Forget Junior — Biggest question is what will Ashley Judd wear to 500?

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR has a sizzlin’ new topic racing through the garage.

It has nothing to do with fightin’, cheatin’ or Dale Jr.

What will actress Ashley Judd wear to the Daytona 500 on Sunday?

Judd, the wife of reigning IndyCar Series champion and rookie NASCAR driver Dario Franchitti, was hard to miss last week at Daytona International Speedway in a low-cut, black dress adorned with colorful tulips, high heels, black sunglasses and a large, floppy black hat.

It was a drastic departure from “NASCAR style” — a term some would call an oxymoron.

Then again, it was considerably less revealing than Judd’s rain-soaked number at Franchitti’s Indianapolis 500 victory last year.

“It’s not a big deal,” NASCAR said Saturday. “We’re confident there won’t be an issue.”

For Franchitti’s car owner, Chip Ganassi, the subject of Judd’s wardrobe is considered one of the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

“Here’s the thing: I’m in the racing business,” Ganassi said. “Dario Franchitti drives our car. He’s married to Ashley Judd. I’m not a Hollywood agent. I treat his wife like I do all the other wives and girlfriends. … It’s a non-issue with me.”

What if Ashley wore a fire suit and Franchitti, who is Scottish, wore a fireproof kilt?

“That’s a good idea, yeah,” Ganassi said.

HAPPY HOUR: The final practice for Sunday’s Daytona 500 was a little dicey, maybe too much so for some of the 43 drivers.

Clint Bowyer blew a right front tire and scraped the wall, and rookie Regan Smith tagged it a few minutes later.

Two-time series champion Tony Stewart got wildly loose, made a nice save and then headed to the garage. Dale Earnhardt Jr. also gave his team a small scare when he got a little sideways coming out of a turn.

All the drama was too much for four-time series champ Jeff Gordon.

“It got pretty hairy out there,” Gordon said. “This car is too good … for us to go out and put us in those positions. Not yet anyway.”

Six drivers, including Gordon, Earnhardt and defending race winner Kevin Harvick, ran fewer than 15 laps in the 80-minute session.

Carl Edwards posted the quickest lap. Reed Sorenson, fast throughout Speedweeks, ran the most laps (50). Robby Gordon turned just five.

“Everybody dreads the last happy hour,” Kyle Petty said. “You just want to get out of here with your car. You want to get to the 500 with the car that you’ve spent the last 12 or 14 days working on. I think that’s the biggest issue.”

TIRE WORRIES: Since Kyle Busch has turned as many laps as anyone at Speedweeks — he’s the only driver racing all three NASCAR series at Daytona — he might be the best person to evaluate the Goodyear tires.

“I’ve gotten one hell of a feel for the tires so far,” Busch said after the Nationwide race Saturday. “They’re junk. Last night was terrible, today was terrible. So expect (Sunday) to be a lot of fun and exciting.”

The tire has drawn more complaints than the Car of Tomorrow and those smaller fuel tanks combined.

Teams have struggled to get the tires to last even close to the 40 laps cars can run without filling up with gas. It could be even worse Sunday because temperatures are expected to reach the mid-80s.

“Cup tires are blistering a little bit,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “The tire’s not too bad if you’ve got a good, good handling race car. But if it ain’t handling good …”

Kurt Busch, the 2004 series champion, could have finished his sentence.

“If you’re a little bit on the tight side, you’re going to blister a right front,” he said. “If you’re a little bit loose, right rear. Happy cars don’t blister tires, but it’s very difficult to get your car happy.”

DEEP THOUGHTS: In a sport filled with stress, Red Bull Racing driver Brian Vickers has an unconventional way of relaxing: Meditation.

A sports psychologist turned Vickers on to the discipline, and he has read several books about the subject. A typical session lasts at least an hour, Vickers said.

“I got into that a while back,” Vickers said. “It just really helps me and clears my mind. And it just puts me in a better place throughout the whole day. I can tell a huge difference, and my girlfriend can tell even more of a difference.”

GANASSI’S TAKE: Ganassi said he has been paying attention to the talks between leaders from rival open-wheel series regarding reunification, but insisted he’s staying out of it.

If the merger does happen, Ganassi said that will only be the first step toward restoring open-wheel racing’s popularity.

“If and when it would come back together, at least we’ve got the patient on the table now,” Ganassi said. “We’ve got one patient on one table with one set of doctors. Now we can get to work fixing and rehabilitating.”