Wallace OK following attempted mugging in Indy

UPDATE Battery charges have been filed against a man arrested for allegedly assaulting NASCAR Busch Series driver Steve Wallace in Broad Ripple on Sunday night after the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Mark D. Tharpe, 25, was freed on $15,000 bond after his arrest and booking and is scheduled to appear for a court hearing Aug. 7. Wallace, 19, finished 17th in the Kroger 200 on Saturday night at O'Reilly Raceway Park and is 16th in Busch Series points. Wallace suffered minor cuts and abrasions, but will compete as scheduled this weekend at Montreal. IndyStar

07/31/07 19 year-old RWI Racing Busch Series driver, Steve Wallace, is OK following being attacked in an attempted mugging Sunday evening in Indianapolis. Wallace suffered only minor cuts and abrasions in the attack and will compete as scheduled in this weekend's Busch Series event at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. Wallace was attacked by a group of at least three men upon exiting a convenience store in Indianapolis Sunday night, where he stayed to watch the running of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Wallace participated in the Busch Series event at O'Reilly Raceway Park the previous evening. Upon entering the convenience store, the men commented on Wallace's watch, a gift given to him by a sponsor after he earned his second career pole position at Nashville Superspeedway in June. After exiting the convenience store, Wallace was jumped and attacked by the group of men, who were attempting to rob him of his watch. The men later fled the scene after being unsuccessful in robbing Wallace. A suspect was apprehended later that evening and is being held in an Indianapolis jail. RWI PR