Almirola surprise winner of Busch pole

Autoracing Betting Lines

02/16/2007 - Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In 2006 Aric Almirola won a pole as a substitute for Denny Hamlin. Hamlin drove the car in the race to a second- place finish. This time the 22-year-old Almirola will get to drive the car from the pole himself. He captured the pole for Saturday's Orbitz 300 Busch Series season opener at the Daytona International Speedway. The No.18 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet driver circled the 2.5-mile oval in 48.982 seconds (183.741 m.p.h.).

The pole victory was Almirola's first of the season and second of his Busch career.

"This means a lot of all the guys back at the shop," said Almirola. "They prepared an awesome race car. I'm thankful for the opportunity they gave me."

Starting alongside Almirola will be Jason Leffler in the No.38 Toyota who posted a second-best time of 49.023 seconds.

Jon Wood (49.038) and 2005 Busch Series champion Martin Truex Jr. (49.068) will start in row two.

In 2006, there was only one story in NASCAR's Busch Series - Kevin Harvick. Harvick led the series in wins (9), top-5s (23), top-10s (32) and money earned ($1,345,380). He beat second-place Carl Edwards by a record 824 points. Harvick will begin 31st in 43-car field.

Two interesting names also in the field include: 2006 IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr (27th) and former Formula One star Juan Montoya (16th).

Last year's season opener was won by Tony Stewart. Stewart will once again be in the field, but will have to come from 40th if he is to repeat.

The race is scheduled to drop the green flag on Saturday at 1:15 p.m. (et).

Myracetrack Autoracing Betting News

<< Field set for WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The field for next week's World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play Championship was set Friday afternoon. The top 64 players from last week's World Ranking all committed to play at The Gallery

<< Lyon get late rally to slip past Lille
Lille, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lyon increased its lead at the top of the Ligue 1 standings to 14 points on Friday with a dramatic 2-1 win over Lille at Stadium Lille Metropole. Goals from Fred and Sebastien Squillaci in the final

<< Stuttgart move into second to kickoff weekend fixtures
Frankfurt, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stuttgart kicked off the weekend Bundesliga action with a dominating 4-0 win at Frankfurt on Friday. The visitors, who moved into second in the table - four points behind Schalke who plays at

<< All-Star break awards
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's hard to believe, but the NBA's All-Star break is here. This season has been filled with plenty of rim-rattling dunks and exciting finishes. The trade deadline is near, and soon the playoffs will be

<< Mauresmo, Clijsters charge into Antwerp final four
Antwerp, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time defending champion Amelie Mauresmo of France and last year's runner-up Kim Clijsters of Belgium highlighted Friday's quarterfinal winners at the $600,000 Proximus Diamond Games t

Bears hit Briggs with franchise tag >>
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears designated linebacker Lance Briggs as their franchise player on Friday. The designation means that Briggs will be guaranteed a one-year contract for an average of the five highest

Eger atop crowded leaderboard in Florida >>
Lutz, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Eger opened with a four-under-par 67 Friday to grab a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. Tom Wargo, whose last tour win came in 2000, is alone in second place

Several MLB rules changed for 2007 >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball announced a number of changes for in-game rules, starting this season. This marks the first time that the rules have been changed since 1996, when the strike zone was redefined.

Illini's Jamar Smith out for season; Carlwell out of hospital >>
Champaign, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Illinois head coach Bruce Weber announced Friday sophomore center Jamar Smith will miss the remainder of the season after being involved in a traffic accident Monday night. Freshman center Brian Car

Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA) >>
Signed guard Marta Fernandez.

SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook betting credit cards