A few things:
1) Which XBox controller are you talking about? 360 Wired, 360 Wireless, One, One Elite, etc. I can only speak for the XBox 360 Wireless controller config.
2) For the default config for the XBox 360 controller, Start, LT (Brake), RT (Gas), A (OK), B (Cancel), and Y (Rear View) buttons should be able to do something.
3) The tutorial before every game is more of a demo video, and less of an active tutorial. You hit the Gas button/trigger to advance through the screens, and you hold Start to skip.
I know it's a really late reply, but I hope this helps.