New Nationwide Series car makes debut at Daytona

Autoracing Betting Lines

06/30/2010 - Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Nationwide. Date: Friday, July 2. Race: Subway Jalapeno 250. Site: Daytona International Speedway. Track: 2.5-mile tri-oval. Start time: 8:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 100. Miles: 250. 2009 winner: Denny Hamlin. Television: ESPN. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN) /SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.

After three-plus years of design, testing and back-and-forth discussion with teams about the proper rollout time, the new Nationwide Series car will make its debut on Friday at Daytona International Speedway.

Ford will showcase its popular Mustang. The auto maker currently uses its Fusion in Sprint Cup and Nationwide, while its F-150 model competes in the Camping World Truck Series. The Mustang has been used in NHRA drag racing, Grand-Am and Formula D drifting.

Dodge will introduce the Challenger, while Chevrolet will bring a new model of its Impala, and Toyota will keep its standard version of the Camry.

Nationwide teams partake in a special four-hour practice session at Daytona on Wednesday.

"I don't really know what to expect this weekend with the new car, but I'm still excited about it," said Nationwide veteran Jason Leffler, who drives the No.38 Toyota for Braun Racing. "Going into this weekend, there's not much you can do to be prepared, but just make sure your car is put together right and go from there.

"Having that test day on Wednesday is really important and will allow us more time to adjust to these cars and give us a better idea of what to expect on Friday night."

Twenty-six drivers and 32 cars representing 12 teams participated in last month's two-day test session of the new car at Daytona.

"It's really a neat looking race car, said Kevin Harvick, a Sprint Cup regular and part-time Nationwide competitor. "Climbing in and out of it, you realize how much more comfortable it is from a driver's standpoint to have more room in the safety aspects of it.

"I think it's going to be a pretty neat race this weekend. The cars move around and slide around a lot. I'm really excited about the new car. The best part about it is that 18 car [Kyle Busch] won't have those cars to race any more, so hopefully we can close that competition gap on the Nationwide side."

The new car also will race at Michigan (August 14), Richmond (September 10) and Charlotte (October 15). It is targeted for full integration in Nationwide next year.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also will add excitement to this race, as he will drive the No.3 Wrangler Chevrolet, which was made famous by his father, Dale Earnhardt.

"This will be a special weekend for us," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We got together with Richard [Childress] and Teresa [Earnhardt] and put this deal together to honor my dad and his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. We're bringing back this Wrangler paint scheme, because it's kind of what started his whole persona as being the tough guy that he was."

Dale Earnhardt holds the record for most Nationwide wins at Daytona with seven. He also won 22 Cup races in the No.3 Wrangler Chevrolet.

"This is a one-time deal," Earnhardt Jr. added. "I have no intentions of making it a habit to run special paint schemes with my dad's number every year, and I'm pretty sure this will be the last time I drive the No.3. It's my dad's number."

Forty-four teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Subway Jalapeno 250.

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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%.

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