Kahne edges Johnson for Sonoma pole

Autoracing Betting Lines

06/18/2010 - Sonoma, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kasey Kahne will start on the pole for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 after posting the fastest lap during qualifying at Infineon Raceway.

Kahne, who won his first road-course race in the Sprint Cup Series last year at Sonoma, turned a lap of 93.893 m.p.h. for his first pole of the season and the 17th of his career. His last pole came at this 1.99-mile course in Northern California two years ago.

"We've had a pole here before, and now we have another one," Kahne said. "This whole team did a real nice job today. We showed up with a great car and then made a few adjustments. It felt really good. We haven't had a pole in a long time."

Kahne, currently 21st in points, is in the last year of his contract with Richard Petty Motorsports. Earlier today, he confirmed that his plans for next season remain uncertain before he replaces Mark Martin in the No.5 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports in 2012.

"I actually talked with Mr. Hendrick this morning, and we just chatted," Kahne said. "We stay in touch every week, and we didn't even cross that path. I didn't even ask anything about next year, and he didn't bring it up either. We were just talking about other stuff, so I would say there is no new news."

Kahne finished a season-best second last weekend at Michigan.

Jimmie Johnson qualified 0.07 seconds behind Kahne to claim the outside pole. Johnson, the four-time defending series champion, has yet to win a road-course event.

"We didn't expect that; I knew that we didn't have a clean lap in practice," Johnson said. "I'm definitely impressed with the lap in qualifying that we had today. From inside the car, I didn't think it was going to be all that quick. It had great forward bite, but I just wasn't turning."

Kurt Busch took the third spot, followed by Kevin Harvick, the points leader, and Jeff Gordon, who holds the record for most victories at Sonoma with five.

"For us, it was a great run today in qualifying," Busch said. "I was slipping and sliding on banana peels all through practice."

Marcos Ambrose, Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte, Greg Biffle and Martin Truex Jr. completed the top-10.

Harvick currently holds a 22-point lead over Kyle Busch, who qualified 27th.

Denny Hamlin, winner of the last two races, will start 12th.

Michael Waltrip, Brian Simo and Brandon Ash failed to qualify.

Sunday's race at Sonoma is scheduled to start just after 3:00 p.m. (et).

Wwwpaymybills Autoracing Betting News

<< Steinhauer grabs early lead in New Jersey
Galloway, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sherri Steinhauer fired a seven-under 64 Friday to grab a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic. Steinhauer, an eight-time winner on the LPGA Tour, shared second place in

<< Saints' Moore signs tender
Metaire, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Saints announced Friday wide receiver Lance Moore has signed his one-year qualifying offer. Moore caught 14 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns in an injury-plagued year for the defending Sup

<< Titans top pick Morgan arrested
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defensive end Derrick Morgan, the first-round draft pick of the Tennessee Titans, was arrested Wednesday afternoon for speeding and driving with a suspended license. Morgan, the No. 16 overall draft

<< Report: Ravens, S Hamlin agree to deal
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Sun is reporting that the Ravens and safety Ken Hamlin have agreed to a one-year deal. Hamlin was released by the Dallas Cowboys in April and, according to the report, impressed the

<< Rockies' Tulowitzki hits DL with wrist fracture
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies placed shortstop Troy Tulowitzki on the 15-day disabled list Friday with a fractured left wrist. Tulowitzki was hit by a pitch from Minnesota's Alex Burnett in the eighth inning o

Smith remains in front at Fort Smith Classic >>
Fort Smith, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nathan J. Smith managed only an even-par 70 on Friday, but it was enough for him to keep his lead after two rounds of the Fort Smith Classic at Hardscrabble Country Club. Smith completed 36 holes at nine-u

Mariners activate Sweeney from DL >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners activated designated hitter Mike Sweeney from the 15-day disabled list on Friday. Sweeney had been battling lower back inflammation and has not played since June 2. His offense

Encarnacion lifts Blue Jays over Giants >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edwin Encarnacion blasted the game-winning home run leading off the bottom of the eighth inning to push Toronto past San Francisco, 3-2, in the opener of a three-game interleague set at Rogers Centre.

Howard, Utley power Phillies past Twins >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Howard homered twice and finished a single short of the cycle, as the Philadelphia Phillies got on a roll with a 9-5 defeat of the Minnesota Twins in the opener of a three-game interleague set.

Strasburg's record overshadows White Sox win over Nats >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen Strasburg fanned 10 more batters and set a major league record in the process, but an infield single by Alex Rios scored Mark Kotsay with the go-ahead run in the 11th inning as the Chicago White S

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.