Harvick grabs first truck pole at Gateway

Autoracing Betting Lines

07/16/2010 - Madison, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Harvick will start on the pole for Friday's CampingWorld.com 200 Camping World Truck Series race after posting the quickest lap in qualifying at Gateway International Raceway just outside of St. Louis.

Harvick, a Sprint Cup Series regular, turned a lap of 133.325 m.p.h. around the 1.25-mile track for his first career pole in the series. It came in his 105th start.

James Buescher qualified on the outside pole with a lap of 133.266 m.p.h.

Brad Keselowski will start third, followed by Justin Lofton and Johnny Sauter.

Rookie Austin Dillon, who won his first truck race last weekend at Iowa, qualified sixth. Dillon had won the pole for the last three races.

Timothy Peters took the seventh spot, while Ron Hornaday Jr., Matt Crafton and Brian Ickler completed the top-10.

Points leader Todd Bodine will start 14th, and Mike Skinner, the defending race winner, will roll off one position ahead of Bodine in 13th.

Chris Fontaine, Butch Miller, Ryan Hackett, Richard Harriman and Brent Raymer failed to qualify.

The 200-mile truck race at Gateway is scheduled to start around 9 p.m. (et).

Wwbetcom Autoracing Betting News

<< NFL suspends Seahawks LB Hill one game
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NFL has suspended Seattle Seahawks linebacker Leroy Hill one game for violating the league's substance abuse policy. Hill was also fined an additional game check. The Seattle Times reported

<< Manny Ramirez replaced in first inning
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez left Friday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals due to right calf tightness. He's considered day-to-day. Ramirez was replaced in left field by Xavier Paul in the b

<< Gainey goes in front at Chiquita Classic
Maineville, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Gainey posted a six-under 66 on Friday to move atop the leaderboard after the second round of the inaugural Chiquita Classic. Gainey finished 36 holes at 14-under 130 at TPC River's Bend and is one st

<< Mets bump Pelfrey to Monday
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey will have his scheduled Saturday start pushed back to Monday due to a stiff neck. The Mets will insert lefty Hisanori Takahashi to take the place of Pelf

<< Heat re-sign Anthony; formalize Miller signing
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat continued filling out their roster on Friday by re-signing center Joel Anthony and inking second-round draft pick Dexter Pittman. The team also formalized the signing of free agent guard Mike

Covello moves in front at The Players Cup >>
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vince Covello posted his second consecutive five-under 66 on Friday and moved in front after two rounds of The Players Cup. Covello finished 36 holes at 10-under 132 and is three strokes ahead at Pine

Keppinger, Myers lead Astros past Pirates >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Keppinger homered and drove in three runs to support 7 2/3 sturdy innings from Brett Myers in Houston's 5-2 win over the Pirates in the opener of a three-game set. Hunter Pence singled twice, s

Romero bounces back to pitch Jays past Orioles >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ricky Romero tossed seven solid innings en route to his first victory in exactly one month, as the Toronto Blue Jays held off the Baltimore Orioles, 4-2, in the opener of a three-game set at Camden Yards.

Glenn shines as Tiger-Cats batter Bombers >>
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Glenn threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to a 28-7 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Ivor Wynne Stadium. DeAndra' Cobb scored on both a rush and a rece

Reds open second half by edging Rockies >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bronson Arroyo pitched into the eighth inning and Orlando Cabrera drove in two runs, as the surprising Cincinnati Reds opened the second half of the season with a 3-2 win over Colorado at Great A

Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.