NASCAR penalizes three teams for Talladega infractions

Autoracing Betting Lines

10/25/2011 - Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR handed down stiff penalties to three Sprint Cup Series teams for rules violations that were discovered during last Friday's opening day inspection at Talladega Superspeedway.

According to a news release from NASCAR on Tuesday, the Michael Waltrip Racing No.00 and No.56 teams and the JTG Daugherty Racing No.47 team were penalized for "unapproved modification to an approved windshield."

NASCAR confiscated the windshields from the cars of David Reutimann (No.00), Martin Truex Jr. (No.56) and Bobby Labonte (No.47). All three teams replaced the windshields on the cars before Friday's first practice session began.

Crew chiefs Rodney Childers (Reutimann), Frank Kerr (Labonte) and Chad Johnston (Truex) have each been fined $50,000 and suspended for the last four Sprint Cup races this season -- Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead. Car chiefs Steve Channing (Reutimann), Raymond Fox (Labonte) and Anthony Lunders (Truex) also received the same suspension period.

Reutimann, Labonte and Truex were each penalized 25 driver points. Car Owners Rob Kauffman (No.00), Tad Geschickter (No.47), and Michael Waltrip (No.56) received a loss of 25 points as well.

Neither MWR nor JTG Daugherty plan to appeal.

"Michael Waltrip Racing is ultra-sensitive and very serious about working within the guidelines of NASCAR policy," the team said in statement. "We do not condone this type of activity and as such we will take appropriate internal corrective action immediately. We thank NASCAR for providing a fair and equitable platform for all of its competitors and respect its decisions; therefore, we will not appeal."

MWR announced that Bobby Kennedy, the team's executive vice president of race operations, will take over crew chief duties for the No.00. Mechanic Chris Hall will serve as the car chief.

For the No.56 team, Pat Tryson will step into the crew chief role this weekend at Martinsville. Allen Mincey, who is also a mechanic for MWR, will serve as car chief.

JTG Daugherty, which is affiliated with MWR, also revealed its personnel changes. Team chief race engineer Brian Burns has been named the interim crew chief for the No.47. Bob Bechstein will move into the car chief role.

"We are very disappointed in this entire situation, and we will not appeal NASCAR's ruling," JTG Daugherty Racing co-owner Brad Daugherty said in a statement. "We look forward to racing at Martinsville Speedway this weekend and getting ready for next season."

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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