Daytona adding short track races to its Speedweeks 2013

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02/17/2012 - Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daytona International Speedway will include short track races to its Speedweeks activities, starting in 2013, NASCAR and track officials announced on Friday.

The 2.5-mile superspeedway will host a two-day event labeled as the "UNOH Battle at the Beach." A temporary oval -- tentatively slated to be 0.4-mile in length -- will be setup along Daytona's backstretch. The inaugural event, scheduled for February 18-19, 2013, will include three non-point special races: the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, NASCAR Whelen Modified tours, and the Late Model division of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.

"This is all about the stars of tomorrow vying for glory at Daytona International Speedway," said George Silbermann, who is NASCAR's vice president of regional and touring series. "During two days and nights of intense competition, fans will be able to see today's aces of short track racing and some great young talent."

The criteria for setting the field in the event include: winners of the 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West events as well as the series champions will automatically be locked into that series' race at Daytona next year.

Additionally, winners of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour or NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour races this season and series champions will be locked into the Modified event.

The top-10 finishers in this year's NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division I national standings will earn a starting spot in the Late Model race.

And the champions of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, NASCAR Toyota Series from Mexico, and Euro Racecar NASCAR Touring Series this season will earn a protected starting spot in whichever one of the three 2013 Daytona races they choose to run.

The remaining spots in next year's features at Daytona will be filled through time trials and heat races.

"Grassroots short track racing is the foundation of this great sport, and we are thrilled to give these young drivers the opportunity to fight for a win at the 'World Center of Racing'," track president Joie Chitwood said. "Many of NASCAR's greatest stars cut their teeth on short tracks around the country, and we look forward to hosting the stars of tomorrow in 2013."

Event entitlement sponsor, the University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH), has been heavily involved with NASCAR's grassroots racing programs.

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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

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In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

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