This Week in Auto Racing August 17 - August 19

Autoracing Betting Lines

08/14/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's a light week for racing unless you are trying to make the "Chase for the Nextel Cup." Then it's a huge weekend, one of just four remaining, before we determine who will race for the 2007 championship and who will watch from the sidelines.

NASCAR

Nextel Cup

3M Performance 400 - Michigan International Speedway - Brooklyn, MI

Just four races remain until the cutoff for the "Chase for the Nextel Cup." Following an eventful Sunday in upstate New York, the picture is becoming clearer as to who is a contender and who is just a pretender.

One thing is for sure, Kurt Busch is a contender. The No.2 Miller Lite Penske Racing Dodge driver has been on fire since the Pepsi 400 in early July. In his last five starts, Busch has one win (Pocono), three top-10s and finished no lower than 11th.

At the time he began to "heat up" he was 15th in the standings and staring at a second consecutive season without a chance at the title. Then something happened, the team jelled and now they find themselves solidly in the top-12. Busch has a 96-point lead on teammate Ryan Newman and 100 points ahead of stumbling Dale Earnhardt Jr.

In fact, at Pocono they were easily the best car on the track. Busch led 175 of 200 laps en route to a 4.131-second win and one of the most dominant performances of the season.

"It's all about momentum 'the big mo' -- and Busch and our entire Miller Lite Dodge team certainly have it going for us," said crew chief Pat Tryson on the team's website. "If you're fortunate enough to have 'the big mo' on your side, it's best to ride it for all it's worth and that's exactly what we're hoping to do."

The something that "happened" for the No.2 Dodge team was Tryson himself. Tryson took over the reins about two weeks before the sudden upswing in the team's performance. It took a little time to make changes, but now everyone can see the results.

Tryson teamed with Mark Martin at Roush Fenway Racing for the first three years of "The Chase" and they qualified in all three years. Last year he was switched over to Greg Biffle's team, but that didn't quite work out as planned.

"Competing for championships is our goal and Pat's proven that he has the ability to get top level teams and drivers into the Chase," said Tim Cindric, President of Penske Performance.

Newman, Busch's teammate at Penske, has been just outside the "Chase" all season and unfortunately appears on a course to stay there. Just two top-10s in the last five races and a accident that left him 42nd at Indianapolis has left him with only a slim chance at making NASCAR's "playoffs." Mark down Newman as a pretender.

For the millions of Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans this will be hard to read, but "Junior" is a pretender as well. He is 100 points out of the playoffs and has finished 34th or worse in three of the last five events. Not exactly the way to make a move up the charts. At Watkins Glen, Earnhardt Jr. finished 42nd after an engine failure, his team's second in the last three events. And with "Junior" already having one foot out the door, don't expect anything spectacular from this team over the next month.

Greg Biffle is 15th in the standings, but 212 points out of the "Chase." It's a tall order for Biffle to jump over three drivers and that many points. The team has been solid of late, but not extraordinary, which is what will be needed over the next month if the No.16 Roush Fenway Ford team is to make the leap into the "Chase."

The good news for Biffle is that he has had a lot of success at Michigan International Speedway. In nine starts, he has two wins and six top-10s and led 170 laps. His average finish at MIS of 12.778 is better than either Newman, Earnhardt Jr. or Kurt Busch.

For both the contenders and pretenders it's time to put up or shut up.

Busch

Carfax 250 - Michigan International Speedway - Brooklyn, MI

Kevin Harvick is back to his 2006 Busch Series championship form these days, winning the last two Busch events (Montreal, Watkins Glen) and four of his last five starts.

In just 17 starts this year, Harvick has collected a series-high five wins and 15 top-10s. He is third in points despite missing seven races (29% of the season), in itself an amazing statistic.

While Harvick's win in Montreal was a matter of being in the right place at the right time to take advantage of other driver mistakes, at Watkins Glen he was dominant from start to finish leading a total of 49 of 82 laps.

Harvick has always been pretty good when it comes to turning right as well as left. In 14 Nextel Cup and Busch road course starts, he has won twice and earned nine top-10s in 14 races. It would have been 10 of 14 if Juan Pablo Montoya hadn't got into the back of him on Sunday, but that's a whole different can o' worms.

"We have been able to run in the top-10 and top-five at Watkins Glen and Sonoma," said Harvick on his team's website. "I am fine that my name doesn't get brought up when it comes to road-course experts. It kind of gives me a chance to fly under the radar a little."

This week Harvick and 19 other "Buschwhackers" will race in the "Saturday warmup."

Among them is Mark Martin, the all-time Busch Series leader at MIS with two wins, seven top-fives, eight top-10s, 304 laps led and an average finish of 4.2. He is the only driver two sweep a Michigan weekend, accomplishing the feat in August 1993.

Since it has been six paragraphs and there has yet been no reference to points leader Carl Edwards, who leads the series by 766 points, despite finishes of 30th and 32nd in the last two events. It shows just how great a start the No.60 Roush Fenway Racing driver had, posting nine consecutive top-six results, to start the season.

Edwards could take a month's vacation and still return in first place. Of course, a vacation for Edwards would be something like going dirt track racing back home, so he might as well continue to race each week and let as many fans as possible enjoy his "work."

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MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds

With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season.  What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season.  Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all.  Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13).  Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two.  Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury.  Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven.  Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury.  Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.

In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons.  Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4.  Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1).  The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this.  No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.

Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend.  Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend.  With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.

MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:

Atlanta Hawks 1000-1

Boston Celtics 5000-1

Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1

Chicago Bulls 20-1

Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1

Dallas Mavericks 2-1

Denver Nuggets 25-1

Detroit Pistons 6-1

Golden State Warriors 250-1

Houston Rockets 12-1

Indiana Pacers 60-1

Los Angeles Clippers 45-1

Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1

Miami Heat 9-1

Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1

Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1

New Jersey Nets 50-1

New Orleans Hornets 150-1

New York Knicks 150-1

Orlando Magic 75-1

Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1

Phoenix Suns 5-2

Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1

Sacramento Kings 250-1

San Antonio Spurs 9-1

Seattle Sonics 5000-1

Toronto Raptors 35-1

Utah Jazz 20-1

Washington Wizards 25-1

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