Benson edges Crawford for win at Talladega

Autoracing Betting Lines

10/06/2007 - Talladega, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Todd Bodine held off a last corner charge from Rick Crawford and Johnny Benson to capture Saturday's Mountain Dew 250 Craftsman Truck Series race at the Talladega Superspeedway. The No.30 Germain Toyota crossed the finish line 0.014 seconds ahead of Crawford.

The victory was Bodine's second of the season and 12th of his truck career.

Bodine brought the field to the green flag for 94 laps of tight side-by-side racing. Early on Jack Sprague, who started second, took the lead from Bodine and the two stayed at the top of the charts through the first two pit stops.

Meanwhile, points leader Mike Skinner, who had made an additional early pit stop, was in 21st place and working his way towards the leaders. By lap 20, the No.5 Toyota cracked the top-five and was back in the battle.

Of course, this was Talladega and there were 18 drivers within one second of the lead all racing three-wide and changing positions many times per lap. That's what makes the superspeedway a fan favorite and frequently a "crashfest."

Bodine and Sprague were still one-two at the midpoint of the race.

A crash on lap 54 (third caution of the day) set everyone up for their final stops.

When they came back on the track Travis Kvapil was the new leader. Sprague was second and Benson was third. Championship leader Skinner was sixth and the man just three points behind him entering the race, Ron Hornaday Jr. was right in front of him in fifth.

Two laps later Sprague led a charge around the outside of Kvapil and grabbed the lead. Benson followed Sprague and slipped into second and Kvapil was forced all the way back to third place.

On lap 66 a caution flag for debris slowed the field and gave everyone a chance to breath before the final wild ride to the checkered flag.

On the restart Rick Crawford and Erik Darnell thundered past the leaders on the outside. Sprague and Benson returned the favor one lap later.

But Sprague, who had some right-front tire smoke, suddenly spun in turn four of lap 66 while leading and the "Big One" was on. Kvapil, Darnell, Terry Cook and a dozen others were collected in the mess, but Skinner somehow avoided everything and was in great shape to expand his lead.

Hornaday Jr. had minimal damage and would return to the track, but Kvapil was done for the day and probably lost any chance at a championship.

"One of the tires went down...and the guys behind me had nowhere to go," said Sprague. "I couldn't signal because I was too busy trying to save the truck."

They restarted with 16 laps to go and Skinner was the new leader with Bodine and Kyle Busch behind him. They lasted one lap before Josh Wise brought out another caution flag in turn three.

The race would restart with 12 laps remaining and just 17 trucks on the lead lap. Bodine moved to the top of the track and had the horsepower to take the lead with 11 laps to go. Mike Wallace was second and Hornaday Jr. was third with just 10 laps remaining.

Skinner's hood pin broke and his hood was flapping in the wind with six laps to go. But Wallace spun to bring out a caution flag and it saved Skinner's season. NASCAR was already black-flagging him as the yellow started to wave and the result was that the No.5 would remain on the lead lap.

The green flag dropped with two laps to go. Bodine took off and Crawford stayed right with him. They stayed in line as they saw the white flag. They were still all in line as they went into turn three. Crawford slid to the outside as Bodine protected the yellow line and the bottom line was the winner by less than half-a-truck length.

Hornaday Jr. finished seventh, Skinner 13th, so Hornaday Jr. will take a 14- point lead to the next event.

The next race is scheduled for Saturday, October 20th at Martinsville.

7decks Autoracing Betting News


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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.