Hamlin wins at Daytona
Autoracing Betting Lines
07/04/2008 -
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denny Hamlin held off teammate Kyle Busch
in a green-white-checkered finish to win Friday night's Winn-Dixie 250
Nationwide Series race at the Daytona International Speedway. The driver of
the No.20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 29 of 105 laps. He finished 0.133
seconds ahead of Busch.
The victory was Hamlin's third of the season and eighth of his Nationwide
Series career.
Hamlin had fallen two seconds off the pace after his final pit stop, but
rebounded when he made the pass on Edwards for the lead on lap 89.
Hamlin drove the same car that Tony Stewart won last week at New Hampshire.
Stewart also drove the No.20 Toyota to victory in the series season-opener at
Daytona in February.
But it wasn't an easy win for Hamlin as Colin Braun spun and smacked the wall
with two laps to go, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. On the final
restart, Hamlin quickly pulled ahead of the field, while Carl Edwards was
bumped into the infield grass, but made his way back into the pack.
Edwards also had a near miss with pole sitter Bryan Clauson while trying to
pass him just past the halfway point. Both drivers were running among the
top-five at the time.
Clauson led the field to the green, but was quickly shuffled back in the field
as Clint Bowyer moved his way to top spot. Bowyer ran in front for six laps
before Dale Earnhardt, Jr. inherited the lead.
The first caution of the night came on lap 14 when Josh Wise spun. Earnhardt,
Jr. opted for fuel only on his first stop. Brad Keselowski, Earnhardt, Jr.'s
protege, took on two new tires and drove off pit lane just behind Earnhardt,
Jr. On the restart, Earnhardt, Jr. ran second to Shane Huffman, who did not
pit. But Earnhardt, Jr. got drafting help from Keselowski to pull ahead of
Huffman. Three laps later, Edwards made the pass on Earnhardt, Jr. and ran out
in front until the next round of stops during the second caution.
Keselowski used pit strategy to his advantage. He took two left-side tires
only and was the fastest off of pit lane. Keselowski's strategy worked well
for 28 laps when he led the way. Then the tires on his No.88 Chevrolet began
to wear as he fell back in the field.
Hamlin, Busch and Earnhardt, Jr. easily passed Keselowski. Keselowski would
fall back to seventh before making his final stop. Hamlin and Earnhardt, Jr.
exchanged the lead before teams came in for their final round of stop during
the green flag with less than 25 laps remaining.
Keselowski made his stop for four fresh tires with 23 laps to go. Hamlin
relinquished the lead two laps later.
Edwards won the battle off of pit lane and put himself back in the lead after
the round of stops, but Busch was looking to make the move around Edwards.
Earnhardt, Jr. and Keselowski were also in pursuit of Edwards.
Busch, Edwards and Hamlin swapped the lead for the next several laps before
Hamlin ran out in front for the final 15 laps.
Earnhardt, Jr., Bowyer and Keselowski completed the top-five.
Bowyer will take a 202-point lead over new second-place Keselowski to the
next event scheduled for Friday night, July 11th at the Chicagoland Speedway.
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<< Phils down Mets on Victorino's two-out, game-winning single
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Duaner
<< Johnson, Braves take down Astros
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kelly Johnson hit a two-run homer to lead
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Chipper Jones and Brian McCann each had a pair of hits, an RBI
Tale of Two Cities: Surging Twins upend slumping Tribe >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Delmon Young went 3-for-5 with a three-run
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run while also driving in four runs, as the Minnesota Twins crushed the
Clevela
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St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Zambrano was impressive in his first
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the Cardinals, 2-1, in the opener of a three-game set.
Zambrano (9-3) pitched for
It's in the Cards: Cubs' Zambrano makes return >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Cubs' ace Carlos Zambrano started
Friday's 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals after a two-week stint on
the disabled list with a strained right shoulder.
Zambrano, who returned from his first
Report: Duhon to become a Knickerbocker >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks have reportedly agreed to a
two-year, full mid-level exception $12 million contract with guard Chris
Duhon.
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Rapids roll to 4-0 win over Red Bulls >>
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mehdi Ballouchy, Colin Clark and Tom
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win over Red Bull New York on Friday to snap a four-game winless streak.
Omar Cum
Pacific-10 Conference odds
Teams that should be in: Stanford
Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State
It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do:
Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.
Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.
Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.
Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
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