Bowyer edges Truex Jr. for pole in first Chase race

Autoracing Betting Lines

09/15/2007 - Loudon, NH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clint Bowyer won the pole for the opening round of the 10-race "Chase for the Nextel Cup" at the New Hampshire International Speedway. The No.07 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet driver will start out front for Sunday's Sylvania 300 after posting a best lap of 29.206 seconds (130.412 m.p.h.) around the 1.058-mile oval.

It was his second pole victory of the season and second of his Cup career. He also won the pole at Darlington in May. Both poles were in races where the COT was used.

"I wasn't a big fan of these things (Car of Tomorrow) starting out, but I'm becoming a fan," said Bowyer. "Our track record is pretty good with this car and it's going to be a big part of the Chase."

Starting alongside Bowyer will be Martin Truex Jr., who put up a time of 29.241 seconds.

"The car was really, really good in race trim, better than the car we had before," said Truex Jr., who finished third in the July race at NHIS.

Kurt Busch (29.296) and series points leader and defending series champion Jimmie Johnson (29.344) will start in row two. All four drivers in the first two rows are "Chase" drivers.

There are 12 drivers in the "Chase" and all 12 could realistically be champion.

Johnson, who finished the regular season in fourth place, will begin the 10- race "Chase" with the most points by virtue of his series-leading six victories. The defending series champion started the season strong, slumped a bit in the summer, but has returned to form with two consecutive wins at California and Richmond. He appears ready in every phase of the game.

"It's a great feeling to be able to go into the Chase leading the points," said Johnson. "That's something you obviously want to do, not only from the points standpoint, but from a psychological standpoint it's a benefit for sure."

Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon, the four-time series champion, will start with the second-most points - 20 less than the No.48 Chevrolet team. Gordon, starting 18th, has led the series for 21 of 26 weeks and his 21 top-10s are by far the best in Nextel Cup.

Two-time series champion Tony Stewart will start with 30 points fewer than Johnson, but that shouldn't matter if Stewart continues to run as he has for most of the summer and into the fall. The No.20 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet driver began the season with a 43rd-place finish in Daytona and didn't get his first win until July, but since that point he has been a force to be reckoned with. Since the race in Chicagoland, Stewart has earned three wins among seven top-10s in eight races. He will start sixth on the grid.

Carl Edwards (starting 11th) and Busch will begin the "Chase" 40 points behind Johnson, but both drivers have the ability and the teams behind them to win it all. Edwards and his No.99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford team have come on strong winning twice since mid-June. Busch was in danger of not making the "Chase" at all before the team came together in June. While others saw their chances melt away in the summer heat, Busch has not finished worse than 11th in a race in two months. Included in that streak are wins at Pocono and Michigan.

There are six drivers who will start 50 points behind the leader. Denny Hamlin (starting 14th), Truex Jr., 2003 Nextel Cup champion Matt Kenseth (30th), Kyle Busch (12th), Jeff Burton (23rd) and 2007 Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick (eighth). All six could win the title if things break their way. Hamlin, Stewart's teammate at JGR, has been the most consistent with one win, 10 top-fives and 15 top-10s.

Even Bowyer, the only driver in the "Chase" without a win, has the team, talent and speed to win it all. Bowyer will have two teammates in the "Chase" with him in Burton and Harvick which should help all three challenge for the championship.

The green flag is set to drop on Sunday at 2 p.m. (et).

Wwwkcasino Autoracing Betting News

<< Phils' Alfonseca suspended four games
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Antonio Alfonseca was suspended for four games and fined an undisclosed amount for intentionally throwing at Colorado's Todd Helton on Thursday. With two outs i

<< Unbeatens Bayern Munich, Schalke clash
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich will put its unbeaten mark on the line on Saturday against Schalke 04, the only other club in the Bundesliga that hasn't lost this season. Although the league contenders haven't lost yet, the

<< Manning, Umenyiora practice
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants got a boost on Friday, as both quarterback Eli Manning and defensive end Osi Umenyiora practiced in preparation for Sunday's game against Green Bay. Head coach Tom Coug

<< Farfan could make season debut vs. Vitesse
Eindhoven, Holland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three-time defending Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven could get a extra boost of energy on Saturday when it plays Vitesse at Philips Stadium. Jefferson Farfan, who has missed all season due

<< United acquires Monteiro from Fire
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United announced Friday the club has acquired Jerson Monteiro from the Chicago Fire in exchange for a conditional 2008 MLS SuperDraft pick. Uniteds roster included an open developmental spot for the

Feeley has second surgery for broken hand >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Eagles backup quarterback A.J. Feeley underwent a second surgery Friday to repair a broken bone in his left hand. Feeley had the first surgery on August 31 after breaking the third meta

AEG-owned clubs to clash in Carson >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston and Los Angeles, which are owned by the same company, AEG, are two teams on the opposite side of the spectrum. The Dynamo are second in the Western table and are built around a gritty defensive ba

Chivas can clinch playoff spot with win in Colorado and help >>
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - "Chivas is a very good team with a great atmosphere and my goal is to get all the way to playoffs and we're proving right now that we're the best team in Major League Soccer," CD Chivas USA reserve

Culpepper likely to start for Raiders >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Oakland quarterback Josh McCown listed as doubtful for Sunday's game at Denver, the Raiders are expected to start Daunte Culpepper under center. McCown sprained his right foot last Sunday versus Detroi

Patriots owner disappointed in embarrassing events >>
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft reacted Friday to the penalties levied against his team and coach following action taken by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday. Patriots head coach Bill Bel

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Schedules
MySportsbook.com , leading online sportsbook, offers free NFL football office pool printable sheets! Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury -- Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.