Ganassi, Penske drivers set to battle for 2010 IndyCar title
Autoracing Betting Lines
03/11/2010 -
Sao Paulo, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The IndyCar Series -- with new title
sponsor IZOD -- kicks off its 2010 season this weekend in Brazil, marking the
first time the series competes in a South American country. With 17 races on
the schedule, this year should feature another great tug of war among several
drivers for the championship. The fight for the title has come down to the
last lap of the season-finale the past four years, so don't be surprised if
that's the case again on October 2 at Homestead.
WILL GANASSI'S REIGN CONTINUE?
Dario Franchitti capped off his return to IndyCar in 2009 with his second
championship. Franchitti edged 2008 series champion and Target Chip Ganassi
Racing teammate Scott Dixon by 11 points.
After winning his first title with Michael Andretti's team in 2007, Franchitti
joined Ganassi and moved over to NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series
competition the following year, but his efforts in stock car racing did not go
as well as he expected.
His IndyCar comeback was nothing short of success with five victories for the
'09 season.
"I think that the Indy car I jumped in was a good one, and Team Target puts
really good cars out and that definitely made my job easier," Franchitti said.
"I've been doing it for so long before that as opposed to when I went to stock
cars which was learning something completely new. This was going back to
learning something that was instinct for me. It was all I'd ever really done,
so it was a lot easier, and I love driving those cars."
Franchitti and Dixon made Ganassi the head of the class last year with a
combined 10 wins.
Dixon became the winningest driver in the series last August when he collected
his 20th career victory at Mid-Ohio. Sam Hornish Jr. held the previous record
with 19.
Hornish is the only driver with three series titles, but Franchitti and Dixon
have the opportunity to match that record this year. Dixon won his first
championship in 2003.
PENSKE POWER
Once again, Team Penske will be Ganassi's biggest threat in IndyCar. Penske
will field three cars this season, adding Will Power to its stable of full-
time drivers. The team has not been a three-car operation since 1994 when Al
Unser Jr., Emerson Fittipaldi and Paul Tracy finished 1-2-3, respectively, in
points. All three drivers combined for a record-setting 12 wins that year when
IndyCar was sanctioned by CART.
Ryan Briscoe had a sensational season with Penske last year, winning three
times and finishing just 12 points behind champion Franchitti. Despite missing
the first race of the season due to his federal tax evasion trial, Helio
Castroneves won two races, including the Indianapolis 500, and finished fourth
in the standings. Power ran a limited schedule for Penske last year. After
finishing third on the Toronto street circuit and winning on the Edmonton
street/airport course, Power appeared to be one of the hottest drivers in the
series until a horrifying wreck in practice at Sonoma, CA curtailed his
season.
Penske has high expectations entering the Sao Paulo street circuit. Briscoe,
Castroneves and Power have each claimed victories on temporary road courses
over the last three seasons.
"It's been a long off-season, and I think we're all ready to get 2010 underway
in Sao Paulo," Briscoe said. "Team Penske has worked really hard over the last
few months, and we're prepared for what we hope will be a great season. We got
off to a strong start in preseason testing, and now it's time to see what we
can do when we see the green flag."
Penske recently unveiled the new look of the its cars during last month's open
test at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL. All three Penske cars this
year will feature a sleek black and white color scheme. This will be the first
time since 1990 the team will not race its red and white livery.
OTHER COMPETITORS
After a disappointing season last year, Andretti made significant changes to
his four-car stable. During the off-season, he took sole ownership of Andretti
Green Racing and changed the name to Andretti Autosport.
Andretti also brought on board Tom Anderson as the team's senior vice
president of racing operations. Anderson served as managing director of Chip
Ganassi Racing from 1990-2000 and helped lead Ganassi to four consecutive CART
titles from 1996-99.
After her three-race stint in NASCAR's second-tier series in February, Danica
Patrick returns for another full season in IndyCar. Patrick recorded 10 top-10
finishes, including a third-place run in the Indy 500, en route to her career-
best finish of fifth in points last year. Andretti had served as her race
strategist, but Anderson moves into the role this season.
Patrick is expected to compete in 10 more Nationwide races this year, with her
next event scheduled the last weekend in June at New Hampshire.
This year, Ryan Hunter-Reay joins Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Patrick at
Andretti. Hunter-Reay currently is slated for a limited number of races, but
Andretti is working on a full-time ride for him.
Kanaan, the 2004 series champion, is looking to rebound after his first
winless season last year. He started the season with top-five finishes in the
first three races but faltered from there. Kanaan hopes his winning ways
return when he races in front of his home crowd this week.
"As a Brazilian getting ready to open the season in Brazil, it is hard to
explain the excitement and the pressure that I'm feeling," Kanaan said.
Marco Andretti is a long-shot for the title, but could turn in some top-notch
performances during the year.
Many seats were swapped during the off-season. Justin Wilson has found a new
home with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Last year, he gave Dale Coyne Racing it
first win in 25 years of IndyCar competition. Milka Duno takes over Wilson's
ride at Coyne, while Hideki Mutoh has left Andretti's organization and joined
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. E.J. Viso is on board with KV Racing Technology
after a two-year stint with HVM Racing.
NEWCOMERS
Takuma Sato, Mario Romancini, Ana Beatriz and Simona de Silvestro will make
up this year's rookie class.
Sato, who competed in Formula One from 2002-08, makes his IndyCar debut in
Brazil, driving for KVRT. Romancini landed a ride with Conquest Racing after
graduating from the Firestone Indy Lights Series in '09.
The series will have four female competitors this year, with Beatriz from
Brazil in a Dreyer & Reinbold car and de Silvestro from Switzerland driving
for HVM.
INDYCAR'S NEW TOP BOSS
Randy Bernard, a longtime top executive at Professional Bull Riders, Inc.,
recently was named as the new chief executive officer of the Indy Racing
League, which is the sanctioning body of the series.
Bernard headed PBR for the last 15 years. Under his leadership, attendance
for stand-alone rodeo bull-riding events increased 12 percent and ratings with
television partner VERSUS rose nearly 30 percent last year.
VERSUS will televise 12 IndyCar races this year.
"I truly believe I can make a difference with the Indy Racing League, and I
see tremendous potential," Bernard said.
Bernard began his role with the IRL on March 1. His appointment came eight
months after Tony George resigned as CEO of the governing body. George founded
the IRL in 1996.
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What Is the Point Spread?
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
How to Read Point Spreads
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
- Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
OR
- Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.
-
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
- Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
OR
- Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
Get free 2009 Super Bowl Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting VISA Mastercard
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Bonds nearly hits HR 751, SF wins
4 and drove in
a pair of runs, and Barry Bonds nearly hit homer No. 751 as San Francisco beat
1, in the middle contest of three at AT&T Park.
6) allowed five hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings, fanning
eight and walking three.
game slide.
Bonds, who came within five homers of Hank Aaron's record on Friday, went
1 with three walks, an RBI double and scored twice. The double ...
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