Edwards, Biffle put Roush Fenway on front row for Daytona 500

Autoracing Betting Lines

02/19/2012 - Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Edwards won Sunday's time trials for the Daytona 500 while his teammate, Greg Biffle, secured the outside pole to give Roush Fenway Racing and Ford the front starting row for the February 26 race at Daytona International Speedway.

Edwards benefited from weather conditions when he made his qualifying attempt early in the session. He was the fifth driver in the field of 49 to make his run. The winds at Daytona intensified during the session and therefore lowered speeds on the cars. Gusts reached as high as 40 m.p.h.

Edwards turned a lap at 194.738 m.p.h. around the high-banked 2.5-mile superspeedway for his first Daytona 500 pole. It was also his 11th career pole in the Sprint Cup Series.

The qualifying order for the Daytona 500 was determined in a random draw. Qualifying for all other Sprint Cup point races are determined by overall practice speeds for each event.

Biffle, the ninth driver in the qualifying order, posted a lap at 194.087 m.p.h.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who won the pole for last year's Daytona 500, finished third in time trials, followed by Marcos Ambrose and Casey Mears.

Jeff Gordon, Martin Truex Jr., Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Trevor Bayne, the defending Daytona 500 winner, and Tony Stewart, who is the reigning series champion, were sixth through 10th, respectively.

Danica Patrick, making her Sprint Cup debut at Daytona, was 30th fastest with a lap at 191.738 m.p.h. Patrick is already guaranteed a starting position in the 500-mile race based on last year's top-35 owner points.

While Edwards and Biffle have secured the front row for the Daytona 500, the remaining 43-car field for the 54th running of NASCAR's most prestigious race of the season will be determined in Thursday's Gatorade Duel twin 150-mile qualifying races.

Three drivers outside the top-35 in points -- Bayne, Tony Raines and David Stremme -- have also locked down a position in the Daytona 500 based on their qualifying speeds. Terry Labonte at least earned the champion's provisional spot.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.