Teams gearing up for preseason testing at Daytona

Autoracing Betting Lines

01/11/2012 - Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a short one-and-a-half-month break, Sprint Cup Series teams are back on track this week with a three-day preseason test session at Daytona International Speedway.

From Thursday to Saturday, teams will familiarize themselves with NASCAR's new rules package for the February 26 season-opening Daytona 500. A number of revisions have been made to the Sprint Cup cars for Daytona, including a smaller capacity in both the radiators and overflow tank.

In addition, the radiator inlet will be moved up closer into the front center bumper area. The springs on the cars will be softer and the rear spoiler smaller. The restrictor plate has been modified to 1/64 inch larger than the plate size used for the 2011 Daytona 500.

"This is an opportunity we are providing to the competitors to implement and test the new Daytona rules package for 2012," Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition, said. "It's a chance for them to get comfortable with the cooling package, the smaller spoiler and to practice drafting for next month's Daytona 500."

NASCAR recently revised its restrictor-plate racing package after gathering data from test sessions at Talladega Superspeedway last October and then Daytona the following month. The sanctioning body is hoping to minimize and perhaps eliminate two-car tandems, which has become an unpopular style of racing at restrictor-plate tracks.

"This three-day test will allow the engine tuners for these teams to be able to work with their engine packages and see how they relate and react to the new cooling regulations," Pemberton added.

Due to the two-car pairings as well as a newly-paved surface at Daytona, last year's Daytona 500 featured a record 74 lead changes among 22 drivers. The 2011 spring race at Talladega produced a NASCAR-record tying 88 lead changes.

Teams will also have an opportunity to work on their preparations for the Daytona 500 as well as the Budweiser Shootout event and the twin qualifying races for the 500.

"With the rule changes especially with the grill opening, we have a lot of things we want to test and try to get prepared to win the Daytona 500," Michael Waltrip Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. said. "It's also important for me and [teammate] Clint [Bowyer] to get time together and draft. I believe we are going to have to switch a lot in the draft with the rule change, so we really need to be on the same page rather quickly and understand how each other thinks. It's a good time to get a feel for how he does things and the same for him as to how I do things."

Bowyer and Mark Martin have joined Michael Waltrip's team for the 2012 season. Both drivers will use this test session to help develop team chemistry.

"These tests aren't incredibly important from the car hardware side," Martin said. "It's more important for us as a new group working together to work through the areas like communication, flow, learning everyone's names, routines and things like that. That's really the critical part of the test."

Kasey Kahne (Hendrick Motorsports), Kurt Busch (Phoenix Racing), A.J. Allmendinger (Penske Racing), David Reutimann (Tommy Baldwin Racing) and Aric Almirola (Richard Petty Motorsports) are also those drivers with new rides this year.

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March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets

With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship.  Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92.  After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points.  Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1.  Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years.  With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed.  UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern.  Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier.  OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak.  Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four.  It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta.  But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis.

Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props.  Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000.  Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans.

MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:

EAST National Championship Region
Arkansas 300-1 50-1
Belmont 1000-1
Boston College 100-1 40-1
Eastern KY 1000-1
George Washington 75-1
Georgetown 10-1 3-2
Marquette 100-1 40-1
Michigan State 100-1 25-1
New Mexico St. 500-1 200-1
UNC 6-1 6-5
Oral Roberts  500-1
Texas 15-1 5-1
Texas Tech 200-1 5-1
USC 75-1 20-1
Vanderbilt 100-1 30-1
Washington State 40-1 15-1
WEST
Duke 50-1 10-1
Florida A&M 1000-1
Gonzaga 200-1  40-1
Holy Cross 300-1
Illinois 300-1 60-1
Indiana 75-1 40-1
Kansas 5-1 13-10
Kentucky 100-1 40-1
Niagara 1000-1
Pittsburgh 40-1 8-1
Southern Ill. 50-1 12-1
UCLA 10-1 3-2
VCU 500-1 100-1
Villanova 100-1 40-1
VA Tech 50-1 15-1
Weber St 1000-1
Wright St 1000-1 300-1
MIDWEST
Arizona 50-1 30-1
Butler 40-1 30-1
Davidson 300-1
Florida 4-1 4-5
Georgia Tech 75-1 25-1
Jackson State 1000-1
Maryland 30-1 6-1
Miami-OH 300-1
Notre Dame 100-1 20-1
ODU 500-1 100-1
Oregon 40-1 6-1
Purdue 300-1 60-1
Texas A&M CC 1000-1
UNLV 100-1 30-1
Winthrop 500-1 100-1
Wisconsin 15-1 7-2
SOUTH
Albany 200-1
BYU 200-1 40-1
Central CT St. 1000-1
Creighton 100-1 35-1
Long Beach St. 500-1 200-1
Louisville 40-1 10-1
Memphis 30-1 4-1
Nevada 75-1 35-1
North Texas 500-1
Ohio State 7-1 6-5
Penn 500-1
Stanford 200-1 50-1
Tennessee 100-1 20-1
Texas A&M 12-1 11-5
Virginia 75-1 18-1
Xavier 100-1 40-1

Field                                              100-1

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