Sauter vs. younger Dillon for truck title?

Autoracing Betting Lines

02/22/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck. Date: Friday, February 24. Race: NextEra Energy Resources 250. Site: Daytona International Speedway. Track: 2.5-mile tri-oval. Start time: 7:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 100. Miles: 250. 2010 winner: Michael Waltrip. Television: SPEED. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Satellite.

The 2012 Camping World Truck Series kicks off Friday night at Daytona International Speedway.

With 2011 truck champion Austin Dillon now a full-time competitor in the Nationwide Series, Johnny Sauter, who finished six points behind Dillon last year, is the preseason favorite to win the title.

Sauter concluded last season by winning the rain-shortened race at Homestead- Miami Speedway. During the offseason, Sauter's team, ThorSport Racing, switched from Chevrolet to Toyota.

"The biggest thing we can do is look back at last season and see where did we lose points and what could we have done to prevent that," he said. "I think coming out in 2012 with the Toyota support and changing manufacturers, new sponsors -- essentially my whole team is back and my crew chief (Joe Shear Jr.), I feel like we can pick up right where we left off and ultimately try to win races and a championship."

Rookie Ty Dillon is next in line as a title contender in the series this year. Dillon, the 2011 ARCA Racing Series champion, is replacing his elder brother, Austin, in Richard Childress Racing's No. 3 truck. Ty, who will turn 20 years old Monday, made three starts in trucks last season. His best finish of third came last November at Texas. He also placed sixth at Homestead.

"I think we can go out there and do our best to be competitive each week," Dillon said. "We went to a lot of tracks last year on the ARCA Racing Series schedule that we had never raced before and brought home some good finishes. I think with the help of my RCR teammates, we'll be able to put up more good finishes this season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series."

Ron Hornaday Jr., the four-time truck champion, makes his debut with Joe Denette Motorsports. Hornaday had driven for Kevin Harvick Inc. for the past seven years, but KHI shut down its Nationwide and truck operations at the end of last season.

"It was just three months ago that I didn't have a job," Hornaday said. "KHI was closing their doors, and I was at a crossroads. I was introduced to (team owner) Joe (Denette) through Hermie Sadler, and the rest is history. Joe is a true race fan, and all he wants to do is win. I believe he has put the right people in place and has given this team all the tools they need to get the job done."

Hornaday holds the series record with 51 race wins, but has to score a victory at Daytona. The series has been competing at this track each year since 2000.

Brad Keselowski is the only Sprint Cup regular competing in this race. Ward Burton, the 2002 Daytona 500, is making his first start in a NASCAR national touring series event since October 2007.

Forty-four teams are on the preliminary entry list for the NextEra Energy Resources 250.

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.