Daytona Boosts Position At JR.

Autoracing Betting Lines

But nobody is hotter in the Sprint Cup garage right now than Kurt Busch, who won last Sunday's race in Sonoma, CA. Busch not only captured his first win of the 2011 season, but claimed his maiden victory on a road course as well. He has also won the pole in three of the last four races.

 

"That's been big on my list over the years," Busch said. "I really want to get one of those plate wins. We had a good Speedweeks at Daytona [in February]. Now I want to go there and get the big July 4th win."

 

Busch won the Budweiser Shootout and first Gatorade Duel qualifying race before finishing fifth in this year's Daytona 500. He finished second in the 2003, '05 and '08 Daytona 500s.

 

One day after turning 20 years old, Bayne became the youngest driver ever to win the Daytona 500. He inherited the lead when NASCAR penalized then-leader David Ragan for changing his lane position just before the restart in the first of two green-white-checkered attempts. Bayne then held off Carl Edwards during the final two-lap overtime finish to win his first race in just his second series start.

 

Expect it to be another wild affair at Daytona.

 

"I think as a team we have a set strategy that we're going to go into that race this week and see how it works," two-time Daytona race winner Kevin Harvick said. "Whether that's right or wrong, I don't know. We've talked about it for a couple weeks now and have a good plan."

 

Harvick won the 400-mile race at Daytona one year ago. He is also the 2007 Daytona 500 champion.

 

The two-car drafts made for a thriller at Talladega in April. In a race that featured 88 lead changes among 26 drivers, Earnhardt Jr. partnered with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jimmie Johnson, during the final laps and pushed Johnson to victory in what was an incredible finish.

 

Johnson crossed the finish line by only 0.002 seconds ahead of Clint Bowyer, tying the closest margin of victory in NASCAR's top series since the sanctioning body began using electronic timing and scoring in 1993. Ricky Craven nipped Kurt Busch by that same margin in the 2003 spring race at Darlington.

 

Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It will be fireworks galore in NASCAR this Fourth of July weekend, as the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series run under the lights at Daytona International Speedway. NASCAR

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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