Stewart tops in qualifying at Pocono

Autoracing Betting Lines

07/30/2010 - Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Stewart claimed the pole for Sunday's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 after posting the quickest lap in qualifying at Pocono Raceway.

Stewart, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, turned a lap of 171.393 m.p.h. around the 2.5-mile triangular track for his second pole of the season and the 14th of his Cup career. His first pole at Pocono came in July 2000.

Last night, Stewart competed in the All-Star Circuit of Champions sprint car event in Fargo, ND. He arrived at Pocono in the early hours of Friday morning.

"I was really, really upset because I crashed by myself into a marker tire in the inside while running second," Stewart said of last night's race in Fargo. "The last thing [World of Outlaws sprint car champion] Donny Schatz told me before I left was to take it out on those guys tomorrow, so I guess we took it out on the stopwatch today, so I'm really proud of that."

Schatz, who drives for Stewart, won the sprint car race.

Stewart won the Pocono 500 (June race) in 2003 and '09. The driver and owner of the No.14 Chevrolet has yet to win a Cup race so far this season.

Juan Pablo Montoya grabbed the outside pole with his qualifying lap of 171.096 m.p.h. Montoya won the pole for last weekend's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He led the most laps at Indy before crashing with less than 15 laps to go and ending up 32nd.

"Last week was a rough week for the team, but to rebound at a place where we don't run that well, it's nice," Montoya said.

Denny Hamlin, who has won the last two races at Pocono, took the third starting spot, followed by Jeff Gordon, a four-time race winner here, and Ryan Newman.

"We knew the cloud cover was going to help us out," Hamlin said. "We had good speed all day, but we just haven't had a great handling race car and it showed. We were all over the race track there. I'm very happy with the time, and we will start near the front, and that is a good starting spot for Sunday."

Jimmie Johnson, the four-time defending series champion, A.J. Allmendinger, Jeff Burton, Jamie McMurray, the Brickyard 400 winner, and Mark Martin completed the top-10.

Points leader Kevin Harvick will start 14th. Harvick currently holds a 184- point advantage over Gordon.

David Stremme and Max Papis failed to qualify.

The 500-mile race at Pocono is scheduled to start shortly after 1:00 p.m. (et).

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American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies  

It's that time of year folks.  Betting on American Idol Season 9.  And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below.  With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.

No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.

Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.

Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.

Odds to Win

There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.

All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.

A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.

Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.

Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol. 

Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.

If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.

Elimination Props

Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.

Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.

Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups

The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.

Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.