Trucks make inaugural visit to Pocono
Autoracing Betting Lines
07/27/2010 - Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck. Date: Saturday, July 31. Race: Pocono Mountains 125. Site: Pocono Raceway. Track: 2.5-mile triangle. Start time: 1:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 50. Miles: 125. Television: SPEED. Radio: Motor Racing Network(MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.
The Camping World Truck Series will compete at Pocono Raceway for the first time this weekend. The series' inaugural stop at Pocono marks the final track currently hosting a Sprint Cup race at which trucks have yet to compete.
This will not be the first time the series competes in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Truck teams used to run at the now defunct Nazareth Speedway in Nazareth, PA from 1996-2001.
Saturday's race at the 2.5-mile Pocono track is scheduled to be 125 miles in length, which means it's a 50-lap shootout.
"I think adding Pocono is great for the series, and by making it a 50-lap race, you are sure to see a lot of action," said four-time and defending series champion Ron Hornaday. "I know that going down in to turn one, you better have a good spot, because we will probably be four or five wide."
Hornaday has previous experience at Pocono, with two Cup starts here during the 2001 season, when he drove the No.14 car for team owner A.J. Foyt.
Last Friday, Hornaday ended a 22-race winless streak at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. Hornaday recorded his 46th career truck victory, but his first since August 1, 2009 at Nashville. He currently is fourth in points (-212).
Todd Bodine is the current leader, holding a 177-point advantage over Aric Almirola. Bodine is another driver who has previous experience at Pocono.
"I think you're going to see a heck of a race," Bodine said. "I know everybody is saying that. The way the trucks are and the drafting that's involved, the way Pocono is, long straightaways with a little bit slower corner, drafting is going to be very large, it's going to be critical.
"I think a lot of the veteran drivers like myself and [Mike] Skinner and Hornaday, guys that have competed there in the Cup Series, we're going to have a little advantage for a while. But I think that the guys in the Truck Series are good enough and the teams are good enough that they're going to catch up."
Three Sprint Cup regulars -- Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler -- also will compete in the truck race at Pocono.
Kahne is driving the No.18 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Busch will be in Iowa on Saturday for the Nationwide race there. Kahne is undefeated in two career truck starts. He won the last two races of the 2004 season -- Darlington and Homestead.
"Kyle and I had been talking about it for a while, and I told him I was interested in running a truck race or two for KBM this year," Kahne said. "He had another obligation with the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Saturday, so he asked if I could race his truck. It's a great opportunity for me to come back to the series and compete with really good equipment. I've watched Kyle put the team together, and it's really been impressive how well they've done this year as a first-year team."
The format for truck qualifying at Pocono will be considerably different. The qualifying order is set by inverting the times from Friday's final practice session. Trucks are released in approximately 25-second increments, and drafting is prohibited.
Thirty-seven teams are on the preliminary entry list for Pocono Mountains 125.
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Online Sportsbook Football Betting
Colts give the ‘D’ its due
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards
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.