This Week in Auto Racing July 3 - 5
Autoracing Betting Lines
06/30/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR returns to "The World Center of Racing," while the IndyCar Series visits the "Finger Lakes" region in upstate New York this Fourth of July weekend.
NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series
Coke Zero 400 - Daytona International Speedway - Daytona Beach, FL
The Sprint Cup Series reaches the halfway point of their 36-race season this Fourth of July with the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. Formerly called the Pepsi 400 and the Firecracker 400, "the mid-summer classic" has its own share of fireworks on the 2.5-mile oval. As the third of four restrictor-plate events on the yearly schedule, you can expect plenty of wild racing that culminates with a last-lap battle for the victory.
This will be the first restrictor-plate race to feature double-file restarts throughout the event. NASCAR instituted the double-file format for the June 7 race at Pocono, and it has not presented any apparent problems so far.
How much of an impact double-file restarts will be in restrictor-plate racing should be an interesting factor at Daytona.
"I think restrictor-plate racing will be the biggest beneficiary of double- file restarts because we're already racing two-wide all the time, three-wide all the time already, why not start them two-wide," Roush Fenway Racing driver Greg Biffle said.
The 400-mile event at Daytona has run under the lights each year since 1998. The first nighttime race there was postponed from July to October due to wildfires in the Central Florida area. It's also the first event to run on the Fourth of July since 1992. The race was normally held on Independence Day each year from 1959 to 1987.
Drivers have enjoyed nighttime racing at Daytona in the middle of the summer, as cooler temperatures make for better track grip.
"The grip level is about the same as it is in February when you're racing at night," Biffle said. "It's a little slicker in July. It would just be a miserable race I think in the daytime because the grip would be so horrible and it would be so hot."
With nine races remaining before the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" championship begins, Juan Pablo Montoya holds the coveted 12th spot in the standings, but only one point separates Montoya from 13th-place Kasey Kahne, who won last week at Sonoma, CA.
The points battle is so tight right now that 95 points separate sixth-place Denny Hamlin from 14th-place David Reutimann.
Matt Kenseth holds the 10th spot as he returns to Daytona after winning the rain-shortened Daytona 500 in February. Kenseth happened to be in the right place at the right time when the skies opened up at Daytona with 48 laps remaining.
Kenseth followed up with the victory at California one week later, but has not won a Cup race since then.
Kyle Busch won at Daytona in thrilling fashion one year ago. Busch overcame tire and steering wheel issues to post his sixth Cup victory of the season. He grabbed the lead from Jeff Gordon just before a seven-car pileup occurred in the closing laps.
The accident set up a green-white-checkered finish. Busch and Carl Edwards battled for the lead on the first of the two-lap shootout. Busch pulled ahead of Edwards by a half-car length when a four-car crash took place in turn three, ending the race under caution.
In 2007, Jamie McMurray beat Busch to the finish line by 0.005 seconds to win the 400-mile race at Daytona.
Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with six wins at Daytona, but Richard Petty holds the track record for most victories with 10.
Petty will celebrate the 25th anniversary of his 200th and final Cup victory on Saturday at Daytona. "The King" won the 1984 Firecracker 500, with President Ronald Reagan in attendance for the historic race.
"I think it was really a super deal for racing, because the President was there," Petty said. "He was the cake, and when I won the 200th, that was the icing."
Petty turns 72 years old on Thursday, the same day NASCAR will reveal the 25 nominees for the Hall of Fame's inaugural class. He is being considered as a shoo-in for the Hall.
Forty-five teams are on the preliminary entry list for this weekend's Coke Zero 400.
Nationwide Series
Subway Jalapeno 250 - Daytona International Speedway - Daytona Beach, FL
Beginning with Friday's race at Daytona, the Nationwide Series will use the double-file restart throughout each event. While the Sprint Cup Series has already adopted the rule change, NASCAR officials chose to gauge the double- start format before instituting it in Nationwide competition.
Under the previous format, cars on the lead lap would restart in a single-file line, while lapped cars would start in a line next to them. With the rule change, the first and second-place cars will line up side-by-side as the green flag is displayed for each restart.
"A big track like Daytona with plenty of room to sort things out is definitely a good place to implement this new format and get some of the kinks out," long-time Nationwide competitor Jason Keller said.
Daytona also marks the midpoint for the series this season, with Kyle Busch currently holding a 162-point lead over Carl Edwards.
Last Saturday, Busch made a late-race pass on Joey Logano for the lead and then held off his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate in the closing laps to win at New Hampshire. He became the 23rd different winner in as many Nationwide races at the 1.058-mile New England track.
Logano led 108 of 200 laps, which snapped Busch's streak of leading the most laps in a Nationwide race at eight. But Busch moved around Logano with 35 laps remaining and went on to record his fifth victory of the season.
One day later, Logano scored his first Cup win at New Hampshire.
Busch has finished second or better in three of the last four Nationwide races at Daytona. He won there two years ago.
Edwards' only victory at Daytona came in the Truck Series in 2004.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads all active drivers with five Nationwide wins at Daytona. His late-father won there seven times, the most of any driver. Earnhardt Jr. will compete in this year's race.
Forty-eight drivers are on the preliminary entry list for the Subway Jalapeno 250.
INDYCAR SERIES
Camping World GP at The Glen - Watkins Glen International - Watkins Glen, NY
Watkins Glen kicks off three consecutive street/road course events for the IndyCar Series, with Toronto and Edmonton, Canada slated in the coming weeks.
With eight races completed in the 17-race schedule, Scott Dixon continues his quest towards a second straight series title. Dixon tied Sam Hornish Jr.'s record for most IndyCar victories with 19 by winning last Saturday at Richmond.
Dixon's 19th victory came in his 104th start - two less than Hornish, who made a total of 116 starts before moving over to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2008.
"Achievements like that are something you can look back at someday and treasure," Dixon said. "There will be many years, hopefully, in my career that I can try to build on that."
Dixon could make it No.20 at Watkins Glen, where he has won three of the first four races.
"I definitely would like one more so we can have that record outright," Dixon added.
One year ago, Ryan Hunter-Reay not only snapped Dixon's three-race winning streak at Watkins Glen, but also recorded his first career IndyCar victory.
Hunter-Reay, a former Champ Car standout, capitalized on a bizarre incident during a mid-race caution when Ryan Briscoe and Dixon bumped into each other and crashed. Briscoe and Dixon held the top-two positions for most of the 60-lap event. On the restart, Hunter-Reay passed Darren Manning for the lead and then ran in front for the remaining nine laps to capture his first win in his 16th start.
Dixon ended up finishing 11th, while Briscoe came in 12th.
Dario Franchitti won the most recent IndyCar street/road course race held in April at Long Beach, CA.
After finishing second at Richmond, Franchitti captured the lead in the championship standings with only a one-point advantage over Dixon.
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indiana Pacers extended qualifying offers to guard Jarrett Jack and forward Josh McRoberts on Tuesday, making them both restricted free agents come July 1. After three productive seasons in P
<< Devils acquire Walter from Islanders
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils acquired center Ben
Walter, and future considerations, from the New York Islanders in exchange for
the rights to center Tony Romano on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old Walter, who was select
<< Habs get Gomez from Blueshirts
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Just one day before the start of free agency,
the Montreal Canadiens acquired forward Scott Gomez and two other players from
the New York Rangers in exchange for forward Christopher Higgins and three
defense
<< New Motherwell boss ready to make changes
Motherwell, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jim Gannon hopes to bring up to six new
players to Fir Park after being confirmed as Mark McGhee's successor as manager
of Motherwell.
The 40-year-old takes on the post just two months after being axed
<< Grafite extends Wolves contract
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wolfsburg's Brazilian striker Grafite has
signed a new one-year contract extension with the Bundesliga champions.
The 30-year-old struck up a deadly partnership with Edin Dzeko last term and
new coac
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Boozer announced on Tuesday he will exercise his player option and remain with the Utah Jazz for the 2009-10 campaign. Boozer missed a majority of the 2008-09 season after undergoing arthros
Blackhawks give Bolland five-year deal >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks re-signed center Dave
Bolland to a five-year deal on Tuesday.
Bolland, Chicago's 32nd overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, appeared in
81 of the Blackhawks' 82 games last season,
Lions acquire WR Northcutt from Jags >>
Allen Park, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Lions acquired wide receiver
Dennis Northcutt from the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for safety Gerald
Alexander on Tuesday.
The 31-year-old Northcutt, who spent the last two seasons
Bruins buy out Schaefer >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins announced Tuesday that they
have bought out the final year of forward Peter Schaefer's contract.
Schaefer, 31, did not see the ice in Boston last season, spending the entire
campaign in Pr
Diamondbacks activate Tracy >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks activated first
baseman Chad Tracy from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday.
Tracy sustained an oblique strain in a game against the Braves on May 29. The
veteran went 3-for-4
Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting
So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.
Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?
If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)
Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).
In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.
Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.
| The Bubble Breakdown | |||
| CONFERENCE | LOCKS | SHOULD BE INS | AT-LARGES TAKEN (assuming no auto bid outlier) |
| ACC Betting Odds | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| Big East Betting Odds | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Big Ten Betting Odds | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Big 12 Betting Odds | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Pac-10 Betting Odds | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| SEC Betting Odds | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| MVC Betting Odds | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| MWC Betting Odds | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 28 | 5 | 25 |
As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.
(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)
If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech
The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.
Work left to do:
Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.
Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).
Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.
For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com
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MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds
With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.
Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season. Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money.
This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy. A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.
Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:
| Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame) Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma) Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State) Michael Bush (RB, Louisville) Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia) Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville) Chris Leak (QB, Florida) Mike Hart (RB, Michigan) Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State) Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame) Drew Tate (QB, Iowa) Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal) Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn) Chad Henne (QB, Michigan) Kyle Wright (QB, Miami) Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State) Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama) JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU) Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State) Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina) Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech) |
5-2 7-2 7-1 10-1 10-1 12-1 12-1 18-1 18-1 20-1 30-1 35-1 35-1 40-1 50-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 |
For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.