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
Online Sportsbook Football Betting
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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