Edwards tops in qualifying at Watkins Glen

Autoracing Betting Lines

08/07/2010 - Watkins Glen, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Edwards claimed his first Sprint Cup Series pole in two years by winning Saturday's qualifying for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen at Watkins Glen International.

Edwards turned a lap of 124.432 m.p.h. around the 2.45-mile road course in Upstate New York for his fifth career Sprint Cup pole, but his first since August 2008 at Bristol (69 races ago).

"It feels good; I feel like I won the race just having that fast of a lap here," Edwards said. "It will be different to start up front, and I think that will be something good for us on Sunday."

Edwards qualified 0.35 seconds ahead of Jamie McMurray, who will start on the outside pole.

"I really love road racing, and I feel like there's a lot of pressure on me when I come here, because I always talk about going go-karting, and most of the karters give me a hard time if I don't do well, so it makes me feel good for the go-karters in America that I qualified well," McMurray said.

McMurray's Earnhardt Ganassi Racing teammate, Juan Pablo Montoya, took the third starting spot, while A.J. Allmendinger and Kurt Busch rounded out the top-five.

Tony Stewart, who leads all drivers with five wins at Watkins Glen, including a victory here one year ago, qualified sixth

"It's going to be a lot better of starting spot than where we were last year," said Stewart, who won last year's race at Watkins Glen from the 13th starting spot. "I'm pretty happy with it, and that will give us the starting spot that we need."

Greg Biffle, who was fastest in both practices on Friday, qualified eighth, followed by Jimmie Johnson, who won his first road course race earlier this season at Sonoma, CA, and Kyle Busch, the 2008 race winner at Watkins Glen.

Kevin Harvick, the current points leader, will start 20th. Harvick holds a 189-point advantage over Jeff Gordon, who will roll off 16th.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., making his 500th career Cup start this weekend, qualified 40th.

J.J. Yeley, Dave Blaney and Tony Ave failed to qualify.

Sunday's 90-lap race at Watkins Glen is scheduled to start shortly after 1:00 p.m. (et).

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American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies  

It's that time of year folks.  Betting on American Idol Season 9.  And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below.  With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.

No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.

Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.

Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.

Odds to Win

There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.

All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.

A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.

Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.

Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol. 

Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.

If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.

Elimination Props

Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.

Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.

Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups

The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.

Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.