Safety on the mind of Cup drivers heading to Talladega

Autoracing Betting Lines

10/20/2011 - Talladega, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Sunday, October 23. Race: Good Sam Club 500. Site: Talladega Superspeedway. Track: 2.66-mile oval. Start time: 2:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 188. Miles: 500. 2010 Winner: Clint Bowyer. Television: ESPN. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN) /SIRIUS NASCAR Satellite.

Following the death of Dan Wheldon in last Sunday's IndyCar event at Las Vegas, safety has become a major concern in this weekend 500-mile Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. Talladega features a lot of exciting and wild racing, but the track has also experienced its share of controversy over the years, particularly in regards to safety.

IndyCar endured its darkest moment in the early going of the scheduled 300- mile Las Vegas race when a horrific 15-car crash claimed the life of Wheldon, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and former IndyCar champion. Wheldon's car went airborne into the catch fence along turn two before it erupted into flames during the lap 11 incident. The 33-year-old Englishman died of blunt head trauma.

There has not been a fatality on the racetrack in any one of NASCAR's three national touring series since Dale Earnhardt was killed in an accident on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. SAFER barriers (soft walls), the current cars and the head and neck support (HANS) device have all played a vital role in NASCAR's safety initiatives.

"I think NASCAR has implemented some incredible safety features for our cars over the years to allow us to go to Talladega," Jeff Gordon said. "While the drivers might not always be thrilled and sometimes the fans aren't always thrilled about the type of racing going on out there, I do feel very safe inside the cars. That's something that's evolved over the years and something that we all have worked together on through experience, through seeing wrecks, going through wrecks, understanding how to contain the cars inside the racetrack, trying to keep the cars on the ground with new aerodynamics, with the roof flaps.

"I think the spoiler is a plus versus the [rear] wing when the cars get turned backwards. I feel very confident in that going to the racetrack this weekend at Talladega."

Last Saturday night at Charlotte, Jimmie Johnson walked away unscathed after crashing head on into the outside wall during the closing laps of the race.

"It was a big hit," Johnson said during Monday's electronic fuel injection test session at Charlotte. "The NASCAR safety guys came by and discussed a lot of that with me. The numbers were high, but if you look at the frequency and how long the impact lasted, it was spread out over a long period of time, because of the soft wall and the steel cage that we have around our car. It makes it a very forgiving impact in a the scheme of things.

"The velocity was very high, but the "g" number [force of gravity] was average, which is great. That g number should have been doubled if it wasn't into a soft wall. I was very fortunate to have the safety that we do on these tracks and on these cars, because it was a huge hit."

Talladega has seen its share of multi-car crashes, commonly known as "the big one," and at times, cars have sailed into the air and then slammed into the catch fence at the 2.66-mile, high-banked track.

"I guess if you really look at the big picture and why we run restrictor plates is so the cars stay on the ground," said Johnson, who won at Talladega in April. "It doesn't matter the type of race car. If it's off the ground, you cannot control it in an accident."

Bobby Allison's spectacular crash along the frontstretch in the spring 1987 race at Talladega led NASCAR to mandate restrictor plates to reduce speeds for races at Talladega and its sister track, Daytona International Speedway.

But restrictor-plate racing led to big packs of cars running two, three and even four-wide, just inches apart from each other, and moving at speeds more than 200 m.p.h. Multi-car wrecks at Talladega have involved as many as 30 drivers in a single incident.

NASCAR dodged a bullet at Talladega in April 2009 when Carl Edwards walked away from a crash that was somewhat similar to Allison's wreck. However, eight spectators suffered injuries when they were struck by debris from Edwards' car. None of the injuries were life-threatening.

Since last year's fall race at Talladega, NASCAR has been tweaking the rules package for restrictor-plate racing, which has created two-car breakaways and therefore produced record lead changes at both Talladega and Daytona.

"Talladega is fast and high-banked, and we all know what we're in for when we go there," NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said.

NASCAR recently changed the size of the restrictor plate for this race. The plate has increased by 1/64 inch, putting it at 57/64-inch diameter. This will provide teams with an additional 7-10 horsepower. NASCAR has also altered the pressure relief valve on the cars' cooling system.

After a record-tying 88 lead changes in this year's spring race at Talladega, the track has set up a bonus plan for Sunday's event here. If there are 100 or more lead changes in the race, the driver who takes the lead the most times (not the most laps) will collect a $100,000 award.

Talladega will be the sixth race in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Just 35 points separate leader Carl Edwards from eighth-place Johnson. Kevin Harvick is five points behind Edwards, while Charlotte winner Matt Kenseth trails by seven markers.

Johnson's current 35-point deficit roughly equates to 145 markers from the old points system (1975-2010).

With five races to go in the 2006 season, Johnson overcame a deficit of 146 points to win his first of five consecutive championships. So don't count him out just yet.

Talladega is the "wild card" or "crap shoot" race in the Chase, so anything can happen as far as the championship battle is concerned.

Forty-seven teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Good Sam Club 500.

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MySportsbook.com Favors Fighting Irish to win College Football betting odds

According to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, on January 8, the Fighting Irish faithful may be toasting their 14th national title in Arizona – Notre Dame’s first national championship in close to 20 years.

Although MySportsbook.com has listed Notre Dame as the 5-1 favorite to win thecollege football College Football betting, fans in Columbus do not need to cancel their tickets to Glendale just yet.  The Ohio State Buckeyes, listed right behind the Irish at 7-1, are also heavy favorites to win college football’s most coveted prize, while West Virginia, USC and the 2007 National Champion Texas Longhorns - all listed at 8-1 – are strong contenders as well.

MySportsbook.com has also posted gambling odds on the conference championships for the ACC, Big 12 and SEC.  In the ACC – it could be anyone’s title, particularly for the two schools from the Sunshine State.  Florida State and Miami, both listed at 2-1, are favored to win the ACC Championship Game odds, with the ‘Noles hoping to finish in the nation’s top 10 for the first time in five years, and the ‘Canes looking to avenge their 10-7 loss against FSU in last year’s ACC Championship betting.

Moving west to the Big 12, MySportsbook.com has betting lines listing Texas as 7-5 favorites to repeat as conference champions, even though the Longhorns lost their national championship-winning quarterback Vince Young to the NFL.  In the south, the Auburn Tigers – led by Heisman-hopeful senior running back Kenny Irons – have been given the best odds to win the SEC Championship odds at 5-2.

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ODDS TO WIN THE BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Notre Dame
Ohio State
West Virginia
Texas
USC
Florida
California
Auburn
Oklahoma
Iowa
Louisville
Florida State
Michigan
Miami (FL)
LSU
Penn State
Virginia Tech
Nebraska
Tennessee
Georgia
Arizona State
Oregon
Clemson
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Alabama
Arkansas
Boston College
Michigan State
Maryland
South Carolina
Colorado
Purdue
Georgia Tech
TCU
UCLA
Arizona
Pittsburgh
Iowa State
Wisconsin
North Carolina State
Virginia
North Carolina
Fresno State
Hawaii
Northwestern
BYU
Oregon State
UNLV
Field (Any Other Team)
5-1
7-1
8-1
8-1
8-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
18-1
20-1
20-1
20-1
20-1
20-1
25-1
40-1
40-1
50-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
70-1
70-1
100-1
100-1
100-1
100-1
100-1
150-1
200-1
200-1
200-1
200-1
200-1
250-1
250-1
300-1
300-1
300-1
300-1
300-1
300-1
400-1
500-1
500-1
500-1
500-1
1000-1
1000-1
40-1



ODDS TO WIN ACC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Miami (FL)
Florida State
Virginia Tech
Clemson
Georgia Tech
Boston College
Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina State
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Duke
2-1
2-1
3-1
7-1
15-1
15-1
15-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
50-1
500-1



ODDS TO WIN BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Texas
Oklahoma
Nebraska
Texas Tech
Colorado
Iowa State
Texas A&M
Kansas State
Missouri
Kansas
Baylor
Oklahoma State
7-5
9-5
9-2
12-1
14-1
15-1
15-1
30-1
30-1
35-1
100-1
100-1



ODDS TO WIN SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Auburn
Florida
LSU
Georgia
Tennessee
Arkansas
Alabama
Mississippi
South Carolina
Mississippi State
Kentucky
Vanderbilt
5-2
11-4
4-1
6-1
7-1
7-1
9-1
20-1
28-1
75-1
100-1
300-1

For complete NCAA football odds please visit Mysportsbook.com.

NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

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