Busch wins late night truck race at Charlotte

Autoracing Betting Lines

05/22/2010 - Concord, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch held off Todd Bodine in a two-lap shootout to the finish to win the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 Camping World Truck Series race early Saturday morning at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The start of the 200-mile truck race at Charlotte was delayed nearly three hours due to rain. The event began at 11 p.m. (et) and concluded almost two hours later.

Busch, in his first year as driver and owner in the Truck Series, started on the pole and dominated early, but he got loose and scraped the wall on lap 40. Shortly after the incident, Busch made a lengthy pit stop under caution, as his team made repairs to the right side of the truck. He quickly made his way back up to the front and passed Ron Hornaday Jr. for the lead just after a restart with 17 laps to go. Busch beat Bodine by 0.23 seconds for his third truck win at Charlotte.

"This team did a great job on preparing a great truck to come out here with, but unfortunately I tried to screw it up, and I guess the driver owes the owner a little bit of money," said Busch, who led a race-high 69 laps.

Busch won his second race of the season and the 18th of his truck career. He also collected his 70th NASCAR national series victory, placing him ninth on the sport's all-time win list.

Bodine's second-place run allowed him to take a two-point lead over Aric Almirola, who finished seventh. Almirola picked up his first truck win one week ago at Dover.

"You're never satisfied with second, but the last few weeks the truck hadn't been driving really well, and it's been tough to drive," Bodine said. "The truck drove beautifully tonight."

Ron Hornaday Jr., who won this race last year, finished third, while James Buescher and Elliott Sadler completed the top-five.

Brent Raymer was involved in a frightening incident midway through the race. Raymer experienced a fuel rupture, as the front end of his truck engulfed into flames before hitting the wall. He quickly exited his truck uninjured.

Raymer also wrecked during practice earlier in the day.

Rookie Austin Dillon, the grandson of NASCAR team owner Richard Childress, was knocked out of the race in the opening laps when he experienced a mechanical problem and made contact with wall.

Terry Jones' expired engine in the closing laps forced the seventh and final caution to set up the two-lap sprint to the finish.

Sportsbookonlinegambling Autoracing Betting News

<< Sweeney, Seattle win slugfest with San Diego
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Sweeney hit a three-run and two-run homer and finished with four hits and six RBI, as the Seattle Mariners clobbered the San Diego Padres, 15-8, to open a three-game interleague set. Josh Bard went 2-fo

<< Cahill, A's get best of Zito's Giants
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trevor Cahill allowed only one run in 6 2/3 innings, and the Oakland A's beat in-state rival San Francisco, 6-1, in the first of three interleague games from Oakland Coliseum. Cahill (2-2) allowed just

<< Dodgers top Tigers thanks to Billingsley
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chad Billingsley worked seven innings of one-run ball to win his third consecutive start and the Dodgers claimed a 4-1 victory from the Tigers to open a three-game interleague series at Chavez Ravine.

<< Haren, Diamondbacks survive six solo home runs from Toronto
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Haren tossed eight innings and was potent at the plate, driving in three runs, helping the Diamondbacks past the Blue Jays, 8-6, in a home run-hitting affair to start interleague play. Haren (5-3) su

<< Byfuglien's OT winner helps Hawks put Sharks on the brink
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dustin Byfuglien notched the game-winning goal with 7:36 left in the first overtime, as Chicago topped San Jose, 3-2, in Game 3 of this Western Conference final at United Center. Chicago defenseman Brian Cam

Cardinals' Ryan hoping 'stache can help snap slump >>
ST. LOUIS (AP) -Long after the rest of the St. Louis Cardinals shaved off their good-luck mustaches last year, Brendan Ryan kept the look going. Just like his breakout year.Stands to reason he's decided to try facial hair again in an attempt to reca

Dulgheru claims second straight Warsaw crown >>
Warsaw, Poland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania successfully defended her title at the Warsaw Open with a straight-set win over China's Zheng Jie in Saturday's final. Dulgheru won this French Open tuneup with a vict

Sharapova thumps Barrois for Strasbourg title >>
Strasbourg, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Maria Sharapova captured her second title of 2010 with a straight-set victory over Germany's Kristina Barrois in the final of the Strasbourg International. The top-seeded Sharapova rallied from

Celtics shoot for commanding 3-0 series lead over visiting Magic >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics return to TD Garden tonight hoping to take a commanding 3-0 lead over the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference finals. Paul Pierce scored 28 points with five assists and five rebounds on Tuesday, as

Habs try to even series in Game 4 against Flyers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to draw even in the Eastern Conference finals today, when they host the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 4 at Bell Centre. After being outscored by a 9-0 margin in losing the first two tests of t

Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.