New Nationwide car running its first short-track race

Autoracing Betting Lines

09/08/2010 - Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Nationwide. Date: Friday, September 10. Race: Virginia 529 College Savings 250. Site: Richmond International Raceway. Track: 0.75-mile oval. Start time: 7:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 250. Miles: 187.5. 2009 winner: Carl Edwards. Television: ESPN 2. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.

Friday's Nationwide race at Richmond International Raceway will be the third of four races for the series' new car this year. It also will be the first event the car runs on a short track.

The car made its debut on July 1 at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway and then ran again on August 14 at the two-mile Michigan International Speedway. The October 15 race at Charlotte, a 1.5-mile oval, will be last race for the car this season before it's introduced full-time in Nationwide next year.

Brad Keselowski, the current points leader, won last month at Michigan in a Dodge Challenger. Keselowski also won this year's spring race at Richmond.

"The real challenge for us going back to Richmond is making sure we run well with the new car," Keselowski said. "It obviously drives different. We won't be able to use the setup notes from the spring race. That's a little bit of a shame, because we were so good with the old car, but we've also been very strong and consistent in the new Dodge Challenger."

Carl Edwards is the defending winner of this race.

"It will be great to run the Nationwide [Ford] Mustang for the first time at a short track," Edwards said. "We get to test for a day, so we've got a really good test planned. We feel like we've got a good car built with all our latest updates."

NASCAR is allowing teams to test the car at Richmond in a full-day of practice on Thursday.

With nine races remaining, Keselowski holds a whopping 332-point lead over Edwards in the drivers' championship standings, but his No.22 Penske Racing Dodge team trails the No.18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team, with drivers Kyle Busch and Brad Coleman, by 83 points in the owners' title race.

Once again, Busch will try to claim his Nationwide record 11th win this season. Busch finished second to Jamie McMurray in last Saturday's race at Atlanta. He has three Nationwide victories at Richmond.

Sam Ard set the series record of 10 wins during the 1983 season, but Busch matched that record in 2008. Busch claimed his 10th win this season last month at Bristol.

Forty-four teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Virginia 529 College Savings 250.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.