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08/24/2010 - Joliet, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: IZOD IndyCar. Date: Sunday, August 29. Race: PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300. Site: Chicagoland Speedway. Track: 1.5-mile tri-oval. Start Time: 8:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 200. Miles: 300. 2009 winner: Ryan Briscoe. Television: VERSUS. Radio: IMS Radio Network/SIRIUS XM Satellite.
After the ninth and last road/street course race of the season was completed last Sunday at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA, the IZOD IndyCar Series now holds its "final four" events on 1.5-mile ovals, beginning this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.
With five wins so far this season, Will Power from Team Penske holds a 59- point lead over Dario Franchitti, the defending series champion. Franchitti's Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Scott Dixon, is 95 points out of the top spot. All five of Power's wins have come on road/street courses.
"I don't think this championship is almost mine," he said. "There's a lot of racing to go. Four races, a lot can happen. Really, whatever the buffer is, you can lose a lot of that in just one race. I'm going to race those ovals like I want to win the championship. I think I got enough experience now, and I think we'll be very strong."
After Chicagoland, the series will head to Kentucky Speedway (September 4) and then Twin Ring Motegi in Japan (September 19) before wrapping up the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway (October 2).
Penske has won the last two race at Chicagoland, with Helio Castroneves taking the 2008 race and Ryan Briscoe capturing the 2009 event.
Power did not compete in last year's race at Chicagoland due to season-ending injuries he sustained during a practice crash at Sonoma. He finished fifth in his only IndyCar start at Chicagoland in 2008, when he drove for KV Racing Technology.
Even though Dixon and Franchitti have been dominant on the 1.5-mile ovals lately, a Ganassi driver has not won at Chicagoland since Dan Wheldon's victory in a Ganassi car here in 2006. Wheldon also won at Chicagoland in 2005.
Wheldon departed Ganassi and moved over to Panther Racing at the conclusion of the 2008 season.
Dixon has been the bridesmaid at Chicagoland, finishing second in the last four races here.
Last year, Briscoe beat Dixon to the finish line by 0.0077 seconds -- the fourth closest finish in series history.
"I've seen this movie before several times, so it's frustrating," Dixon said after his runner-up finish at Chicagoland in 2009. "I was thinking maybe for a lap or two there that we just might be able to do it. But for the majority of the night, if it came down to that shootout, I think we definitely knew we were going to lose. But it's getting pretty old, so hopefully we can turn it around at some point."
In 2008, Castroneves finished 0.0033 seconds ahead of Dixon in the second closest finish in series history. However, Dixon clinched the series title by 17 points over Castroneves.
When the series competed at Chicagoland in 2007, Franchitti, who drove for Michael Andretti's team at the time, entered the season-ending race with just a three-point lead over Dixon. The two drivers battled all the way to the final lap, with Franchitti taking the checkered flag and the series title.
Dixon held the lead on the last lap, but Franchitti passed Dixon, who suddenly slowed when he ran out of fuel. He coasted home second.
Chicagoland had hosted the series' season-finale from 2006-08. The season now ends in Homestead.
Twenty-nine teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300.
<< Nationwide runs final road course race of the season at Montreal
Montreal, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Nationwide. Date: Sunday,
August 29. Race: NAPA Auto Parts 200. Site: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Track:
2.710-mile, 14-turn road course. Start time: 2:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 74. Miles:
200.466. 20
<< Red Sox activate C Cash
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox have activated catcher Kevin
Cash from the 15-day disabled list.
To make room for Cash, the Red Sox optioned catcher Dusty Brown to Triple-A
Pawtucket after Monday's win over Seattle.
C
<< Tigers' Ordonez to have ankle surgery
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Tigers slugger Magglio Ordonez will
undergo a procedure on Wednesday to stabilize his broken right ankle.
Ordonez was examined by foot/ankle specialist Dr. Phillip Kwong of the Kerlan-
Jobe Clinic
<< This Week in Auto Racing August 27 - 29
Montreal, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series takes its
final off-week of the season, but there's still plenty of racing action this
weekend. While the Nationwide Series heads north of the border to Montreal,
the Ca
Mariners-Red Sox game rained out; day-night DH set for Wednesday >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tuesday's scheduled game between the Seattle
Mariners and Boston Red Sox has been postponed because of rain.
The contest will instead be played Wednesday as part of a day-night
doubleheader. The f
Cards place pitcher Reyes on DL >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis placed southpaw relief pitcher
Dennys Reyes on the 15-day disabled list with a left elbow strain Tuesday.
The move, retroactive to August 16, leaves a gap on the roster that will be
filled
Rangers purchase Cora's contract, designate Arias >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers have purchased the contract
of infielder Alex Cora from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Cora, who the Rangers signed to a minor league deal last week, played in 62
games for the New York Mets thi
Ohlendorf could be done for year >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pirates might have lost the services
of pitcher Ross Ohlendorf for the year.
Ohlendorf was diagnosed with a strained lat muscle behind his right
shoulder after an MRI was taken Tuesday m
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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