Power dominant at Sonoma, increases points lead
Autoracing Betting Lines
08/22/2010 - Sonoma, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One year after his serious crash at Infineon Raceway nearly ended his IZOD IndyCar Series career, Will Power put on a dominating performance to win the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at this 2.303-mile road course in Northern California.
Power started on the pole for a record eighth time this season and then led all but two of the 75 laps. The Team Penske driver only relinquished the lead when he pitted the second and final time under the green flag. Scott Dixon came in for his stop two laps after Power, but the Aussie easily flew by Dixon after he exited the pits.
A late-race caution for an incident involving E.J. Viso and Bertrand Baguette set up a six-lap sprint to the finish. Dixon made several attempts to overtake Power after the restart, but Power eventually pulled away and finished 0.74 seconds ahead Dixon for his fifth IndyCar win this season.
Last year, Power's season came to an abrupt end at Sonoma, where he sustained multiple injuries during a practice crash. He suffered two broken vertebrae and a concussion when his car hit the stalled car of Nelson Philippe, who spun exiting the blind, downhill corner.
"What a perfect weekend to come back here after a year ago lying in the hospital watching this same race," said Power, who became the sixth different winner in as many IndyCar races held at Sonoma.
All five of Power's wins this season have come on road/street courses. He now holds a 59 point lead over Dario Franchitti, who finished third. Franchitti started on the pole and won last year's race here.
Two weeks ago, Power's second-place finish at Mid-Ohio allowed him to claim the Mario Andretti Trophy for clinching the series' first-ever road/street course championship.
Sonoma was the ninth and final road/street race of the season. There are four oval events remaining, with the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway scheduled next Saturday night.
"I'm going for it; I want to win this championship," Power said. "I'm not sitting back, and I'm not going to be stupid, but I do want to win an oval [race] before the end of the year, and I want to win the overall championship."
After finishing second, Dixon is now 95 points behind Power.
"We put on the red [tires] and seemed to be a lot quicker, and we thought we had a go at Will," Dixon said. "I don't know whether he was saving them a little bit earlier on, and I was starting to catch him pretty quickly, but in turn, I think I was using mine up too much. I gave it all I could on the restarts, and I was trying to stick my nose in there anywhere I could, but eventually it didn't come off."
Power's Penske teammates Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Justin Wilson, Tony Kanaan, Ryan-Hunter Reay, Graham Rahal and rookie Alex Lloyd completed the top-10.
Dan Wheldon was involved in a wild crash on the opening lap. Wheldon got clipped by Baguette and slammed into the wall before his car rolled upside down along the wall and then skidded down the track. His car continued to spin around upside down before it came to rest.
"It's never a good day to be upside down, but obviously everybody at Dallara and the Indy Racing League has worked very hard on the safety aspects of it," Wheldon said.
He finished last in the 25-car field.
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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS
NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
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