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07/06/2010 - Joliet, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Saturday, July 10. Race: LifeLock.com 400. Site: Chicagoland Speedway. Track: 1.5-mile oval. Start time: 7:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 267. Miles: 400.5. 2009 winner: Mark Martin. Television: TNT. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.
After a spectacular fireworks show on and off the track and tempers flaring in the garage last Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway, it's time for the Sprint Cup Series to kick off the second half of its 36-race season this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.
Kevin Harvick widened his points lead after an impressive win in the 400-mile race at Daytona. Harvick survived a rash of accidents, including the "big one" that involved 19 drivers, and then held off Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon in a two-lap overtime finish for his second Cup victory this season.
Chicagoland has been one of Harvick's better tracks, where he has scored six top-10 finishes, including two victories, in nine starts. He won the first two races on this one-and-a-half-mile track from 2001-02.
"We got to do some of the very first testing at Chicago, and we've always run well there," Harvick said. "Our packages have evolved over time from a setup standpoint year to year, so we always run well there and look forward to going back. I think the mile and a half tracks have been a strong point of ours this year."
He's right. Harvick has finished no worse than 11th in the four races held on mile and a half tracks so far this season -- Las Vegas, Atlanta, Texas and Charlotte.
Harvick and Tony Stewart are the only drivers with multiple victories at Chicagoland, with Stewart winning there in 2004 and '07.
Heading into Chicagoland, Harvick holds a 212-point advantage over new second- place man Jeff Gordon, who finished third at Daytona.
Gordon currently has a 47-race winless drought, which matches his career-long stretch. He also went the same number of races without a win before his last victory came in April 2009 at Texas.
"I'm excited that we're second in points, but I'll be honest, all I look at is where we are with wins right now," Gordon said. "When you're positioned well in the Chase, like we are currently, then it comes down to wins and being seeded for when that Chase comes around.
"I think these top fives that we've had here recently build momentum to get us an opportunity to get us those wins. So that's really more what's on our mind right now. It's about what we've got to do to win a championship. I feel like we've got to get a few wins before that Chase starts."
Gordon, who won at Chicagoland in 2006, is expected to make his 600th career and consecutive start at Chicagoland. The four-time series champion made his first start in the 1992 season-finale at Atlanta, and has not missed a race since then.
While Gordon climbed to second, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. moved up two spots to 11th in the standings. Earnhardt Jr. steadily has worked his way back into the top-12 with finishes of 11th or better in the last four races, including a fourth-place run at Daytona. He is 57 points ahead of 12th-place Carl Edwards with eight races remaining before the championship Chase begins in September at New Hampshire.
"We're getting a little bit more lucky than I would like," Earnhardt Jr. said. "You don't want to make the Chase on just pure luck, because you ran well. We've been running good."
Hendrick driver Mark Martin is now outside the top-12. Martin has finished 14th or worse in the last five races, and dropped from 10th to 13th in the rankings since then. He trails Edwards by 39 points.
Martin won last year's race at Chicagoland. He led a track-record 195 laps, but had to hold off Gordon after the final restart with just two laps to go for his fourth win of the 2009 season.
One year ago, Martin trailed then 12th-place Kasey Kahne by 65 points. Martin made it into the Chase, and by virtue of his series-leading five wins, was awarded the top-seed. He finished the season second to champion Jimmie Johnson in points.
Johnson, currently third in points (-225), is tied with Denny Hamlin for most wins so far this year with five each.
This season, Johnson has checked off Bristol (March) and Sonoma, CA (June) from his list of tracks where he had yet to win. Could Chicagoland be the next one taken off the list. He sure would love to do it, particularly for crew chief Chad Knaus, who hails from nearby Rockford, IL.
"Chad has asked me since I won in California for my first race if we could win his home state so he could experience that," said Johnson, a native of El Cajon, CA. "We have been very close. I gave one up to Kyle [Busch] on a late restart a couple of years ago. Last year, we led a ton of laps, but it just didn't close at the end. Things get away from us. I feel like we've got a good chance there, and certainly hope to. It's nice to cross off these tracks that I haven't won at."
Forty-seven teams are on the preliminary entry list for the LifeLock.com 400.
<< This Week in Auto Racing July 9 - 11
Joliet, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's a busy weekend of racing, as the NASCAR
Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series run under the lights at Chicagoland Speedway.
The Camping World Truck Series returns to action at Iowa Speedway, and Formula
One rev
<< Blazers sign Babbitt
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers have signed forward
Luke Babbitt, the 16th overall pick in this year's NBA Draft.
Babbitt was selected by Minnesota, but was then traded on draft night, along
with forward Ryan Gom
<< Brewers P Gallardo put on DL, will miss All-Star Game
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Yovani
Gallardo was put on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday due to a strained left
rib cage muscle.
Gallardo suffered the injury during the third inning of Sunday's
<< Nashville officially brings in Kostitsyn
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators officially locked
up restricted free-agent forward Sergei Kostitsyn on Tuesday.
The deal is worth $550,000 for the upcoming season.
Nashville acquired the embattled Kostitsyn
Truck begin nine-week stretch at Iowa >>
Newton, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck. Date:
Sunday, July 11. Race: Lucas Oil 200. Site: Iowa Speedway. Track: .875-mile
oval. Start time: 2:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 200. Miles: 175. 2009 winner: Mike
Skinner. Television:
Youkilis leaves game >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin
Youkilis left Tuesday's game with an undisclosed foot or leg injury.
Youkilis was removed from play prior to his at-bat in the fourth inning after
he apparently hurt th
Cano among initial six chosen for HR Derby >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano
was among six players chosen initially for this year's All-Star Home Run
Derby, to be held next Monday in Anaheim.
Other players to commit from the Ameri
Rangers-Indians game delayed after fan falls from upper deck >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tuesday's Indians-Rangers game was stopped
for about 15 minutes during the bottom of the fifth inning after a fan fell
from the upper deck while reaching for a foul ball.
The fan fell down to the grandstand l
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup
September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com. The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans.
Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to name a few. Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR. They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.
The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer. Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.
Ryder Cup Odds| Europe Tie USA |
4-5 10-1 6-5 |
| Tiger Woods Jim Furyk Phil Mickelson Chris DiMarco David Toms Stewart Cink Chad Campbell Scott Verplank Zach Johnson Vaughan Taylor JJ Henry Brett Wetterich |
9-4 4-1 5-1 7-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 25-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 |
| Sergio Garcia Luke Donald Padraig Harrington Colin Montgomerie Darren Clarke David Howell Lee Westwood Paul Casey Henrik Stenson Jose Maria Olazabal Paul McGinley Robert Karlsson |
5-1 5-1 6-1 13-2 8-1 9-1 9-1 11-1 12-1 12-1 20-1 25-1 |
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com
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