Major League? If NASCAR wants to be big time, it should start behaving that way.(Racing)(National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)(Brief Article)

Byline: AL PEARCE

In recent years NASCAR has bragged about becoming ``major league.'' Certainly not like baseball, basketball or football, but perhaps approaching the level of hockey, tennis and golf. Its suits speak reverently of national scheduling, penetration into major markets, growing TV revenues and ratings, and ``attractive demographics'' that will help ``grow the sport.''

Its drivers have been in Sports Illustrated, TV Guide and half-a-handful of other ``mainstream'' rags. You can't channel-surf without stumbling across a logo-wearing driver hawking something-or NASCAR hawking itself. Why, Jeff Gordon has been on Regis-and-Whoever almost as often as Regis. And if that's not ``major league'' then, by God, the folks in Daytona Beach want to know what is.

But remember this childhood warning: Be careful what you wish for; you might just get it.

So it's come to this: One of NASCAR's most visible drivers is being investigated for allegedly assaulting a female after the recent Sharpie 500 in Bristol. In this case, ``assault'' means any level of unwanted physical contact. Evidence suggests the ``assault'' in question was a shove while making his way through the pits at Bristol Motor Speedway. The female said she was pushed aside while the driver walked from his car to his hauler. It's been said she filed charges because she wasn't satisfied with his cursory apology shortly after the incident.

The driver, by the way, is Tony Stewart; the name of the female has not been revealed. She filed the complaint several days after the Aug. 24 race. The Sullivan (Tennessee) County sheriff's office sent deputies to Richmond to interview Stewart and members of the Joe Gibbs-owned team. Stewart would speak of the charges only through a statement, saying it would be inappropriate to comment until the investigation was complete. He said he was cooperating and was confident he'd be cleared. ``I will say, however, that I did not assault anyone,'' the statement read. ``In fact, I am shocked and truly at a loss as to why someone would make such an allegation.''

Stewart is racing under a NASCAR-imposed ``good behavior'' probation. He was fined $10,000 and put on notice until Dec. 31 for shoving a photographer after last month's Brickyard 400. His sponsor, Home Depot, imposed a $50,000 fine of its own and said it would not tolerate any more outbursts.