Bull gave me the option to do whatever I wanted, and I was drawn to NASCAR because it was something totally different. And I enjoyed that process of switching from open-wheel racing to NASCAR racing so much. I’ve always been open to looking for other things I can try. So when this thing came up, obviously the series has grown, it’s gotten bigger and bigger, and I’ve always had my eye on this series and how it’s coming. And when the first race was on one of the off weekends that we had, I immediately began working on something to be able to try it.

How did the opportunity for you to race in Global Rallycross come about, and why was Brazil the right place for you to make your debut?
The opportunity came about because I’ve been able to find a little bit of help. And Global Rallycross have this Star Car that they’re running, trying to get different athletes from other forms of racing in, and it just worked out where I was able to fit that mold.

What makes Global Rallycross unique among all of the different forms of racing you’ve competed in?
For one, there’s jumps, ha! So right away, that’s the one thing that stands out. I think that from a car standpoint, four-wheel drive, lots of power, really, really quick gearbox—zero to 60 in a really, really fast time. There’s not necessarily a lot of top speed, but there’s a lot of acceleration. So I think the four-wheel drive aspect, and the aspect of running on dirt, asphalt, wet—all different kinds of conditions—certainly is a lot different.

You’ll be driving in the Star Car, something new to the series for this season. What do you like about the concept?
I think it’s great for the people watching, to increase the level of respect that they have for the guys that are doing this full-time. When you have someone in racing like myself, that was racing in Formula 1, and has gone into this different form of racing, I’m assuming that it’s going to validate the abilities of the guys that are doing it, the Ken Blocks and Tanner Fousts, those guys where this is what they’ve done. I’m sure they’re really good at it! And someone like myself, having raced Formula 1, coming over there to try it will be interesting. I’m assuming those guys are really going to show me a lot!

Have you had a chance to drive a rallycross car yet? If so, what do you think of it, and if not, what are your thoughts on getting ready to drive one for the first time?
I have not, yet. I’ve talked to a lot of people who have, a lot of guys have been very helpful in that transition as well. But when I get down there, it’ll be my first time in it. So outside of watching videos and speaking with people who have done it, that can help, there really hasn’t been anything. It’ll be a fresh start, which is exciting for me.

Have you given any thought to your strategy for the Brazil race weekend? Are you going to feel out the car at first or push from the beginning?
I’m going to do me, I’m going to do what I’ve always done. I don’t really have a push really hard or play conservative button, so to speak. I just kind of do my thing—I go fast! So we’ll see. Typically, it’s better to drive too hard and back things off than approach on the conservative side.

If things go well for you in Brazil, is rallycross something you’d consider doing more of in the future?
Yes, absolutely. There’s definitely an open mind going into this, and certainly some possibilities and options to do some more in the future. Especially with my schedule being the way it is, it’s very conducive to running something like this, at least occasionally, where there are off weekends for me.