Dover Next Destination For Sprint Cup Series

If there is one driver that deserves the title of being the most dominant so far since NASCAR betting made the move from using the rear wing on the back of its car back to the traditional spoiler, it would be Denny Hamlin. Following Jimmie Johnson’s three wins in four races to close out the rear wing era, Hamlin has won three of six races to move all the way up to sixth in the Sprint Cup Series standings. Wins at Martinsville, Texas, and Darlington have lifted the 11-car to within 14 points of the top five, right on the tail of Roush Fenway Racing driver Matt Kenseth.

Kenseth will need to be better heading in to this weekend’s online betting race at Dover International Speedway if he is going to have any chance of maintaining or improving his position in the SCS standings. Kenseth hasn’t placed in the top-ten in any of his past four starts, with a sixth place finish at the Subway Fresh Fit 600 the last of his six top-tens this season. While Hamlin has excelled since the move to the spoiler, the 17-car’s numbers before and after the move are the most clear indication of his struggles since the adjustment was made. Consider that each of Kenseth’s top-ten finishes came in six of the first seven races of the season, and that consecutive 13^th place results are his best finishes since, and it becomes clear that he and crew chief Drew Blickensderfer will need to make adjustments to the new feel of the car.

One driver who can’t seem to figure out what adjustments must be made in order to elevate him to his first win of the 2010 season is Jeff Gordon. Gordon has finished in the top-five in the SCS standings in consecutive weeks, and five times overall, but has failed to capture the checkered flag in any of the first 11 races. One year after finishing third in the standings, Gordon finds himself in a similar situation early on in the season, and will need to get over the hump of finishing good and not great at the NASCAR Dover betting race in order to avoid being a runner-up again in 2010.

One of the men that Gordon is chasing is the same one he has chased for nearly half a decade in the points standings, in Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson. The four-time defending SCS champion is another driver that has struggled since the move to the rear spoiler, but remains in second only to points leader Kevin Harvick. Harvick holds a 110-point lead over Johnson atop the standings after four straight top-five finishes, including an outstanding effort at Darlington most recently, in which he came all the way from his starting position in 35^th place to finish sixth overall. Harvick has undoubtedly been the most consistent driver this season, finishing in the top-ten in eight of 11 starts, and will look to continue his dominance this weekend at Dover, ahead of the World Cup predictions.

NASCAR Betting – Darkhorses To Watch At Darlington

Preakness Stakes betting players are always looking for longer odds, only if they have a decent shot at winning, and NASCAR betting players will be doing the same for the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Saturday night. Even though the smart play is seven-time Darlington winner Jeff Gordon, here are a few drivers to consider if you’re feeling risky.

NASCAR Betting – Saturday, May 8, 7:30 PM ET

Greg Biffle (+2000): Biffle is the only driver on this list who has won in Darlington, in fact, he has two checkered flags from this race in 2005 and 2006 under his belt. The No.16 driver has led laps in four of the last five races at Darlington, including a race-high 117 laps in last year’s race, although he faded to eighth by the end, and his starting average of 8.2 is second only to Jeff Gordon, which gives him a good start.

Juan Pablo Montoya (+2500): In three trips to Darlington, Montoya has never finished in the top 10, but he has three top-six finishes in his last four starts overall, and he knows that he needs to keep this run going if he wants any shot at making the Chase. Montoya is like Phoenix in Spurs Suns betting: wildly talented, and not defensive enough sometimes, but getting closer to a win.

Kasey Kahne (+2500): Kahne has won the pole three times in seven trips to Darlington, which he has converted into a pair of top-10 finishes, although he led 45 laps in last year’s 23rd-place result. The No.9 driver is coming off two straight 21st-place finishes, but Darlington is one of his best tracks, so expect a breakout day from Kahne.

Joey Logano (+3000): Rookies aren’t supposed to do well at Darlington, but Logano credits this race as the time when he started to put it all together in 2009. Logano started fifth here last year, and held on for a ninth-place finish even leading 19 laps along the way. After a couple of tough runs at Texas and Talladega, the No.20 driver had a decent 16th-place run at Richmond last week, and all he needs to do is be consistent to put himself in a position for his second Sprint Cup win.

Ryan Newman (+3000): Newman racked up another top-10 at Richmond, one of his favorite tracks, and he’s also a fan of Darlington, where he has six top-fives and an average of 12.5 in 11 races here. Newman, like all of these drivers except for Biffle, is racing hard for a spot in the Chase, and he needs to build off his solid run at Richmond if he wants to have an online betting chance of winning the title.

NBA Betting – Go with home teams on Tuesday

NBA playoff betting players know that some teams just struggle against other teams, especially on the road, and Tuesday’s matchups will be prime examples of this concept as Atlanta and Orlando kick off their second-round series, while the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz will square off for Game 2 of their Western series.

Hawks vs Magic odds – Tuesday, May 4, 8:00 PM ET

The Magic will be the favorites in this contest against their Southeast Division rivals, who have a quick turnaround after a seven-game win over Milwaukee in their first-round series. The Magic have been off for eight days after sweeping Charlotte, despite a poor series from Dwight Howard. The Magic won three of four against the Hawks this season, and Atlanta has lost seven of their last 10 in Orlando. Howard dominated the Hawks during the regular season, and the Magic need him on the floor if they’re going to get back to the Eastern Conference finals. The Magic may be worried about rust, but they should be more worries about the duo of Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford, who shook out of his shooting slump late in the Milwaukee series. On the other hand, the Hawks will have to deal with Jameer Nelson, who torched Charlotte. We’re taking the Magic at home in our sportsbetting book, because Atlanta just isn’t a good team away from home.

Jazz vs Lakers odds – Tuesday, May 4, 10:30 PM ET

The Lakers survived a fourth-quarter Utah run in their 104-99 win over the Jazz at home in Game 1, and now the Jazz have lost 15 in a row at the Staples Center (against the Lakers, anyway). Kobe Bryant had 11 of his 31 points in the final 12 minutes, while the Jazz got 24 points and eight assists from Deron Williams. The Lakers’ bench played terrible in Game 1, and NBA betting players know crucial they were to last year’s run to the championship. The Los Angeles subs actually lost the Lakers’ fourth-quarter lead before Bryant and Pau Gasol, who had 25 points and 12 boards, took over. Phil Jackson’s decision to put Ron Artest on Williams worked at times, but he may be better off putting Bryant, who played extremely well defensively on Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook in the later parts of the first-round series, on the Utah point guard who has lit up the postseason so far. Artest keeps Willams from posting up, which he likes to do with smaller guards like the Lakers’ Derek Fisher, but he also exploited his quickness advantage against Artest, and that’s something that the Lakers will have to watch for. The Jazz just don’t seem to have any luck when visiting the Lakers, and it’s tough to think that their streak will end in the playoffs, especially as the Lakers are 4-0 so far in the postseason. Go with the NBA championship betting favorites, the Lakers, on Tuesday.