New car, Danica return to Nationwide in Michigan

Autoracing Betting Lines

08/11/2010 - Brooklyn, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Nationwide. Date: Saturday, August 14. Race: CARFAX 250. Site: Michigan International Speedway. Track: two-mile oval. Start time: 2:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 125. Miles: 250. 2009 winner: Brad Keselowski. Television: ESPN. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.

Nationwide Series teams will run the new car for the second time this weekend at Michigan. The car made its debut last month at Daytona, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. taking the victory in the No.3 Wrangler Chevrolet, a car number and paint scheme made famous by his late-father, Dale Earnhardt. Richmond (September 12) and Charlotte (October 15) are the other tracks scheduled for this car before it's introduced full-time in 2011.

At Daytona, Ford showcased its popular Mustang, while Dodge introduced the Challenger, Chevrolet brought a new model of its Impala, and Toyota kept its standard version of the Camry.

NASCAR is allowing teams to test the car on the two-mile Michigan track in a full-day of practice on Thursday. Teams will practice again the following day for Saturday afternoon's 250-mile race.

Brad Keselowski, the current points leader, returns to his home track with hopes of defending his race title here and giving the new Challenger its first win.

"I think a lot of folks in this series that are competing with this new car are very lost," Keselowski said. "Even at Penske Racing with the resources that we have, it's kind of a free-for-all. So you've got to start somewhere. Fortunately, I have a good place to start with our success at Daytona having two strong cars that qualified on the front row. Hopefully, some of that will carry over."

Keselowski enters Michigan with a very comfortable 327-point lead over Carl Edwards, who the Nationwide race at Michigan in 2008.

After a month hiatus in the series, Danica Patrick returns at Michigan. Patrick last competed in the July 9 race at Chicagoland, where she finished a season-best 24th. The IndyCar star has run in five Nationwide races so far this year. After Michigan, she is scheduled to race at Dover, California, Charlotte, St. Louis, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead.

"I'm thankful for the extended practice sessions NASCAR has given us in Michigan on Thursday," Patrick said. "It's going to be nice to get out there and run these new cars. We've been talking about the new cars so much this year, and now I'll get a chance to shake one down. JR Motorsports has put a lot of effort into its new car program, so I'm hoping we can get the most out of it in Michigan."

Forty-four teams are on the preliminary entry list for the CARFAX 250.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.