Hamlin seeking third straight win at Pocono
Autoracing Betting Lines
07/27/2010 - Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Sunday, August 1. Race: Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. Site: Pocono Raceway. Track: 2.5-mile triangle. Start time: 1:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 200. Miles: 500. 2009 winner: Denny Hamlin. Television: ESPN. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN) /SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.
Sprint Cup Series teams travel to Pocono Raceway for the second time within the past two months. If there is one driver who's looking forward to returning to Pocono the most, it's Denny Hamlin.
Pocono has been Hamlin's house lately. He won here one year ago and then again in June. If he wins Sunday's 500-mile race, he will become the third driver to score three consecutive victories at Pocono. Tim Richmond accomplished the feat from 1986-87, and Bobby Allison turned the trick from 1982-83.
Hamlin, currently third in points, is tied with Jimmie Johnson for most victories so far this season with five.
The driver with the most wins after the September 11 race in Richmond, VA will enter the championship Chase in the first seed. All 12 drivers who qualify for the playoffs -- the last 10 events of the season -- will have their point totals adjusted to 5,000. Each driver will then have 10 bonus points added for every race he won during the 26-event regular season.
"It's good that we're going back in a relatively close time frame; obviously, we run really well there," Hamlin said. "In my mind, we have a lot of really good tracks coming up. A lot of tracks that we just won at we're getting ready to go back to. We need to get two more wins I feel like before the Chase starts to kind of solidify where we will be bonus-points wise when we get to the Chase."
Hamlin is tied with Jeff Gordon, Rusty Wallace, Darrell Waltrip and Richmond for second most wins at Pocono with four. Bill Elliott holds the track record with five victories. Hamlin's first two wins at Pocono came during rookie season in 2006.
The battle for the top-12 spots in the Chase remains tight with six races to go before it begins. Heading into Pocono, 283 points separate eighth-place Matt Kenseth from 17th-place Kasey Kahne.
Clint Bowyer currently holds the 12th position, while 13th-place Mark Martin is 62 points behind Bowyer. Last year, Martin finished second in points and scored five victories. The 51-year-old driver has yet to win in 2010.
After winning the Brickyard 400 last Sunday, Jamie McMurray kept his Chase hopes alive, as he advanced two positions in the standings to 16th. McMurray, who became the third driver to win both the Daytona 500 and the 400-mile race at Indianapolis in the same season, is now 151 points out of 12th-place.
"Everyone wants to make the Chase," McMurray said. "Getting to win the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 means more to me this year than making the Chase. This year or in 10 years, the guy that won that race one time everybody will talk about. The guy that finished third in the points, nobody cares. I would really like to be in the Chase, but I have no focus on that at all."
Pocono, dubbed "The Tricky Triangle," is one of the most unique tracks on the Cup schedule with its 2.5-mile triangular shape.
Though Indianapolis has a rectangular-shaped layout, Pocono somewhat resembles Indy, with both tracks having relatively flat banking. The banking in each of Indy's four turns is nine degrees, whereas Pocono's corners vary from six to 14 degrees.
The July race at Pocono used to run prior to Indianapolis until 2007. Now, Indy is scheduled one week before Pocono.
"It used to be that if you ran good at Pocono, then you had a good shot at running good at Indy," driver/owner Tony Stewart said. "I don't know if it's still correlated the last couple years with the new car. The thing about Indy is that it's got a couple little bumps here and there, but when you go to Pocono, it's rough and bumpy. The setups are quite a bit different now."
Forty-five teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500.
Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - All three of NASCAR's national touring series are in action this weekend, with the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series at Pocono and the Nationwide Series at Iowa. Formula One heads to Budapest for the Hun
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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends
We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS. Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned. For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go. As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190). Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet. For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction. On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later. Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick. Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com
New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors
Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season.
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls
Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times.
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons
Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season.
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers
In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS.
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”. With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit. Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.
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