Need soap opera drama? Check the NASCAR garage (cont'd)

"I used to want to do reality shows and things like that but now I just think it's odd for other people to know such detail about your personal life," he said. "Some guys expose themselves more than others, but I tend to stay away."

Jeff Gordon is one that embraces the celebrity scene. When he and wife Ingrid released additional photos of their new baby Ella Sophia earlier this month, People magazine had the scoop.

Why the preoccupation with NASCAR drivers' wives and lives?

"Previously, NASCAR drivers weren't considered celebrities and with that status comes a tremendous amount of interest," said Jen, who in 2004 began tracking the pop culture craze inside the sport. "The interest has always been there but there's never been a place where NASCAR fans could get the info."

And the info they are getting, historically, has been taboo, never written about.

In the infancy of the blog, Jen's reach inside NASCAR circles was limited. The blog was hardly mainstream. That was until her blog was linked by another popular blogger, operated by Jade Gurss, public relations representative of Dale Earnhardt Jr., who reveals behind-the-scene tidbits on the sport's most popular driver.

"Once that happened, the entire NASCAR online world found out about it, until then I had flown under the radar," she said.

Tall Glass of Milk touches on an array of topics, but readers beware -- the information is not always accurate or confirmed.

"We call it 'As the Track Turns,'" Jen said. "We discuss which drivers are cheating, which drivers are sharing the same girls and which girls are hanging on to the drivers who don't want to let go of the lifestyle."

The appetite for NASCAR drama and gossip, Jen said, is human nature. Fans want to know anything and everything about their favorite star or athlete, particularly so with young female fans.

"They are constantly writing to me, 'How do I meet a driver, how can I be a driver's girlfriend,'" Jen said.

Questions of those nature make it easy to understand why Liz Allison, author and former NASCAR wife, wrote a book on how to land a driver, The Girl's Guide to Winning a NASCAR Driver.

The influx of NASCAR drivers into the female mind is growing. Drivers are increasingly appealing to women on and off the track. They are in soap operas, romance novels and grocery aisles.

And McMurray is no exception.

The Roush Fenway Racing wheelman turned part-time actor took center stage on NBC's Passions on Wednesday, but it is unclear whether he will have a love interest or become spellbound himself.

The only tidbit released prior to the show was that he was invited to tape a scene where the 31-year-old plays himself, "a real-life NASCAR driver."

"My part in the show was really quick and I only had a few lines to remember, but I have to admit, I was pretty nervous when all the cameras were turned on," he said. "What people don't realize is that it isn't just you and the other actors; it's also like 20 other people behind the cameras. And on top of that, I didn't want to be the one to mess up the shoot."

McMurray isn't the first to star in a daytime drama.

Carl Edwards and Mark Martin made cameo appearances on CBS' Guiding Light in 2005 and Casey Mears set the trend before that when the Hendrick Motorsports driver appeared on the timeless classic, NBC's Days of Our Lives.

In 2004, Mears played himself and was pivotal in helping to locate a missing boyfriend on the show via a message inscribed on his racecar.

"I had never really watched a soap opera before on my own, but my mom watched them when I was growing up," Mears said. "I thought it was interesting to see everything that goes on behind the scenes -- those shows really are a big production. My favorite part was probably delivering the few lines that I had without messing up too bad."

Clint Bowyer, first-time Cup race winner in New Hampshire, doesn't watch soap operas and never has, however, he said drivers landing roles on hit shows is a testament of NASCAR's growth into mainstream pop culture.

"That and it must pay well," Bowyer laughed.

Whether they watch soap operas or play a character on TV, one fact remains: The NASCAR garage is a Petri dish for intrigue.

"Any time you throw a bunch of personalities together and then add travel to the mix, you're going to have a few storylines," Mears said. "But I think everyone does a pretty good job of keeping any drama to a minimum, which is definitely different than a soap opera."

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.