"But one thing I've worked really hard on ever since I entered the series was earning respect, and walking that fine line between being too passive and getting pushed around and being too aggressive.

"I don't think that I'd ever choose that route [of styling myself as the series' 'bad boy']," she said. "I think that, in an ideal world, I would win over everyone's heart and be a sweetheart and be tough on the track and have good finishes."

"It would be ideal that people like me from that standpoint but, unfortunately, when you're popular, you get positive and negative attention. I have no control over that."