Wilson claims first IndyCar pole at Toronto

Autoracing Betting Lines

07/17/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Wilson will start on the pole for the first time in his IZOD IndyCar Series career after posting the quickest lap in Saturday's qualifying for the Honda Indy Toronto.

Wilson lapped the 1.721-mile, 11-turn Toronto street circuit in one minute, 0.2710 seconds for his maiden pole in his 43rd IndyCar start. The 31-year-old Englishman also set a new track qualifying record.

I think this is a great boost after having a couple of difficult races," Wilson said. "We've been working really hard, but we just haven't got the results. To come in and get a result, we've been close in the Firestone Fast Six a few times, but it's just not quite happened, so this really is a big morale boost for everyone on the team. We're just going to enjoy the race tomorrow."

Wilson, in his first year driving for Dreyer and Reinbold Racing, gave the team its second pole. Sarah Fisher recorded DRR's first pole in 2002 at Kentucky.

Will Power from Team Penske qualified 0.19 seconds behind Wilson to grab the outside pole. Wilson denied Penske from winning its ninth straight pole.

"I didn't get the most out of the last sector, but [Wilson] laid down a really quick time," Power said. "To have the car on the front row, we'll see if we can beat him in the race tomorrow."

Power, the current points leader, has scored the most victories so far this season with three, including a win two weeks ago at the Watkins Glen, NY road course.

Helio Castroneves, also from Penske, qualified third, while Ryan Hunter-Reay from Andretti Autosport took the fourth spot.

Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon will share the third row. Franchitti, the defending series champion and last year's race winner at Toronto, qualified fifth, while Dixon took sixth.

Power's lead is 32 points over Franchitti.

Ryan Briscoe will start seventh, followed by Tony Kanaan, Alex Tagliani and Marco Andretti.

Danica Patrick had her best road/street course qualifying performance so far this season with a 12th-place finish.

"I was pleased with our qualifying run today," Patrick said. "It was a good step in the right direction. I'm happy with the car, and hopefully we can have a decent day tomorrow."

Canadian Paul Tracy will start 24th in front of his home crowd. Tracy spun out during his run during the first qualifying session.

Sunday's IndyCar race at Toronto is scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m. (et).

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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.