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09/16/2007 - Loudon, NH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ron Hornaday Jr. dominated from start to finish, leading 174 of 200 laps and capturing Saturday afternoon's New Hampshire 200 Craftsman Truck Series race at the New Hampshire International Speedway. The No.33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet driver crossed the finish line 4.21 seconds ahead of Erik Darnell.
The victory was Hornaday Jr.'s fourth of the season and 33rd of his truck career.
"I have to thank everybody, what an awesome truck," said Hornaday Jr.
After rain cancelled qualifying, points leader Hornaday Jr. brought the field to the green flag for 200 laps of racing. He immediate took control and the lead the after 28 laps was already 1.694 seconds. Behind him were his primary championship rival, Mike Skinner (-4) and 2006 series champion Todd Bodine.
In the middle of the pack and moving up were two "Cup" drivers, Clint Bowyer and Kyle Busch. Both started at the back after qualifying was cancelled and were working their way through slower traffic.
Hornaday Jr.'s lead was a big as 3.342 seconds on lap 38 when a caution flag for debris slowed the race to a crawl. The No.33 KHI crew had a little problem on their stop and Hornaday Jr. came out in third place behind Skinner and Mike Bliss.
Hornaday Jr. made quick work of Bliss, but Skinner was a much tougher challenge. On lap 50 Hornaday Jr. got to the inside of Skinner, but the No.5 Toyota driver held him off and Hornaday Jr. had to tuck back in line behind Skinner.
Then Chad Chaffin spun to bring out a second caution flag and one of the drivers caught up in the wreck was Bowyer. His day was done.
Before the race reached lap 65 Hornaday Jr. retook the lead from Skinner. Bodine joined the pair at the top and the three paced the way as the field passed the 80-lap mark. But they were all looking in their rearview mirror at Busch who was up to seventh and still closing on the three leaders. Then as he tried to get by Darnell on lap 88 for sixth place, he got loose and slapped the outside wall. The splitter took some damage and Busch radioed that he had hurt the truck's handling.
At the mid-point Hornaday Jr. held a one-second lead on Bodine. By lap 113, the No.33 Chevrolet driver clinched the bonus for "most laps led." But Skinner wasn't done and on lap 114 went around Bodine for second place. He was still more than two second behind Hornaday Jr., but at least he could now see him.
Final pit stops began just past lap 130 and Hornaday Jr. beat Skinner back to the track. Meanwhile, Darnell held the lead until lap 136 hoping that a caution flag might show and drastically shuffle up the race. It didn't come out before Darnell pitted, but one did come out for a spin by Busch on lap 141 with Willie Allen leading and Hornaday Jr. in sixth place.
Those who hadn't pitted, including Allen, did so on the caution flag and Hornaday Jr., Bodine and Skinner were once again the race leaders. Hornaday Jr. built the lead to more than five seconds (over Darnell) with 30 laps remaining. From there Hornaday Jr. drove it to the checkered flag without a true challenge.
Skinner, Bodine and Mike Bliss completed the top-five. Hornaday Jr.'s win gives him a 29-point lead over Skinner heading to the next event. Travis Kvapil is third overall, but a distant 271 points behind Hornaday Jr.
"He put a whuppin' on us today, he just had the best truck and those guys are doing good job," said Skinner of Hornaday Jr.
The next race in the series is set for Saturday, September 22nd at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
<< Rollins, Phils edge Mets for seventh straight time
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jimmy Rollins' triple past Carlos Beltran in
center field scored two runs to put the Phillies in front, as Philadelphia won
its seventh straight from the New York Mets, 5-3, at Shea Stadium.
Rollins drilled
<< Stafford helps Bulldogs manhandle Catamounts
Athens, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matthew Stafford threw for 174 yards and two
touchdowns and Knowshon Moreno ran strong for 94 yards and a score, as Georgia
rebounded from a loss to South Carolina with a 45-16 thrashing of Western
Carolin
<< Harper leads Clemson to big win over Furman
Clemson, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cullen Harper completed 16-of-19 passes for 266
yards and three touchdowns, leading the 20th-ranked Clemson Tigers to a 38-10
rout of the Furman Paladins.
Aaron Kelly had six catches for 79 yards and a score
<< Thomas, Halladay put big hurt on Orioles
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Frank Thomas hit a two-run home run and Roy
Halladay pitched seven strong innings as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the
Baltimore Orioles, 8-3, in the middle contest of a three-game set.
Alex Rios and G
Youkilis leaves Sox-Yankees game >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis
left Saturday's Red Sox-Yankees contest at Fenway Park with an apparent right
wrist injury in the bottom of the fifth inning.
With one out in the inning, Yank
Europe wins fourballs for Solheim Cup lead >>
Halmstad, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The European team won three points on
Sunday when the fourballs finished and took the outright lead at the Solheim
Cup.
Europe leads the competition 8 1/2 - 7 1/2 at a wet and windy Halmstad Golf
For Release on receipt SUN . >>
National Team OffenseBy The Associated PressScoring OffenseG Pts AvgOklahoma 3 184 61.3Florida 3 167 55.7Louisville 3 165 55.0Kansas
Davenport captures Bali crown >>
Bali, Indonesia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lindsay Davenport completed a successful
return to singles tennis with a three-set victory over Slovakia's Daniela
Hantuchova to capture the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic title.
Davenport earned
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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