Ambrose holds off Busch to defend Watkins Glen title

Autoracing Betting Lines

08/08/2009 - Watkins Glen, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcos Ambrose made a bold move on Kyle Busch for the lead and then held off the current points leader on two late- race double-file restarts to win the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International for the second year in a row.

Ambrose made his pass on Busch for the lead as the two headed into the chicane with 19 laps to go. Ambrose's maneuver forced Busch to swerve to the left, causing him to miss the entrance into the chicane.

"I knew I had to dive bomb him to try and get past," Ambrose said. "If I would have waited for the last 10 laps, he was going to do anything he could to block me, so I just tried to surprise him. I surprised myself because I got in there pretty hard."

Ambrose scored his second career Nationwide victory. He won a NASCAR national touring series race for the first time one year ago at Watkins Glen.

Busch fell to third after the incident, but fought off Carl Edwards in the closing laps to finish second. He has now finished first or second for the 10th straight race, surpassing Jack Ingram's 1983 record of consecutive one- two finishes.

During the cool-down at the conclusion of the race, Busch made a slight nudge on Ambrose's car to express his displeasure of the Aussie's move for the lead.

"I think it was a little aggressive going into the bus stop (chicane), but you got to do what you got to do to win," Busch said. "I felt it was a really late move, and if I would have went through there with him, I would have wrecked. So I had to do what I had to do to preserve my car and save myself."

Busch also tied Sam Ard's series record for leading a lap in 19 consecutive races.

Edwards finished third, followed by Kevin Harvick, the pole sitter, and Ron Fellows, a road course ringer.

Busch has now padded his lead to 212 points over Edwards.

Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle, David Ragan, Brad Keselowski and Scott Speed completed the top-10.

Robby Gordon and Joey Logano also had an on-track skirmish late in the race. Gordon leaned into Logano, forcing him to slide off the track and slam into the tire barrier.

As Logano attempted to head back to the pits, the bottom of his car erupted into flames. He quickly exited the car without any injuries.

Several laps before the incident, the two made contact several times before Gordon's front hood was crunched in, eventually causing a tire to blow.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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