Gordon edges Biffle for pole at MIS

Autoracing Betting Lines

08/17/2007 - Brooklyn, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Going out last, Jeff Gordon captured the pole for Sunday's 3M Performance 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. The No.24 Hendrick Motorsports driver circled the high-speed, two-mile oval in 38.090 seconds (189.026 m.p.h.).

The pole victory was Gordon's series-leading sixth of the season, fifth at MIS and 62nd of his Nextel Cup career.

"Welcome back Steve Letarte," said Gordon of his crew chief, who returns from a six-race suspension. "We have good chemistry and that late draw really played out for us. I knew it was a good lap, I didn't know if it was enough for the pole,"

Starting on the front row with Gordon will be Greg Biffle, who held the top spot for about 60 seconds. Biffle went out next-to-last and posted a time of 38.159 seconds.

Kasey Kahne (38.193), who held the provisional pole for most of the session will start third and Bobby Labonte (38.271) will start from fourth place.

Other drivers of note and their starting positions: Jimmie Johnson (seventh), Denny Hamlin (eighth), Clint Bowyer (ninth), Carl Edwards (13th), Jeff Burton (19th) and Tony Stewart (35th).

Just four races remain until the cutoff for the "Chase for the Nextel Cup." Following an eventful Sunday in upstate New York, the picture is becoming clearer as to who is a contender and who is just a pretender.

The race for the final position in the "Chase" appears to be coming down to Kurt Busch, his Penske teammate Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Biffle.

One thing is for sure, Busch, starting 15th, is a championship contender. The No.2 Miller Lite Penske Racing Dodge driver has been on fire since the Pepsi 400 in early July. In his last five starts, Busch has one win (Pocono), three top-10s and finished no lower than 11th.

Newman, starting 34th on Sunday, has been just outside the "Chase" all season and unfortunately appears on a course to stay there. Just two top-10s in the last five races and a accident that left him 42nd at Indianapolis has left him with only a slim chance at making NASCAR's "playoffs."

Earnhardt Jr. (starting 39th) is 100 points out of the playoffs and has finished 34th or worse in three of the last five events. Not exactly the way to make a move up the charts. At Watkins Glen, Earnhardt Jr. finished 42nd after an engine failure, his team's second in the last three events.

Biffle is 15th in the standings, but 212 points out of the "Chase." It's a tall order for Biffle to jump over three drivers and that many points. The team has been solid of late, but not extraordinary, which is what will be needed over the next month if the No.16 Roush Fenway Ford team is to make the leap into the "Chase."

Follow the race and the "race-within-the-race" when the green flag drops on Sunday at 2 p.m. (et).

Mysportstracker Autoracing Betting News

<< PSV begins quest for fourth-straight league crown
Almelo, Holland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PSV Eindhoven captured its third consecutive Eredivisie crown on the season's final day last year, but the club will be looking to win another title in more convincing fashion this season. PSV wa

<< Federer sneaks into Cincy semis
Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Roger Federer needed all three sets to win his quarterfinal match Friday at the $2.45 million Western & Southern Financial Group Masters -- the seventh of nine ATP Masters Series events this seaso

<< Klose goes for milestone against former club
Bremen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - All eyes will be on Miroslav Klose on Saturday as the former Werder Bremen striker returns home as a member of Bayern Munich in search of his 100th Bundesliga goal. Klose joined Bayern from W

<< RSL tries to start winning streak against Chicago
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake will be looking to put together its first winning streak in almost a year Saturday night when it hosts Chicago at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Both teams are currently out of the playo

<< Toronto hopes to stop six-game slide
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto FC will be trying to win its first game since July 4, when it welcomes Chivas USA to BMO Field on Saturday afternoon. Mo Johnston's club has not won in six straight outings, and has not sco

Jones' two-run blast lifts Cubs over Cardinals >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jacque Jones hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning and Rich Hill twirled seven strong frames, as the Chicago Cubs edged the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1, in the opener of a key four-game division series at Wrig

Red Sox pound Lackey in game one of day-night doubleheader >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Ortiz blasted a two-run homer as part of a six-run first inning, and the Boston Red Sox made Clay Buchholz a winner in his major league debut with an 8-4 victory over the LA Angels of Anaheim in the fro

Blue Jackets' Svitov inks deal with Russian Super League >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus forward Alexander Svitov, who signed a two-year contract with the Blue Jackets on July 2, has also inked a deal with the Russian Super League and intends to play there in 2007-08. The 24-yea

BoSox place Mirabelli on 15-day DL >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox placed catcher Doug Mirabelli on the 15-day disabled list Friday after the veteran left the team's opener of a day-night doubleheader against the LA Angels of Anaheim with a straine

Orioles' Ray has Tommy John surgery >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles closer Chris Ray underwent Tommy John surgery Thursday, a procedure that will sideline him for this and possibly the entire 2008 season. Ray was placed on the disabled list on July 2

Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards