Ambrose's mishap helps Johnson record first road course win

Autoracing Betting Lines

06/20/2010 - Sonoma, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jimmie Johnson benefited from Marcos Ambrose's mistake during a caution period in the closing laps to win Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.

Ambrose, who was attempting to win his first career Sprint Cup Series race, held the lead during a caution on lap 104, but the Australian driver did not maintain his running position after he shut off his engine and slowed on the track in an effort to conserve fuel.

According to NASCAR rules, drivers must maintain the caution speed in order to keep their running spot.

That allowed Johnson to reclaim the lead for good with six laps remaining. He then pulled away from second-place runner Robby Gordon on the final restart and beat Gordon at the finish by three seconds for his first NASCAR road course win.

Johnson, who led a race-high 54 laps, recorded his fourth victory of the season and the 51st of his Cup career.

Kevin Harvick, the points leader, finished third, while Kasey Kahne, the defending race winner, and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-five.

Ambrose wound up finishing sixth.

Casinos--online Autoracing Betting News

<< Mariners sweep Reds with 1-0 win
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Franklin Gutierrez hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth and Ryan Rowland-Smith tossed six-plus scoreless innings, as the Seattle Mariners snuck past the Cincinnati Reds, 1-0, to complete a three-game series

<< Padres storm back to rout Orioles, take series
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Will Venable homered and tied a career- high by driving in four runs to help Jon Garland overcome a shaky start and lead San Diego to a 9-4 win over Baltimore in the last of a three-game interle

<< Johnson loses lead at U.S. Open
Pebble Beach, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dustin Johnson played his first four holes Sunday at six-over par to surrender his lead at the U.S. Open. Johnson made a triple-bogey at No. 2 when he duffed two shots, including one he struck left-hande

<< New No. 1 Miyazato wins at the shore
Galloway, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ai Miyazato collected her fourth LPGA Tour title of the year on Sunday at the ShopRite LPGA Classic and the victory moved her to No. 1 in the world rankings. Miyazato fired a seven-under 64 on Sunday to co

<< Brewers score five in the ninth to avoid sweep
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rickie Weeks' two-run double jumpstarted a five-run ninth inning, and the Milwaukee Brewers salvaged a game from this three-contest set with Colorado by beating the Rockies, 6-1. Weeks, Corey Hart and

Blue Jays send 3B Encarnacion to minors >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays have optioned third baseman Edwin Encarnacion to Triple-A Las Vegas and recalled infielder Jarrett Hoffpauir from the same club. Encarnacion went hitless in four at-bats and commi

McDowell makes turn with 3-shot lead >>
Pebble Beach, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Graeme McDowell held a three-shot lead when he made the turn Sunday during the final round of the U.S. Open. The 30-year-old from Northern Ireland had one birdie and one bogey in his first nine holes and w

McDowell wins U.S. Open for 1st career major >>
Pebble Beach, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Graeme McDowell tapped in for his last par and exhaled. He had every reason to. McDowell survived a brutal final round to win the U.S. Open by a shot on Sunday, closing with a three-over 74 to become th

Buchholz, Red Sox complete sweep of Dodgers >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clay Buchholz pitched effectively into the seventh to pick up his 10th win of the season, and the Red Sox shut down the Dodgers, 2-0, to complete a three-game interleague sweep. Buchholz (10-4) yielded

Oklahoma survives South Carolina in rain-soaked affair >>
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Caleb Bushyhead and Garrett Buechele both homered for Oklahoma, leading the Sooners to a 4-3 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks in the rain-soaked opening round of the 2010 College World Series. Origin

Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .