Nascar and Racing Indianapolis

NASCAR Busch Series driver Steve Wallace hung out a little too long and showed off a little too much bling in Indy.

Late Sunday night / early Monday morning, Wallace got jumped for the Breitling watch he received as a gift from the RWI sponsor after winning his second career pole at Nashville Superspeedway in June.

Wallace was attacked by a group of at least three men upon exiting a
was in a convenience store in Broad Ripple Village, an Indianapolis neighborhood known for its arts and culture. The men had previously been inside the store and had commented on Wallace's watch when he first entered.

Police have arrested Mark Tharpe, 25, for beating and kicking 19-year-old Wallace in the face.

Wallace suffered only minor cuts and abrasions in the attack and declined treatment for his injuries. He will compete as scheduled in this weekend's NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.

On Sunday, actress and activist Ashley Judd added a new role to her long list of credits: wife of Indianapolis 500 winner.

Judd's husband, Dario Franchitti, became the 66th winner of the Indianapolis 500 in a rain-soaked event that boiled down to pit strategy, giving him an advantage over Penske, Target Ghip Ganassi and other drivers in the field.

The Scot's spousal cheerleader, who credits him for helping her overcome depression, was overwhelmed with pride and joy following the win:

"I'd like to point out that my husband went from 14th to first like a gentleman and that's exactly what he is - a gentleman ... He raced like a gentleman, picked 'em off one by one, and won in style."

Indeed he did. And she totally "gets" it.

I like to pretend I care about the IRL at least once a year, 'cause they do have this race that's like a pretty big deal or something. The television networks have even arranged it so that race fans can enjoy all the competition on the track without conflict.

However, the scheduling gods didn't allow enough time between races. To watch the Indianapolis 500 all the way to the end means missing most of Speed's "Raceday," which is the only NASCAR pre-race show worth watching. To skip it means to risk missing a breaking news item or the best anecdote of the week--or both.

Such is the dilemma facing race fans this Memorial Day Sunday.

I am genuinely interested in watching the 500 today. As most of my readers know, I follow A.J. Foyt IV, so I want to see how he does, and there are six previous winners racing, including Al Unser Jr. and last year's winner, Busch Series rookie Sam Hornish Jr., that also make it interesting.

Most* of my readers also know that I'm a female and I'm also supposed to care that three women will make history today when they take the green flag--but let's not get ahead of ourselves. For this tallglassofmilk, the estrogen factor only comes into play because McDreamy in on the scene.

Can the IRL drivers keep it interesting 'til the end? We'll see in a couple of hours.

Here is the sked for the day (all times PT cause that's my time zone):

IRL
9:00AM - 10:00AM - Indy Pre-race (ABC)
10:00AM -1:30 PM - The Indianapolis 500 (ABC)

NASCAR
12:00PM - 2:00PM NASCAR Raceday (Speed)
2:00PM - 7:00PM The Coca-Cola 600 (Fox)

* When I say most, I mean the ones that followed me from Answer this... to the Fanhouse. Some of the newer readers haven't quite caught on. But I gotta ask, how many men out there are that in touch with their femine side--their mammary glands in particular--that they'd call themselves a tallglassofmilk?