11/14/2008 - Homestead, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Skinner captured the pole for tonight's season-ending Ford 200 Truck Series race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway and the final event for Craftsman as the series title sponsor. The No.5 Toyota driver circled the 1.5-mile oval in 32.221 seconds (167.593 m.p.h.)
The pole victory was Skinner's fourth of the season and the 47th of his career, extending his pole record in the series.
"When they brought the spacer plate along, it's now at these big race tracks where everybody is holding it wide open," Skinner said. "And Homestead is one of those race tracks it's hard to hold wide open, and we were able to do it. I guess that's why we're on the pole."
Meanwhile, the battle for the championship will be settled at Homestead as Johnny Benson enters the race with only a three point lead over defending series champion Ron Hornaday, Jr., making it the closest margin heading into the season-finale.
Hornaday, Jr. will start fourth after posting a time of 32.381 seconds.
"We know what we've got to do," Hornaday said. "Knowing Johnny, they've got their truck a lot better, so I'm looking forward to a good race."
If Hornaday captures the title, he will become the series' only four-time and back-to-back champion, as well as NASCAR's oldest national series titleholder at 50 years, four months and 25 days. Ted Musgrave became NASCAR's eldest champion when he won the 2005 Craftsman Truck Series title at 49 years, 11 months and one day.
Benson is aiming for his second NASCAR national series title as he has won the Nationwide championship in 1995.
Benson will roll off four spots behind Hornaday in eighth.
"Our truck is decent but still a little loose right now," he said. "It's a lot better off than it was yesterday. Let's just hope we race well."
Greg Biffle is the only driver to win both a Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series title.
Benson is the defending winner at Homestead.
Hornaday entered last year's season-finale 29 points behind leader Mike Skinner, but Skinner lost the title when he suffered a flat tire early in the race and then encountered another wheel problem during the mid-stages, resulting in a 35th-place finish. Hornaday came in seventh and ended the year 54 points ahead of Skinner.
Joining Skinner on the outside pole will be Colin Braun (32.225). Sprint Cup regular Kevin Harvick (32.300) will start third.
Craftsman is ending their 14-year sponsorship with the Truck Series at the conclusion of this season. Camping World will serve as the series title sponsor starting in 2009.
The green flag for tonight's race is scheduled to drop around 8:00 p.m. (et).
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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook
Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds. The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.
Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.
Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).
Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.
World Series odds
Adam Dunn 15-1
Albert Pujols 5-1
Alex Rodriguez 12-1
Alfonso Soriano 15-1
Andruw Jones 25-1
Barry Bonds 50-1
Carlos Delgado 40-1
David Ortiz 8-1
Jermaine Dye 40-1
Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1
Lance Berkman 40-1
Manny Ramirez 20-1
Richie Sexson 40-1
Ryan Howard 6-1
Travis Hafner 20-1
Vladimir Guerrero 40-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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