Allmendinger, Michael Shank Racing win Rolex 24 at Daytona
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01/29/2012 - Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Shank Racing pulled off a stunning win in Sunday's Rolex 24 at Daytona, with NASCAR driver A.J. Allmendinger behind the wheel of the team's No.60 Ford-Riley during the final stint.
Allmendinger shared driving duties with Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series regulars Ozz Negri and John Pew, as well as IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson in the 50th anniversary of the 24-hour endurance race at Daytona International Speedway. The 30-year-old Allmendinger crossed the finish line 5.2 seconds ahead of Starworks Motorsports' No.8 Ford-Riley, which was driven by Ryan Dalziel during the last hours of the event.
With a little more than one hour to go, Allmendinger put the No.60 car in the lead for good. However, Allmendinger had to swerve wide in turn one to avoid hitting a GT car during the closing laps. He went at least 20 feet off surface onto the paved skid pad.
"I'm so worn out," Allmendinger said in Daytona's victory lane. "We wanted to win this for Shank. The motor was so fast. I am so drained.
"I knew those last three hours I was going to have to go flat out. It was fun. When Dalziel got in the car...I knew I was going to have to drive my (rear end) off. I pushed really hard to build up a gap and take those last 10 laps to manage that gap."
It's the first time in nine attempts that team owner Michael Shank has claimed the victory in one of the world's most prestigious sports car races. The No.60 team completed 761 laps around the 3.560-mile Daytona road course for a total of 2,709 miles. It was one lap shy of tying the event's all time record, set in 1962.
"I feel like we deserved [a win], to be honest, because we've worked hard, and I don't make any excuses for that, and we've paid our dues for sure," Shank said. "I hope it can take us to new, cool places in Daytona Prototype in the coming years."
Last month, Allmendinger signed with Penske Racing to drive the No.22 car in NASCAR's premier series this season. He drove for Richard Petty's team the past three years. Allmendinger has yet to win a race in any one of NASCAR's three national touring series (Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck).
"I look at this year as being my best opportunity to win a Cup race, but that's easier said than done," he said. "Right now, I'm just going to take this for what it's worth and not think about anything for a couple of days and enjoy it. Right now, it's the biggest win I've ever had, because we've worked for seven years to get to this point with Mike Shank, and we've been so close so many times."
Wilson competed for the first time since last August when he suffered a back injury during a practice crash at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, which curtailed his 2011 IndyCar season.
"We all managed to comprise enough to get by between all four of us in being comfortable and being able to push the limit every single lap, because this was a tough race," Wilson said.
Dalziel partnered with Allan McNish, Alex Popow, Enzo Potolicchio and Lucas Luhr in the No.8 car.
Brazilian Felipe Nasr finished third in a second Shank car, the No.6 Ford- Riley.
NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya finished fourth overall -- one lap down -- in the No.02 Chip Ganassi Racing BMW-Riley. It's the first time since 2005 that a Ganassi car was not on the podium for the 24-hour Daytona race. Montoya teamed up with fellow Sprint Cup driver Jamie McMurray and IndyCar champions Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon.
"It was a great race - an epic 50th Rolex 24," Ganassi said. "My congratulations to Mike Shank and Ford for a fantastic race, but I don't want them to get too comfortable in victory circle."
Defending race and Grand Am champion Scott Pruett finished sixth in Ganassi's No.01 BMW-Riley. A transmission problem that occurred late in the race put Pruett four laps behind.
The GT class victory went to Andy Lally, John Potter, Richard Lietz and Rene Rast in the No.44 Magnus Racing Porsche. The team finished 11th overall in the race.
Lally has returned to Grand Am after capturing the rookie-of-the-year title in Sprint Cup last year.
"I absolutely knew we had the potential to do it," Lally said. "It was a pleasure to be able to join the team. It was absolutely epic to come home."
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Colts give the ‘D’ its due
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
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SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
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LaDainian Tomlinson Favorite to be 2007 NFL MVP
With the first NFL preseason game less than two weeks away, it is time to start thinking about football once again at MySportsbook.com. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson is currently the 5-1 co-favorite to win the award again alongside Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone after his all out assault on the record books last season. For those suffering from amnesia or were under a rock last football season, all L.T. did last season was set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns (28), total touchdowns (31) and total points scored (186) to go along with his 1815 rushing yards and 508 receiving yards. At 6-1, Tom Brady is next in line which isn’t surprising considering all of the firepower the Pats added over the off-season. With the addition of Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker; it would be quite difficult for Brady’s numbers not to improve from last years 3529 yards and 24 touchdowns. There appears to be some decent value in Drew Bees at 10-1 considering he probably would have won the award last year if it wasn’t for L.T.’s record breaking season.
There is no reason to think the Saints will come back to earth this season and playing in a weak NFC, they should have as good a shot as any to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. At 15-1, Donovan McNabb could also be worth a look. Remember, many felt he was the MVP of the first half of the season before going down with a season ending injury. Reportedly, he is in great shape and well ahead of schedule to return to form. Also, he could have some added motivation to put up big numbers this season with the Eagles using their first pick in the draft on McNabb’s future successor Kevin Kolb.
Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to check out the complete odds for NFL MVP as well as all of the new football related futures. With the popularity of NFL futures, these betting lines will be sure to change as the money comes in; get the early sports lines now.
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