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08/12/2007 - Sparta, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Kanaan was strong all day, but still needed to make a late race pass of A.J. Foyt IV to capture Saturday night's Meijer Indy 300 IndyCar race at the Kentucky Speedway. The No.11 Andretti Green Racing driver crossed the finish line 1.7457 seconds ahead of Scott Dixon.
The victory was Kanaan's fourth of the season and 11th of his IndyCar career.
" I didn't tell anybody, but it was my Dad's birthday on Friday, so this was for you Dad," said Kanaan.
Kanaan brought the field to the green flag with series points leader Dario Franchitti right beside him. The two front-row qualifiers immediately put some distance between themselves and third place. The gap to Dixon was half-a- second after just five laps.
But the fastest cars on the track were Sam Hornish Jr. and Dan Wheldon who moved into fourth and fifth, respectively. They caught Dixon on lap 25 and passed him on the following lap.
Then on lap 36, Hornish Jr. and Wheldon got together down the back straight and both drivers were out of the race. What had happened was Hornish Jr. had been trying to pass Franchitti for second, got loose spinning up the track and collected Wheldon who was just an innocent bystander and had no place to go.
Everyone took the opportunity to pit and Franchitti's AGR crew was just a bit quicker than Kanaan's AGR crew to grab the race lead. On the drop of the green flag the top four cars, which included Franchitti, Kanaan, Tomas Scheckter and Dixon, put two seconds between themselves and fifth-place Scott Sharp. By lap 80 the gap for the front runners was more than four and-a-half seconds.
A second round of pit stops began on lap 90 and after they cycled through it was Kanaan leading Dixon and Franchitti. They were still that way at the mid- point of the 200-lap event. The trio was three seconds ahead of Scheckter, in fourth.
On lap 108 Franchitti got around the outside of Dixon for second place and tucked in behind Kanaan. The three were putting up fast laps and pulled away by more than four seconds.
A debris caution flag on lap 125 in turn three slowed the field and closed the gap between the leaders and the pack. The yellow flag also set up a round of pit stops and Dixon beat out both Kanaan and Franchitti.
The restart with 70 laps to go meant there would be one more pit stop before the checkered flag.
Dixon didn't hold the lead for long as Kanaan caught him on the first green- flag lap. But Franchitti was having a much harder time getting around the Target Chip Ganassi racer. He could get side-by-side, even edging a little ahead, but not enough to make the pass.
Kanaan built his lead to almost three seconds with 40 laps remaining as Dixon and Franchitti continued to battle side-by-side for second place. The fight allowed Scheckter to join them, though there was no place for him to try and get around them.
On lap 164 Franchitti slid all the way to the top of the track, had to get off the gas pedal and by the time he could get going again found himself in eighth place.
Final pit stops began under green flag conditions. Scheckter was the first of the leaders to pit. Then Kanaan as they waited as long as they could for a caution flag. Franchitti, Danica Patrick and Dixon came in together and Franchitti came in a little hot. He slammed the outside pit road marker and his crew was forced to replace the front nose wing slowing his stop.
When the race restarted, A.J. Foyt IV was leading with Kanaan and Dixon just behind.
Then Patrick spun, while still under caution, and it ended here day. Something exploded on her car and she just missed hitting a safety vehicle.
On the restart, Kanaan made quick work of Foyt IV and so did Dixon. Kanaan had more than one second on Dixon and unless the No.11 AGR driver made an error the race was his. Kanaan was perfect and he won his fourth race of the season.
After Franchitti crossed the finish line, he ran into the back of Kosuke Matsuura who was already slowing down and once again went airborne hitting the outside wall. Fortunately, no one was injured as Franchitti got another ride in an ambulance.
"That was a scary moment after the race but thank God he's ok," said Kanaan of the post-race incident.
With his second place finish, Dixon moves to just eight points behind Franchitti. Kanaan, after two consecutive wins, is 52 points behind the leader.
The next IndyCar race is scheduled for Sunday, August 26th at the Infineon Raceway.
<< Brazil defender completes move to Chelsea
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - English Premier League club Chelsea has
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Alex, 25, helped PSV win three straight Dutch Eredivisie titles. His
<< Brazilian international joins English club
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - English Premier League club Chelsea has
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Netherlands.
Alex, 25, helped PSV win three straight Dutch Eredivisie titles. His
<< Kvapil finishes strong for win in Nashville
Lebanon, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Skinner led the first 102 laps, but Travis
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Johnson leads Northeast Pennsylvania Classic >>
Moosic, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Richard Johnson shot a four-under 67 in the
third round of the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic on Saturday to take a one-
shot lead.
Johnson will be seeking his third Nationwide Tour title on Sunday, and
Braves down Phils; move closer to Mets in NL East >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kelly Johnson homered and drove in three
as the Atlanta Braves held off the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-5, in the second
of a three-game set.
Willie Harris and Jeff Francoeur each collected two hits and s
Cabrera, Willingham slug Fish past slumping Mets >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miguel Cabrera's tie-breaking, two-run single
in the eighth inning lifted the Florida Marlins over the New York Mets, 7-5,
at Shea Stadium.
Josh Willingham went 3-for-5 with a grand slam and a career-hig
Rodriguez slams a pair of HR as Yankees crush Tribe >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez hit a pair of two-run home
runs as the New York Yankees crushed the Cleveland Indians, 11-2, in the
second of a three-game set at Jacobs Field.
In five games versus the Indians this y
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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