Sauter vs. younger Dillon for truck title?
Autoracing Betting Lines
02/22/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck. Date: Friday, February 24. Race: NextEra Energy Resources 250. Site: Daytona International Speedway. Track: 2.5-mile tri-oval. Start time: 7:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 100. Miles: 250. 2010 winner: Michael Waltrip. Television: SPEED. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Satellite.
The 2012 Camping World Truck Series kicks off Friday night at Daytona International Speedway.
With 2011 truck champion Austin Dillon now a full-time competitor in the Nationwide Series, Johnny Sauter, who finished six points behind Dillon last year, is the preseason favorite to win the title.
Sauter concluded last season by winning the rain-shortened race at Homestead- Miami Speedway. During the offseason, Sauter's team, ThorSport Racing, switched from Chevrolet to Toyota.
"The biggest thing we can do is look back at last season and see where did we lose points and what could we have done to prevent that," he said. "I think coming out in 2012 with the Toyota support and changing manufacturers, new sponsors -- essentially my whole team is back and my crew chief (Joe Shear Jr.), I feel like we can pick up right where we left off and ultimately try to win races and a championship."
Rookie Ty Dillon is next in line as a title contender in the series this year. Dillon, the 2011 ARCA Racing Series champion, is replacing his elder brother, Austin, in Richard Childress Racing's No. 3 truck. Ty, who will turn 20 years old Monday, made three starts in trucks last season. His best finish of third came last November at Texas. He also placed sixth at Homestead.
"I think we can go out there and do our best to be competitive each week," Dillon said. "We went to a lot of tracks last year on the ARCA Racing Series schedule that we had never raced before and brought home some good finishes. I think with the help of my RCR teammates, we'll be able to put up more good finishes this season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series."
Ron Hornaday Jr., the four-time truck champion, makes his debut with Joe Denette Motorsports. Hornaday had driven for Kevin Harvick Inc. for the past seven years, but KHI shut down its Nationwide and truck operations at the end of last season.
"It was just three months ago that I didn't have a job," Hornaday said. "KHI was closing their doors, and I was at a crossroads. I was introduced to (team owner) Joe (Denette) through Hermie Sadler, and the rest is history. Joe is a true race fan, and all he wants to do is win. I believe he has put the right people in place and has given this team all the tools they need to get the job done."
Hornaday holds the series record with 51 race wins, but has to score a victory at Daytona. The series has been competing at this track each year since 2000.
Brad Keselowski is the only Sprint Cup regular competing in this race. Ward Burton, the 2002 Daytona 500, is making his first start in a NASCAR national touring series event since October 2007.
Forty-four teams are on the preliminary entry list for the NextEra Energy Resources 250.
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Nationwide. Date: Saturday, February 25. Race: DRIVE4COPD 300. Site: Daytona International Speedway. Track: 2.5-mile tri-oval. Start time: 1:15 p.m. (et). Laps: 120. Miles: 300. 2011 Winner: To
<< Pack 'em in for the Daytona 500
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Sunday,
February 26. Race: Daytona 500. Site: Daytona International Speedway. Track:
2.5-mile tri-oval. Start time: 1:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 200. Miles: 500. 2011
Winner: Trevor
<< Gatorade Duels: Who's in and who's not in the Daytona 500?
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Thursday,
February 23. Race: Gatorade Duel twin-qualifying races. Site: Daytona
International Speedway. Track: 2.5-mile tri-oval. Start time: 2:00 p.m. (et).
Laps: 60 (each ra
<< Company sues Marlins based on auction bid
Ft. Lauderdale, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Marlins are being sued for
damages by a corporation that says it won a bid to buy the team at an auction
more than four years ago.
In a complaint filed in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court
<< Hurricanes, Ruutu agree to 4-year extension
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes agreed to terms with
forward Tuomo Ruutu on a four-year contract extension on Wednesday.
"Players like Tuomo are extremely difficult to replace, and it is very
important for
Basel, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Basel continued its impressive Champions League campaign on Wednesday, leaving it late to shock Bayern Munich with a 1-0 victory at St. Jakob-Park. In a back-and-forth match where both sides traded sc
Motherwell stays hot courtesy of Higdon >>
Motherwell, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Higdon's hat trick helped
Motherwell to a 4-3 win over Hibernian at Fir Park Stadium on Wednesday to
help the home side close the gap on second-place Rangers.
Isaiah Osbourne tallied
Pervak, Hradecka exit Memphis >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second seed Ksenia Pervak and third-seeded
Lucie Hradecka were second-round losers Wednesday at the $220,000 Memphis
International tennis event.
Italian Alberta Brianti erased Kazakhstan's Pervak
Chivas acquires Mexican striker Romero >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chivas USA announced Wednesday that it has
acquired Mexican striker Cesar Romero. Per league and club policy, terms of
the deal were not released.
Romero, 22, most recently played for Murcielagos FC d
Pats release two players >>
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots released
offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger and defensive lineman Mike Wright on
Wednesday.
Wright, who originally joined New England as rookie free agent o
Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com
Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.