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01/26/2012 - Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Unlike 2011, NASCAR will not make any major alterations in its rules for the upcoming season.
Officials from the sanctioning body, including NASCAR chairman and chief executive officer Brian France and president Mike Helton, held a press conference Thursday to address the "state of the sport."
Last year, NASCAR revealed a host of format changes, including a revised points system for all three of its national touring series, as well as a new rule which prevented drivers from competing for a championship in more than one of the three series. Other rule modifications included two "wild card" positions for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship format and a new qualifying procedure.
NASCAR made such drastic changes to help improve track attendance and television ratings, which had both slumped in recent years.
"We're very pleased with how all those changes played out," France said during his opening remarks.
The 2011 season in NASCAR's premier series -- now known as the Sprint Cup Series -- featured the closest battle for the championship. Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards ended the season in a points tie (2,403 each), but Stewart captured his third title by virtue of his five wins -- all of them in the Chase -- compared to only one for Edwards.
"The way to top that is to have three drivers or four going for the championship if that's possible," France said in regards to the upcoming season.
One significant change for 2012 is the electronic fuel injection systems, which are replacing carburetors in the Sprint Cup cars. Electronic fuel injection has been a project that NASCAR has worked on with both McLaren Electronic Systems and Freescale Semiconductor the last several years.
NASCAR also worked with Sprint Cup teams to test the technology this past season.
"We're pretty confident in what we've chosen; it's been tested pretty carefully - that we will be in good shape," France said. "If we're not, if there's some change, then we'll look at that. But we're pretty confident that we've got the right package on that."
France mentioned the electronic fuel injection systems could be used in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series in the future.
NASCAR is preparing for the debut of the new Sprint Cup cars next year. Earlier this week, Ford unveiled its 2013 Fusion model. The other three manufacturers -- Chevrolet, Dodge and Toyota -- are expected to unveil their models later this year. Private test sessions for the car are planned throughout this season.
"I think the optics of the 2013 car will be very significantly recognized and very popular, and the effort with NASCAR and all of the manufacturers collectively working on this together, the four manufacturers in a room with NASCAR and NASCAR saying we would like for you to help us design this race car in a way that you would like it, that was a bit of a surprise to them, for us to be that open with that process," Helton said.
NASCAR announced on Wednesday it is doing away with undisclosed fines. During the past couple of seasons, Sprint Cup drivers Denny Hamlin, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ryan Newman had been secretly fined for comments they made that were considered detrimental to the sport. NASCAR's policy in not publicly announcing fines had recently received criticism, mostly from fans.
"In terms of going public with it, we didn't have a real strong position on that," France said. "We feel like that's something people think is a good thing. We were happy to do it."
Officials further addressed the new rules package for restrictor-plate racing this year, beginning with the February 26 season-opening Daytona 500. The revised rules are intended to scale back on the two-car tandem style of racing that has been featured at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway the past couple of seasons.
NASCAR is banning driver-to-driver radio communications while they are on the track for restrictor-plate races. However, team-to-team communications for these events will remain allowable.
"I think we have some confidence that the tandem racing as we saw the '11 [season] conclude with won't be a part of the Daytona 500," Helton said. "We're not going to write a rules package that prevents the drivers from racing close to each other. That's NASCAR racing the fans expect. So we think the Daytona 500 will be more in line with the fans expectations. You'll see more than likely cars push each other, but that was happening in 1959 and 1979."
After Sprint Cup teams tested earlier this month at Daytona, NASCAR made some modifications to the cars, particularly the restrictor plates and the front grilles, for the Daytona 500 and other Speedweeks events.
<< Chattanooga to kick off 2012 at South Florida
Chattanooga, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
football team will kick off its 2012 season at South Florida and play five
home games as part of an 11-game schedule announced Thursday.
The Sept. 1 season opener
<< France will play Iceland, Serbia before Euros
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - France will play friendlies against Iceland
and Serbia in May in preparation for the Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and
Ukraine.
France will play Iceland on May 27 and Serbia four days later. The French
<< Hertha signs Bastians, extends Lell's deal
Berlin, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hertha Berlin added defender Felix Bastians
from Freiburg and signed defender Christian Lell to a contract extension, with
both players inking contracts through the summer of 2016.
Bastians, 23, played for
<< Lorient signs defender Gassama from Lyon
Lorient, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lorient signed defender Lamine Gassama from
Lyon on Thursday on a 4 1/2-year deal.
Gassama, 22, made his debut for Lyon in 2008, and played 17 matches during his
stint with the seven-time Ligue 1 champions.
Pocono track founder Mattioli dies >>
Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dr. Joseph Mattioli, the founder and chairman
of the board of Pocono Raceway, passed away on Thursday at the Lehigh Valley
Hospital Center in Pennsylvania, following a lengthy illness. He was 86.
Known as
Yanks sign P Kuroda >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees signed pitcher Hiroki
Kuroda to a one-year contract on Thursday.
Kuroda has spent his entire four years in the majors with the Dodgers and went
13-16 with a 3.07 earned run average ove
San Jose signs forward Guvenisik >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Earthquakes signed forward Sercan
Guvenisik on Thursday, pending receipt of his P-1 visa.
Guvenisik, 31, comes to MLS from SC Preussen Muenster of the Bundesliga 3. He
scored 14 goals in 56 leagu
Indians place P Carmona on restricted list >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The pitcher formerly known as Fausto
Carmona was placed on Major League Baseball's restricted list by the Cleveland
Indians on Thursday following his arrest of double identity last week.
Carmona, wh
It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.
We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.
Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.
Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.
Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.
NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.
The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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