BETTORS SHIFT INTO GEAR FOR NEW NASCAR SEASON
LAS VEGAS, Nev.-Bet takers and bet makers alike will have to adjust to a number of changes when the new stock car racing season shifts into high gear with the running of the Daytona 500, Sunday.
Foremost, is a new points system where only the top 10 drivers plus any driver within 400 points of the leader is eligible to claim the season-long title in a final 10-race "Chase for the Championship." The revamped system guarantees that the top 10 drivers will be separated by no more than 45 points when the 10-race "post-season" begins.
Sensitive to criticism that last year's champion, Matt Kenseth, won only once in 36 starts, the individual race scoring system also has been tweaked, giving the winner of each event an extra five points.
Other changes include a switch to stickier tires that wear out more quickly than the current "hard" tires. That should maximize driver skill and lessen the importance of pit stops and fuel economy. And NASCAR's top circuit has a new sponsor, Nextel, which replaces Winston.
The challenge for future book bettors is to settle on a driver who is able to adapt to those changes. Let's look at the leading contenders:
Ryan Newman: Scored more points the second half of the season than any driver. Led the circuit with eight victories and 11 poles.
Jeff Gordon: Led a series-high 1,639 laps last year, 466 more than Newman. Won three races, including two of the last five. Swept at Martinsville. Did not finish five races because of crashes.
Jimmie Johnson: The runner-up to Kenseth a year ago, Johnson has been among the top 10 in points for 69 straight weeks, the longest streak among current drivers. Won three times in '03, including a sweep at New Hampshire. Protégé of Jeff Gordon.
Matt Kenseth: Mr. Consistency. Finished in top 10 25 times and failed to complete just two races. Was outside the top 20 only four times all year.
Tony Stewart: The defending 2002 champion won just twice in 2003 and finished seventh in the overall points standings. Stewart often was in contention but was erratic and had half a dozen finishes of 25th or worse.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Won just two races last year but one, at Phoenix, gave him his first victory in a non-restrictor plate race since 2001. Finished strong, leading laps in nine of the year's final 11 races.
Kurt Busch: With four victories in 2003, including a sweep at Bristol, Busch proved he could find the winner's circle. He finished 11th in the standings last year but it wouldn't take much improvement for him to threaten for the title this season.
Kevin Harvick: One of only two drivers (along with Terry Labonte) to finish every race. Was ranked in the top 10 for all but three weeks of the season and finished fifth overall. Harvick is immensely talented but hot-tempered.
Bobby Labonte: Ended the year with a victory in Miami, his second of the season, and finished eighth in the overall points standings.
An interesting newcomer to the Nextel mix is Brian Vickers, the Busch Series champion of 2003. Vickers, who is just 20 years old, had three victories, 13 top-five finishes and 21 top-10 efforts on the Busch circuit. He's NASCAR's youngest champion, at any level.
Here, courtesy of Olympic Sports www.thegreek.comnot only are Nextel Championship prices, but odds for the first event of the new campaign, Sunday's Daytona 500:
ODDS TO WIN THE 2004 NEXTEL CUP CHAMPIONSHIP
Driver Odds Driver Odds
Ryan Newman 4/1 Dale Jarrett 30/1
Jeff Gordon 5/1 Mark Martin 30/1
Jimmie Johnson 6/1 Sterling Marlin 35/1
Matt Kenseth 6/1 Jeremy Mayfield 40/1
Tony Stewart 6/1 Jamie McMurray 40/1
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 7/1 Greg Biffle 50/1
Kurt Busch 10/1 Brian Vickers 50/1
Kevin Harvick 12/1 Rusty Wallace 50/1
Bobby Labonte 15/1 Terry Labonte 75/1
Jeff Burton 30/1 Michael Waltrip 75/1
FIELD (All others) 25/1
ODDS TO WIN THE 2004 DAYTONA 500
Driver Odds Driver Odds
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 7/2 Ricky Rudd 30/1
Michael Waltrip 11/2 Jeremy Mayfield 30/1
Kevin Harvick 10/1 Jeff Burton 35/1
Jimmie Johnson 10/1 John Andretti 35/1
Jeff Gordon 10/1 Bill Elliot 35/1
Kurt Busch 12/1 Greg Biffle 35/1
Tony Stewart 12/1 Terry Labonte 40/1
Elliot Sadler 15/1 Jamie McMurray 40/1
Ryan Newman 16/1 Ward Burton 45/1
Bobby Labonte 18/1 Joe Nemechek 50/1
Matt Kenseth 20/1 Brian Vickers 50/1
Sterling Marlin 20/1 Scott Riggs 75/1
Robby Gordon 30/1 Kasey Kahne 75/1
Mark Martin 30/1 Ricky Craven 75/1
Dale Jarrett 30/1 Jimmy Spencer 100/1
Rusty Wallace 30/1 Dave Blaney 100/1
FIELD (All others) 25/1
TIGER TRACKS: Tiger Woods returns to the golf course as the early 5/2 favorite to defend his title at the Buick Invitational in La Jolla, California, Feb. 12-15.
Red hot Vijay Singh (see below) is the 6/1 second choice with Phil Mickelson, who also is off to a good start this year, held at odds of 8/1.
Darren Clarke, Jonathan Kaye and Sergio Garcia each are offered at 33/1 while the group clustered at 40/1 includes Charles Howell, Robert Allenby and Jesper Parnevik.
PUNCH LINES: Sinan Samil Sam (18-1, 11 KOs) opened as a solid -370 favorite (bet $370 to win $100) to successfully defend his European heavyweight championship against Luan Krasniqi (25-1, 13 KOs), the +225 underdog (bet $100 to win $225) in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday.
Turkey's Sam, the "Bull of Bosporus," won the European crown when he knocked out Poland's Przemyslaw Saleta in October of 2002, three months after Saleta had taken the title from Krasniqi.
Lay $130 to win $100 that the scheduled 12-rounder does not go more than nine and a half rounds or risk $110 to win the same C-note that it does.
THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS: A mix of favorites, underdogs and longshots kept things interesting for bettors and bookies alike, last weekend:
Raymond Joval and Glen Johnson notched ring upsets on Friday before Sharmba Mitchell saved fistic favorite followers on Saturday.
Joval (32-2), a +102 underdog, won by technical split decision when his middleweight bout in Tucson, Arizona with Angel Hernandez (26-6), the narrow -122 favorite, was stopped after the eighth round because of an accidental head butt.
Johnson (40-9-2), the +115 underdog, claimed the vacant IBF light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over -135 favorite Clinton Woods (35-3-1) in Sheffield, England.
Mitchell (53-3), the -575 favorite, had a tougher time than expected in earning a unanimous decision over Lovenmore N'Dou (36-6-1), the +475 underdog, in a junior welterweight elimination bout from Atlantic City.
Dale Jarrett stormed from 10th place to win the Budweiser Shootout in Daytona Beach, Florida, Saturday evening. The Shootout may have been an exhibition that did not count in the NASCAR Nextel point standings but bettors who collected on Jarrett at odds of 20/1 weren't complaining.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., the 9/5 favorite, finished second while Kevin Harvick, 6/1, was third.
Sent off as a +120 underdog, the East beat the favored West, 6-4, in the NHL All-Star game from St. Paul, Minnesota, Sunday. The game finished well under the total of 15 1/2.
Down by 18 points with 13 minutes to play, the underdog NFC (+3) roared back to beat the AFC, 55-52, in the NFL Pro Bowl in Honolulu, Sunday. The 107 points more than doubled the over/under total of 48 1/2.
Vijay Singh buried the field at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, winning by three strokes, Sunday. The 9/2 favorite finished 16 under par while recording his 12th consecutive top 10 finish.
Jeff Maggert, a 150/1 outsider, finished second at 13 under par, one stroke clear of Phil Mickelson, 10/1.
LIP SERVICE: "I'm not saying the NFL is going overboard in the other direction in reaction to the Super Bowl halftime show, but my operatives tell me that next year's headline act will be Anita Bryant and Pat Boone singing a duet of 'Jimmy Crack Corn.'"
--Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel
LAS VEGAS, Nev.-Bet takers and bet makers alike will have to adjust to a number of changes when the new stock car racing season shifts into high gear with the running of the Daytona 500, Sunday.
Foremost, is a new points system where only the top 10 drivers plus any driver within 400 points of the leader is eligible to claim the season-long title in a final 10-race "Chase for the Championship." The revamped system guarantees that the top 10 drivers will be separated by no more than 45 points when the 10-race "post-season" begins.
Sensitive to criticism that last year's champion, Matt Kenseth, won only once in 36 starts, the individual race scoring system also has been tweaked, giving the winner of each event an extra five points.
Other changes include a switch to stickier tires that wear out more quickly than the current "hard" tires. That should maximize driver skill and lessen the importance of pit stops and fuel economy. And NASCAR's top circuit has a new sponsor, Nextel, which replaces Winston.
The challenge for future book bettors is to settle on a driver who is able to adapt to those changes. Let's look at the leading contenders:
Ryan Newman: Scored more points the second half of the season than any driver. Led the circuit with eight victories and 11 poles.
Jeff Gordon: Led a series-high 1,639 laps last year, 466 more than Newman. Won three races, including two of the last five. Swept at Martinsville. Did not finish five races because of crashes.
Jimmie Johnson: The runner-up to Kenseth a year ago, Johnson has been among the top 10 in points for 69 straight weeks, the longest streak among current drivers. Won three times in '03, including a sweep at New Hampshire. Protégé of Jeff Gordon.
Matt Kenseth: Mr. Consistency. Finished in top 10 25 times and failed to complete just two races. Was outside the top 20 only four times all year.
Tony Stewart: The defending 2002 champion won just twice in 2003 and finished seventh in the overall points standings. Stewart often was in contention but was erratic and had half a dozen finishes of 25th or worse.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Won just two races last year but one, at Phoenix, gave him his first victory in a non-restrictor plate race since 2001. Finished strong, leading laps in nine of the year's final 11 races.
Kurt Busch: With four victories in 2003, including a sweep at Bristol, Busch proved he could find the winner's circle. He finished 11th in the standings last year but it wouldn't take much improvement for him to threaten for the title this season.
Kevin Harvick: One of only two drivers (along with Terry Labonte) to finish every race. Was ranked in the top 10 for all but three weeks of the season and finished fifth overall. Harvick is immensely talented but hot-tempered.
Bobby Labonte: Ended the year with a victory in Miami, his second of the season, and finished eighth in the overall points standings.
An interesting newcomer to the Nextel mix is Brian Vickers, the Busch Series champion of 2003. Vickers, who is just 20 years old, had three victories, 13 top-five finishes and 21 top-10 efforts on the Busch circuit. He's NASCAR's youngest champion, at any level.
Here, courtesy of Olympic Sports www.thegreek.comnot only are Nextel Championship prices, but odds for the first event of the new campaign, Sunday's Daytona 500:
ODDS TO WIN THE 2004 NEXTEL CUP CHAMPIONSHIP
Driver Odds Driver Odds
Ryan Newman 4/1 Dale Jarrett 30/1
Jeff Gordon 5/1 Mark Martin 30/1
Jimmie Johnson 6/1 Sterling Marlin 35/1
Matt Kenseth 6/1 Jeremy Mayfield 40/1
Tony Stewart 6/1 Jamie McMurray 40/1
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 7/1 Greg Biffle 50/1
Kurt Busch 10/1 Brian Vickers 50/1
Kevin Harvick 12/1 Rusty Wallace 50/1
Bobby Labonte 15/1 Terry Labonte 75/1
Jeff Burton 30/1 Michael Waltrip 75/1
FIELD (All others) 25/1
ODDS TO WIN THE 2004 DAYTONA 500
Driver Odds Driver Odds
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 7/2 Ricky Rudd 30/1
Michael Waltrip 11/2 Jeremy Mayfield 30/1
Kevin Harvick 10/1 Jeff Burton 35/1
Jimmie Johnson 10/1 John Andretti 35/1
Jeff Gordon 10/1 Bill Elliot 35/1
Kurt Busch 12/1 Greg Biffle 35/1
Tony Stewart 12/1 Terry Labonte 40/1
Elliot Sadler 15/1 Jamie McMurray 40/1
Ryan Newman 16/1 Ward Burton 45/1
Bobby Labonte 18/1 Joe Nemechek 50/1
Matt Kenseth 20/1 Brian Vickers 50/1
Sterling Marlin 20/1 Scott Riggs 75/1
Robby Gordon 30/1 Kasey Kahne 75/1
Mark Martin 30/1 Ricky Craven 75/1
Dale Jarrett 30/1 Jimmy Spencer 100/1
Rusty Wallace 30/1 Dave Blaney 100/1
FIELD (All others) 25/1
TIGER TRACKS: Tiger Woods returns to the golf course as the early 5/2 favorite to defend his title at the Buick Invitational in La Jolla, California, Feb. 12-15.
Red hot Vijay Singh (see below) is the 6/1 second choice with Phil Mickelson, who also is off to a good start this year, held at odds of 8/1.
Darren Clarke, Jonathan Kaye and Sergio Garcia each are offered at 33/1 while the group clustered at 40/1 includes Charles Howell, Robert Allenby and Jesper Parnevik.
PUNCH LINES: Sinan Samil Sam (18-1, 11 KOs) opened as a solid -370 favorite (bet $370 to win $100) to successfully defend his European heavyweight championship against Luan Krasniqi (25-1, 13 KOs), the +225 underdog (bet $100 to win $225) in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday.
Turkey's Sam, the "Bull of Bosporus," won the European crown when he knocked out Poland's Przemyslaw Saleta in October of 2002, three months after Saleta had taken the title from Krasniqi.
Lay $130 to win $100 that the scheduled 12-rounder does not go more than nine and a half rounds or risk $110 to win the same C-note that it does.
THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS: A mix of favorites, underdogs and longshots kept things interesting for bettors and bookies alike, last weekend:
Raymond Joval and Glen Johnson notched ring upsets on Friday before Sharmba Mitchell saved fistic favorite followers on Saturday.
Joval (32-2), a +102 underdog, won by technical split decision when his middleweight bout in Tucson, Arizona with Angel Hernandez (26-6), the narrow -122 favorite, was stopped after the eighth round because of an accidental head butt.
Johnson (40-9-2), the +115 underdog, claimed the vacant IBF light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over -135 favorite Clinton Woods (35-3-1) in Sheffield, England.
Mitchell (53-3), the -575 favorite, had a tougher time than expected in earning a unanimous decision over Lovenmore N'Dou (36-6-1), the +475 underdog, in a junior welterweight elimination bout from Atlantic City.
Dale Jarrett stormed from 10th place to win the Budweiser Shootout in Daytona Beach, Florida, Saturday evening. The Shootout may have been an exhibition that did not count in the NASCAR Nextel point standings but bettors who collected on Jarrett at odds of 20/1 weren't complaining.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., the 9/5 favorite, finished second while Kevin Harvick, 6/1, was third.
Sent off as a +120 underdog, the East beat the favored West, 6-4, in the NHL All-Star game from St. Paul, Minnesota, Sunday. The game finished well under the total of 15 1/2.
Down by 18 points with 13 minutes to play, the underdog NFC (+3) roared back to beat the AFC, 55-52, in the NFL Pro Bowl in Honolulu, Sunday. The 107 points more than doubled the over/under total of 48 1/2.
Vijay Singh buried the field at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, winning by three strokes, Sunday. The 9/2 favorite finished 16 under par while recording his 12th consecutive top 10 finish.
Jeff Maggert, a 150/1 outsider, finished second at 13 under par, one stroke clear of Phil Mickelson, 10/1.
LIP SERVICE: "I'm not saying the NFL is going overboard in the other direction in reaction to the Super Bowl halftime show, but my operatives tell me that next year's headline act will be Anita Bryant and Pat Boone singing a duet of 'Jimmy Crack Corn.'"
--Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel
