Trucks make inaugural visit to Pocono

Autoracing Betting Lines

07/27/2010 - Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck. Date: Saturday, July 31. Race: Pocono Mountains 125. Site: Pocono Raceway. Track: 2.5-mile triangle. Start time: 1:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 50. Miles: 125. Television: SPEED. Radio: Motor Racing Network(MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.

The Camping World Truck Series will compete at Pocono Raceway for the first time this weekend. The series' inaugural stop at Pocono marks the final track currently hosting a Sprint Cup race at which trucks have yet to compete.

This will not be the first time the series competes in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Truck teams used to run at the now defunct Nazareth Speedway in Nazareth, PA from 1996-2001.

Saturday's race at the 2.5-mile Pocono track is scheduled to be 125 miles in length, which means it's a 50-lap shootout.

"I think adding Pocono is great for the series, and by making it a 50-lap race, you are sure to see a lot of action," said four-time and defending series champion Ron Hornaday. "I know that going down in to turn one, you better have a good spot, because we will probably be four or five wide."

Hornaday has previous experience at Pocono, with two Cup starts here during the 2001 season, when he drove the No.14 car for team owner A.J. Foyt.

Last Friday, Hornaday ended a 22-race winless streak at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. Hornaday recorded his 46th career truck victory, but his first since August 1, 2009 at Nashville. He currently is fourth in points (-212).

Todd Bodine is the current leader, holding a 177-point advantage over Aric Almirola. Bodine is another driver who has previous experience at Pocono.

"I think you're going to see a heck of a race," Bodine said. "I know everybody is saying that. The way the trucks are and the drafting that's involved, the way Pocono is, long straightaways with a little bit slower corner, drafting is going to be very large, it's going to be critical.

"I think a lot of the veteran drivers like myself and [Mike] Skinner and Hornaday, guys that have competed there in the Cup Series, we're going to have a little advantage for a while. But I think that the guys in the Truck Series are good enough and the teams are good enough that they're going to catch up."

Three Sprint Cup regulars -- Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler -- also will compete in the truck race at Pocono.

Kahne is driving the No.18 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Busch will be in Iowa on Saturday for the Nationwide race there. Kahne is undefeated in two career truck starts. He won the last two races of the 2004 season -- Darlington and Homestead.

"Kyle and I had been talking about it for a while, and I told him I was interested in running a truck race or two for KBM this year," Kahne said. "He had another obligation with the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Saturday, so he asked if I could race his truck. It's a great opportunity for me to come back to the series and compete with really good equipment. I've watched Kyle put the team together, and it's really been impressive how well they've done this year as a first-year team."

The format for truck qualifying at Pocono will be considerably different. The qualifying order is set by inverting the times from Friday's final practice session. Trucks are released in approximately 25-second increments, and drafting is prohibited.

Thirty-seven teams are on the preliminary entry list for Pocono Mountains 125.

Wcasinoonnet Autoracing Betting News


<< Nationwide Series heads to Iowa
Newton, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Nationwide. Date: Saturday, July 31. Race: U.S. Cellular 250. Site: Iowa Speedway. Track: 0.875-mile oval. Start time: 7:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 250. Miles: 218.75. 2009 winner: Brad Keselowski. Televisi

<< Hamlin seeking third straight win at Pocono
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 H

<< This Week in Auto Racing July 30 - August 1
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

<< Oilers re-sign center Brule to two-year deal
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers re-signed center Gilbert Brule to a two-year deal on Tuesday. Financial terms were not disclosed. "Gilbert made a big step last year in his development," said Oilers general manager

<< NFL strengthens stance on concussions
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Football League has taken another step forward in its ongoing effort to limit the effects of concussions. The New York Times first reported on and re-printed a draft of a pos

Nationals scratch Strasburg before series opener with Braves >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals scratched Stephen Strasburg before his scheduled start on Tuesday night versus Atlanta. Strasburg stopped his pre-game warm up and was shut down after consultation with coaches

Colorado's Street sent to hospital after batting practice accident >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado closer Huston Street was sent to the hospital after being hit by a line drive during a batting practice accident. Street was hit in the midsection by a line drive off the bat of Ian Stewart prior to Tue

Eagles come to terms with second-round pick Allen >>
Bethlehem, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles have signed safety Nate Allen, their 2010 second-round draft pick, to a four-year contract. Allen was taken with the 37th overall selection out of South Florida, where he picked off

Wolves' Flynn has hip surgery >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jonny Flynn underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a labral tear and remove extra bone from his left hip. The Wolves have already planned for Flynn's absence, signing f

Pac-10 announces future name change >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pac-10 Conference will officially undergo a name change once two new schools join the grouping. The announcement was made on Tuesday, as conference commissioner Larry Scott unveiled new branding

Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards