NASCARENA

Given the collective gasp that sometimes resounds in TennisWorld at the mention of NASCAR, I couldn't help but chortle when I received a recent press release about a NASCAR-based reality show coming to ABC television in June, with the first episode scheduled to air on June 7th, the same day as the Roland Garros women's semifinals.

What? You wouldn't be caught dead watching NASCAR, especially not on a day when Serena Williams might be battling Justine Henin on red clay in The Rematch?

Not so fast, Buckaroo. On the same day you may get to marvel at Serena's voluptuosity (sure it ain't a word, but this is Serena; standard issue vocabulary doesn't cut it) in a skimpy tennis dress you might also be able to catch her, a few hours later, in a flame-retardant NASCAR jumpsuit covered in sponsor patches, following the coaching advice of NASCAR driver Kurt Busch: Just remember, 'Rena, keep the pedal to the metal, there ain't no stoplights, and all you got to do is turn left - there ain't no right!

Serena is one of the 12 "celebrity" drivers (the others include Jewel, John Elway, Laird Hamilton, rodeo Ty Murray, Tony Hawk and John Salley) who will be featured in Fast Cars & Superstars - a seven-episode series in which the celebrities partner with the Gillette Young Guns, six stock-car drivers (including Busch and reigning NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson) to learn the tricks of the NASCAR trade, with a time-trial race ultimately determining a celeb champ.

So . . . I know what you're thinking. Great, another car-wreck of a reality show. But this time with real cars. Yeah, that's what I think, too, although I'm liking the idea that maybe Serena might up having an off-screen romance with the rodeo champ, Murray. When you're all woman, you need someone who's all man, right? 'Rena, honey, pass that there Copenhagen Long Cut!

But seriously (yes, as a matter of fact I do find something to be serious about in all this). . .  If this news came to us a year ago, I would have been the first to hammer Serena on this diversion from tennis. But all that changed for me at the Australian Open. In fact, I've been thinking about how so many tennis players, including great champions, simply needed or sought other outlets for their energy and - if this is the right word - creativity. Big Bill Tilden, a giant of the game, poured what money he made in tennis (in the amateur era) into producing godawful drama. Arthur Ashe wrote books and devoted an enormous amount of time and energy to social causes.

But wait - this is reality TV, you say? Well, times change. For better or worse. How about all those guitar-mangling Grand Slam champs (can you hear me, John McEnroe, Mats Wilander)? Granted most of the players were more faithful to the game than Serena often appears to be. On the other hand, they weren't waxing rivals oh-and-1 either.

Serena has demonstrated that she can enter major tennis tournaments without anything like the preparation of her rivals, and simply demolish them, one after the other. This is worth acknowledging and appreciating. It's a pre-emptive argument. What's Serena supposed to do, train for Charleston, win the danged thing with a total surrender of four games, and then declare that she's going into seclusion: The clay court season is coming up, I've got to work on my abs and get that sliding thing down pat!

That would be Justine, not Serena. And you've got to love them both.  **

Still, this Serena business is something that wasn't supposed to happen in the high-octane, professional era, and it changed from being a comment on the quality of the competition to the qualities of Serena Williams a few months ago. Here's something to ponder: Some years ago, Martina Navartilova established a new baseline for absolute dedication and focus. She almost made it seem that to play this game at the highest level, you had to pay - 12 months of assiduous cross-training and the embrace of a diet so conducive to flatulence that you could harness it for green energy (not to mention clear a room). I admire that kind of dedication and apppreciate that a great deal of the satisfaction and joy in any achievement derives from the process, not the result. But. . .

It seems we have an inconvenient truth here. Serena is busy shattering the new paradigm. She is not so much Martina's soul sister as Big Bill Tilden's. What she's done this year has wrecked the conventional wisdom, in a simple, different strokes for different folks kind of way. Hey, you always have Henin if you want Navratilova-grade dedication and passion for the game.

And you know what? I've seen Martina Navratilova play a gazillion times. I loved her acrobatic, artistic game as much as I admired her professionalism dedication. Serena would have ripped her to shreds. It's just the way it is and it's a waste of time asking "why"? The difference in their competitive temperaments is that enormous. Serena has shown that it's  possible to just lace 'em up when the mood hits you and run rampant. It's just one more extraordinary dimension of the extraordinary story of the WIlliams sisters.

So, Serena, don't forget to wear your seat belt, and remember - no talking on the cell phone while you're driving!

P.S. Photo credit on the close-up of Serena and Busch:  Guy D'Alema.