09/19/2008 - Dover, DE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Gordon beat Mark Martin by just a tick to capture the pole for Sunday's Camping World RV 400 at the Dover International Speedway. The No.24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver and four-time NASCAR Cup champion rounded the one-mile, concrete-surface oval in 22.921 seconds (157.061 m.p.h.).
It was Gordon's third pole of the season and the 66th of his Sprint Cup Series career. Gordon is currently ranked fourth on the series' all-time pole winners list, but he is now just four poles away from tying Cale Yarborough for third on the list.
"This is a really big boost," Gordon said. "I know it's just qualifying but (it's) still (a) small victory. This is really going to boost this team hopefully to get us through this weekend. We tested in Kentucky. I feel like that was a good start in our week, and today certainly (was) a great start to the weekend."
Gordon, currently 11th in the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" championship standings, has 81 career race victories, including four at Dover, but has yet to win this year.
Starting alongside Gordon is Martin, who just missed the pole by 0.001 of a second. Martin turned in a lap in 22.922 seconds.
"Jeff Gordon just went incredibly fast, and we didn't get it done," Martin said.
Martin is also a four-time race winner at "The Monster Mile."
Denny Hamlin, sixth in the "Chase" standings, qualified third at 23.001, and Kurt Busch was fourth at 23.021.
Greg Biffle, last week's race winner at New Hampshire, will start fifth. Biffle moved from ninth to third in points after winning the first race in the playoffs.
The remainder of the "Chase" field will start in the following order: Clint Bowyer (sixth), Matt Kenseth (eighth), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (10th), Kyle Busch (11th), Jimmie Johnson (20th), Jeff Burton (21st), Carl Edwards (22nd), Kevin Harvick (24th) and Tony Stewart (33rd).
Chad Chaffin, Johnny Sauter and Stanton Barrett failed to qualify.
Last Sunday's race at New Hampshire created a surprising shakeup in the standings. After dominating the "regular season" with eight victories, Busch finished 34th and dropped from first to eighth, 74 points behind leaders Edwards and Johnson.
If Busch is looking to rebound, Dover is the place where he can do it. He has scored five top-five finishes in seven starts at Dover, including a victory there in June.
Edwards is the defending race winner. He grabbed the lead from Kenseth with 38 laps to go and then held off Biffle at the finish for the victory. Kenseth, who led the most laps with 192, suffered engine failure in the very late stages and ended up finishing 35th. Edwards' car failed post-race inspection after officials found the right rear of his car to be too low. The victory held, but Edwards was docked 25 driver points as part of his team's penalty.
The green flag is scheduled to drop Sunday around 2 p.m. (et).
<< Bears' Hester questionable with bruised ribs
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bears star kick returner Devin Hester has
bruised ribs and his status for Sunday's game with Tampa Bay remains
questionable.
He has missed practice all week with the injury that he suffere
<< Bears' Hester questionable with torn rib cartilage
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bears star kick returner Devin Hester has
bruised ribs and his status for Sunday's game with Tampa Bay remains
questionable.
He has missed practice all week with the injury that he suffere
<< Rapids hope to continue surge vs. New England
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids are coming off
consecutive wins for the first time this season and will look to continue
their climb up Major League Soccer's Western Conference table when they host
the New
<< Dutch rivals will try to keep pace with PSV
Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matches between Ajax and Feyenoord
are always much-anticipated fixtures for both sets of supporters, but Sunday's
game between the two Dutch powers takes on added importance with both clubs
already
RSL aims to close out Rice-Eccles with win over Chivas USA >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake plays its last Major
League Soccer game at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday night when it hosts
Chivas USA.
The game is big for both clubs because they are currently separated
Kennedy and Cards double up Cubs >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Kennedy belted a grand slam and drove in
five runs as Chicago routed St. Louis, 12-6, in the opener of a three-game
series at Wrigley Field.
Kennedy finished 4-for-5 and also scored three runs fo
President Bush welcomes world champion Celtics >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - President George W. Bush welcomed the NBA
champion Boston Celtics to the White House on Friday to celebrate the team's
17th NBA championship.
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Marcum to have Tommy John surgery >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Shaun Marcum will
undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, and could miss all of the 2009
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Heralded sports surgeon Dr. James Andrews will perform the procedure, tho
It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.
As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.
Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.
Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.
Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.
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