10/05/2008 - Talladega, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Stewart will end his final year with Joe Gibbs Racing with at least one victory before he moves on to start his own Sprint Cup Series team next year. Stewart ended a 43-race winless streak with a thrilling victory in Sunday's Amp Energy 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway.
Regan Smith crossed the finish line first, but NASCAR ruled Smith passed Stewart below the yellow line and awarded Stewart with the victory. NASCAR rules state that any driver advancing their position below the yellow line at Talladega or Daytona is out-of-bounds and therefore considered illegal.
"We really got a big push from Regan on the backstretch, and I thought he was going to be able to stay on my bumper," Stewart said. "He got away from us there, got a gap and got a good run. (I) just had to try to protect it at the end."
The victory was Stewart's 33rd career Sprint Cup victory but first at Talladega. He had finished second at the 2.66-mile track six times before.
"It's one thing to get back to victory lane, but to do it at Talladega, this is one of about four places I haven't won a Cup race at," Stewart said. "Talk about wanting to win, I've wanted to win here for so long."
Smith thought Stewart forced him below the yellow line and disagreed with NASCAR's ruling.
"I always got told that the rule was if you get forced down there, then you're the winner of the race, and on the last lap, anything goes," Smith said.
Smith, in his rookie season with Dale Earnhardt Inc., was credited with an 18th-place finish.
Stewart led a race-high 24 laps and survived two major wrecks to record his first Cup win since August 2007 at Watkins Glen. The 500-mile event at Talladega featured a whopping 64 lead changes among 28 drivers.
Jimmie Johnson ran far off the pace, nearly six seconds behind leader Travis Kvapil, in the opening laps. Johnson qualified 20th on Friday but had to start from the rear of the field due to adjustments during the impound. He fell one lap behind, but the second caution on Lap 47 put him back on the lead lap.
On Lap 54, David Reutimann blew a right-rear tire and spun. Jeff Gordon, a "Chase" contender and six-time Talladega winner, tried to avoid Reutimann's car but slammed into the wall and sustained heavy damage to his Chevrolet.
"I was all the way in the back, and (Reutimann) cut a tire and turned left out of nowhere," Gordon said. "I tried to avoid him, and when I did, the car turned to the right and just lost control."
Gordon returned to the track 33 laps behind but was involved in another incident in the late-stages, ending his day with a 38th-place finish.
Johnson suffered a broken splitter brace from the incident and had to make repairs in the pits during the caution. He managed to stay on the lead lap.
The first big accident occurred on Lap 68 when Brian Vickers' right-front tire exploded, triggering a nine-car wreck. Vickers bumped into Martin Truex, Jr., whose car was severely damaged.
"Vickers was right there beside me and his right front tire exploded, and I heard 'bam' like a shotgun going off, and (I) just (went) along for the ride from there," Truex said.
Aric Almirola, David Gilliland, Kasey Kahne, Terry Labonte, Jamie McMurray, Tony Raines and Mike Skinner were also involved in the pileup.
"I felt my right-front tire explode," Vickers said. "I saw the right-front fender going through the air before the front of the car even dropped,"
NASCAR halted the race for 17 minutes for track cleanup efforts.
Denny Hamlin held the lead when he blew a right-front tire on Lap 99. Hamlin smacked the wall hard and needed assistance in getting out of his car. He was awake and alert after the accident but was transported to a nearby hospital for further observation.
The second big accident came with less than 15 laps to go when Carl Edwards bumped Greg Biffle from behind heading into turn three. Biffle spun and collected Matt Kenseth, Kvapil, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Dave Blaney, Kyle Busch, Juan Pablo Montoya, Joe Nemechek, Reed Sorenson and Michael Waltrip were also involved in the incident.
"I think (Edwards) tried to give us just a little help there in the center of the corner and got us turned around," Biffle said.
The race was stopped again, this time for 12 minutes.
Stewart captured the lead when the 12-car pileup occurred and ran out in front when the race resumed with 10 laps remaining.
McMurray cut a right-front tire to put the race under caution for the 10th time, setting up a green-white-checkered finish.
Stewart held off DEI drivers Smith and Paul Menard until Smith made his attempt for the win coming out of the final turn on the last lap.
Menard was credit with second-place, his career-best finish in the series.
David Ragan, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer completed the top-five.
Johnson recovered from a difficult day at Talladega to finish ninth and remain the leader in the championship "Chase" standings. Johnson now holds a 72-point advantage over Edwards, who finished 29th.
"I was pushing (Biffle) as hard as I could, and it was my fault, and I apologize to everyone caught up in that wreck," Edwards said.
Biffle is 77 points down in third after his 24th-place finish.
The fifth race in the "Chase" is scheduled for Saturday, October 11th, at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
<< Line of Scrimmage: Holmgren's Swan Song More Like a Swan Dive
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<< NFL Inactives (Sunday, October 5, 2008)
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PITTSBURGH STEELERS AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS, 8:15 P.M. (ET)
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<< Creamer hangs on for fourth win in '08
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<< Turner, Falcons edge Rodgers and the Pack
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Turner finished with 121 rushing
yards and a touchdown as the Atlanta Falcons downed the Green Bay Packers,
27-24, at Lambeau Field.
Matt Ryan went 16-for-26 with 194 yards, two touchdown
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East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Jacobs gashed the Seahawks
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The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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