Does Patrick have a shot at winning the Daytona 500?

Autoracing Betting Lines

02/20/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookies aren't supposed to win the Daytona 500, but Trevor Bayne proved that to be wrong last year. So why can't Danica Patrick be the next rookie to accomplish the same astounding feat?

She's got the talent to do it.

When a reporter asked Patrick if she could win the Daytona 500 during last Thursday's media day at Daytona International Speedway, she replied, "Do I think I can win the Daytona 500? Yeah."

Patrick is making her first career Sprint Cup Series start this week at Daytona. After placing 29th in time trials for the Daytona 500 over the weekend, Patrick will start 17th in a field of 25 cars in Thursday's first of the Gatorade Duel twin 150-mile qualifying races at Daytona.

No driver has won a Sprint Cup race in his or her first start since 1963 when Johnny Rutherford took the checkered flag for the second Daytona 500 qualifier race. The qualifiers counted as wins and points back then.

Bayne's win in the 2011 Daytona 500 came in just his second Sprint Cup start. He made his series debut in November 2010 at Texas, where he finished 17th.

Patrick is expected to be the third female to compete in the Daytona 500, joining Janet Guthrie and Shawna Robinson. Guthrie holds the record for best finish by a woman in the Daytona 500 -- 11th in 1980.

The Gatorade Duel will serve as Patrick's first chance to race with the big boys in NASCAR's premier series. She's competed in 25 Nationwide races so far, with three of them at Daytona.

One thing is for sure. The Duels will be Patrick's first day of school in Sprint Cup competition.

"Oh, wow, bigtime," Patrick said. "It's going to be about getting some rapport with some of the drivers I haven't raced with yet and getting a feel for how the pack running is going to go. I'm not completely unfamiliar with the pack running.

"The first year here [2010] was some pack, and even last year in the first race of the year in Nationwide, we did pack running. It was interesting to watch how you can be very organized in a single file line. You can pull away. It was interesting to see how the tandem will work in the end. So, trust me, I'll be studying that last pass at the end [of last Saturday's Budweiser Shootout on tape] with Tony [Stewart] and Kyle [Busch] to see when the perfect time is to do that."

During her 2005 rookie season in the IndyCar Series, Patrick started and finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500, setting records for her gender at the time. She also became the first women to lead laps during the Indy 500, running in front for a total of 19 laps. Patrick finished a career-best third in the 2009 Indy 500 to reset the gender record.

But that's the Indy 500...This is the Daytona 500.

"I think with the Indy 500 there's all the work that goes up to it," she said. "There's the team that you drive for, and there's the race car that you've worked on and made handle the way you want it to. I think there's a little more luck in certain ways with the Daytona 500 just because of the style of racing that it is."

"There is no bad driver that wins the Daytona 500, that's for sure," continued Patrick. "But things have to fall your way, and you've got to stay out of trouble that might not have even been your making, so I just think there is a little more of a luck side involved with it, and you can't account for that."

Regardless of her performance in the qualifiers, Patrick is guaranteed a starting position in the Daytona 500. Thanks to Tommy Baldwin Racing's recent alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing, Patrick's No.10 team is now among the top-35 in last year's owner points. TBR's No.36 entry finished 33rd in points. The 36 transferred over to the 10.

Patrick's team co-owner and reigning Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart thinks she certainly has a chance to win NASCAR's most prestigious race of the season.

"Did anybody think Trevor Bayne could win the race last year," Stewart questioned. "Anything can happen here; it is anybody's ball game. She did a really good job in July last year in the Nationwide race when I ran with her. I was really impressed at how smooth she was and how good a job she did in the two-car deal. Talent, there is no doubt in my mind. She has the talent to do it."

Stewart has yet to win the Daytona 500 in 13 attempts.

Patrick's team boss in Nationwide, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who won the Daytona 500 in 2004, revealed who he would rather like to see win this race -- him or her.

"Me! She don't drive for me in the 500, so it wouldn't matter to me if she won it," Earnhardt Jr. said. "If I win it, it would be a big deal for me. As far as what everybody else thinks, everybody is going to have a different opinion about that."

If Patrick were to win the Daytona 500, it would indeed be the biggest Cinderella story in NASCAR's history, more so than Bayne's triumph in this race one year ago.

Let's see if the glass slipper fits on her this Sunday.

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American Idol Betting Odds: Season 6  

The online gambling websites are in the process of deciphering each American Idol contestant and his or her chances of winning Season 6 to come up with the early American Idol betting lines.

Tim Dalton of MySportsbook.com has been locked away in a soundproof room coming up with all the latest tallies, we are told. "American Idol has become one of the most significant betting events of the year," claims Jack Black of MySportsbook.com.  "Last year, millions were bet during the season across the globe, not just in America.

It's tough early on since we really do not have a glimpse as to how well each of these individuals will perform solo on a week-to-week basis.  It's like Week 1 of the NFL.  Pre-season means nada!

We do know the 24 finalists however.

Sanjaya Malakar is the young man whose sister failed to make it into the Top 24.  He's very low key but - unless he totally flubs - will probably win over the young girlie vote for a few weeks anyway.  He's too young to go all the way, according to Payton O'Brien. 

Brandon Rogers - Who?

Phil Stacy is the military guy who missed his daughter's birth because of the Memphis audition.  He should go a good distance.

Chris Sligh - He's got the humor and in many ways he's the Anti-American Idol much like last year's winner Taylor Hicks was.  And this is why he'll probably get pretty far in this competition.  He's chubby, white with a big curly afro....but more importantly, a great voice!  People love "real", not "real cute" to go all the way. 

"Blake Lewis should go far because of his uniqueness and looks.  He's the boy next store with a twist - he beat boxes.  But on top of this, he's a great singer, and I adore him," Payton O'Brien relayed.

A talented beat-boxer Blake Lewis was a hit during the group sing in Hollywood but Simon explained that this is a singing contest just before he told him he was “in.”

Paul Kim has caught our own roving reporter, Jenny Woo's eyes. 

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Sundance Head - He's not perfect, but he's got the personality that will take him through a few weeks, plus he's got the lineage (son of Roy Head - whose 1965 single, "Treat Her Right," hit No. 5 in the charts) 

And the others:

Rudy Cardinas
AJ Tabaldo - the 5th time is the charm
Nicolas Pedro
Chris Richardson
Jared Cotter

The girls

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Alena Alexander - Those tears (she never seems to stop bawling) should get her far.

"Single mom Lakisha Jones I suspect will be a pretty big favorite entering Week 1 of the competition," says Destiny Williams.  Jones is an excellent singer and down to earth.  "She'll have a wide appeal," echoed O'Brien.

Nicole Trellis - Seems to exert confidence.

Amy Krebs - a powerful singer.

Antonella Barba
Gina Glocksen
Hailey Scanardo
Jordan Sparks
Stephanie Edwards
Leslie Hunt
Sabrina Sloan

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Last two contestants will be?

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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