Wild weekend at Watkins Glen

Autoracing Betting Lines

08/13/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Which one of the following things happened this weekend?

1) Robby Gordon made more friends than enemies.

2) Bill Elliott showed another reason they call him "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville" when he gave up his ride so Boris Said would get a chance to race.

3) NASCAR's winningest active driver on a road course, Jeff Gordon, simply drove off the track while leading with two laps to go.

4) Tony Stewart continued his annual summer display of driving prowess, winning his third race in four events.

5) Two of NASCAR's biggest names, Kevin Harvick and Juan Pablo Montoya, got into a yelling and shoving match during the race.

The answer, as any avid Nextel Cup fan will tell you, is all of the above.

The Centurion Boats at the Glen was one of the most compelling races of the year. The drama began even before the green flag dropped.

After driver Robby Gordon self-destructed in a Busch Series race at Montreal a week ago, he was in the doghouse of many fans and NASCAR. Though he may have been wronged by NASCAR in a caution-flag ruling, his punting of race leader Marcos Ambrose during the race's final laps was not appreciated.

But owner Robby Gordon showed some intestinal fortitude when he offered Ambrose his first chance in a Nextel Cup car as "repayment" for his actions. Unfortunately, rain ended Ambrose's chance to qualify, but both owner and driver have said that they will try again sometime later this year.

When Nextel Cup qualifying was rained out of Friday, a number of other drivers were left out in the cold too. One of them, Boris Said, is a favorite up and down the garage and in the stands. His car didn't have enough owner points to qualify, and the only way he would be able to see the race was from the stands.

Then Bill Elliott stepped forward and offered his car to Said, who thought the racing legend was joking at first. But Elliott was serious, and after working out the details, Said would start from the back of the field. The "road course specialist" who taught many Nextel Cup drivers how to drive at Infineon and Watkins Glen finished a solid 14th. Better still, the "Saidheads" in the stands got a chance to see their favorite drive on the track.

The race itself was as exciting a road-course race as NASCAR has ever produced. Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon were the class of the field, leading 71 of 90 laps. In the opening portion of the race, Gordon led Stewart, but on lap 14 Stewart took command. He was still in control on lap 45 when he inexplicably went too deep into turn one and spun the No.20 Home Depot Chevrolet.

Gordon jumped on the slip-up, as Stewart fell all the way to 19th before he could restart his car and get going. From there, Stewart drove with all the considerable talent that the Rushville, IN native owns and with two laps to go was back in second place pressuring Gordon.

Gordon had won nine times on road courses, and the usually unflappable driver seemed headed for No. 10. But in the same corner that Stewart had spun out earlier, Gordon showed that he was human after all. Like Stewart, he took it too deep into the corner, the car jumped on him and he found himself watching helplessly as Stewart flew by him and on to the victory.

And of course, what would a NASCAR event be without an argument between drivers? This one was between two pretty good ones - 2007 Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick and Juan Pablo Montoya.

It started when Montoya was hit from behind heading into the same treacherous turn one that Jeff Gordon and Stewart had so much trouble with. This time Montoya was sent careening into Harvick who could see his championship aspirations going up in tire smoke.

The two were stopped in the "grass" and both drivers were clearly angry. Harvick at Montoya, because that's who he saw hit him and Montoya at Martin Truex Jr., the driver who had push him into Harvick. Montoya tried explaining the situation, but Harvick wouldn't hear it. The two began shoving each other and had to be broken up before it got too bloody.

All-in-all, the race showed was what makes NASCAR so popular - great driving and great emotion.

Bravo!

Sportcasinogamble Autoracing Betting News

<< Twins nearing rock bottom
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The month of August has been a complete disaster for the Minnesota Twins, who are very likely watching their playoff hopes pass them by after dropping below .500 for the first time in two months. So far, Minnesota is just

<< Scorching Yanks come back home to face Orioles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chien-Ming Wang looks for his second straight successful outing against Baltimore when the New York Yankees host the Orioles tonight in the first of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium. Wang, a 27-year-old Taiwanese

<< Blue Jays try to extend road success in finale with Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays aim for a rare road series win when they close out a four-game set with the Kansas City Royals this evening at Kauffman Stadium. Toronto has claimed two of the first three weekend matchups with Kansas

<< Streaking Mariners return home to face Twins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners are back home after a very successful road trip, while the Minnesota Twins are currently enduring a miserable stretch of road games. The two teams will clash tonight in the first of three consecutive mee

<< A's, Tigers wrap four-game set in Detroit
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Chad Durbin returns to the starting rotation for the Detroit Tigers tonight when they host the Oakland Athletics in the finale of a four-game set at Comerica Park. Durbin, a 29-year-old who was drafted in the

Rooney to miss two months with foot injury >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United confirmed on Monday that striker Wayne Rooney will be out of action for two months after suffering a hairline fracture of his left foot in the team's season-opening draw ag

Real Madrid locks up Sneijder from Ajax >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid completed the signing of former Ajax midfielder Wesley Sneijder on Monday, inking the Dutch international to a five-year deal. The 23-year-old Sneijder joins Madrid from Ajax for $36.7 million,

Chicago Bears 2007 Season Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It should go without saying that no one wants to play the role of runner-up. An obvious statement, but a more profound one in the NFL, where Super Bowl runners-up have historically enjoyed an ignoble fate. Before the Seatt

Getting to 53: Chicago Bears Roster Prediction >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Below we take our stab at predicting how the 53-man roster of the 2007 Chicago Bears will take shape: QB (3): Rex Grossman, Brian Griese, Kyle Orton RB (4): Cedric Benson, Adrian Peterson, Garrett Wolfe, Jason McKie (

Seattle gaining ground >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners refuse to go away in the race for the American League West crown. The Mariners have been chipping away at the Angels' lead for over two months now, and find themselves just 3 1/2 games out of first. S

FOOTBALL BETTING LINES

NFL Football Sports Betting

Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.

New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.

His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.

HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.

The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.

RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.

First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.

The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.

These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.

New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.

You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting