Having the Drive for Acting Isn’t Enough

NBC and TNT race commentator Wally Dallenbach, who is at California Speedway in Fontana this weekend, was at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee last weekend, where he gave movie director Quentin Tarantino a ride in a Nextel Cup race car.

“For 20 years, I’ve been acting like I can drive a race car,” Dallenbach told Tarantino. “Do you think I have a future in acting? I’d love to be in one of your movies.”

Said Tarantino: “Tell you what. Next time I do a movie, you can drive me to the set.”

Trivia time: What did Bob Borkowski and Tom Lasorda have in common when they played for the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers?

Milking it: Nick Cirillo, the Florida Marlin batboy suspended six games for his milk-drinking escapade, was a guest on David Letterman’s show Thursday night.

Cirillo, 19, explained why he decided to accept Dodger pitcher Brad Penny’s offer of $500 if he could drink a gallon in one hour without throwing up.

“I thought, ‘How are you going to get in trouble drinking milk?’ ” said Cirillo, who insists he wasn’t gambling. “It was a dare. The money was just an extra part of the dare.”

It could’ve been worse: Cirillo said the original dare involved a 10-pound chocolate bar, until Penny thought that might not be a good idea.

“He told me, ‘I don’t want you to get sick and die from eating chocolate,’ ” Cirillo said.

Hate me not: Remember “He Hate Me” of XFL fame? The nickname is history. Rod Smart, who had the nickname stitched on the back of his jersey when he played for the Las Vegas Outlaws in 2001, announced that he would now go by “He Love Me.”

Smart, who became a popular player with the Carolina Panthers, said, “I came to Carolina and got my love.”

However, there may not be a happy ending to this love story. Smart, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, is on the bubble and could be released by the Panthers today.

Versatile: Eric Chavez of the Oakland Athletics is a good role player. He and teammate Barry Zito were scheduled to appear on FSN’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period” in a segment from Angel Stadium on Thursday.

However, Zito didn’t show, so host Chris Rose suggested Chavez could fill both roles.

Chavez, sitting in the chair reserved for Zito, put on sunglasses and said that he, Zito, had Chavez’s number when the two faced each other as high school players in San Diego.

Then Chavez, switching chairs and taking off the sunglasses, said, “I’ve got to question your memory.”

Looking back: On this day in 1994, Miami defeated Georgia Southern, 56-0, to set an NCAA record of 58 consecutive home victories. Alabama held the old record of 57.

Trivia answer: Both wore No. 27.

And finally: Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel, on the Milton Bradley-Jeff Kent feud: “Isn’t this a little like choosing sides between Iran and North Korea?”

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Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.