Jeff Gordon became driver enemy number one at Sonoma
Autoracing Betting Lines
06/21/2010 -
Sonoma, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Gordon is a four-time NASCAR Cup champion
and a five-time race winner at Infineon Raceway, but at the conclusion of
Sunday's race at the Northern California road course, Gordon was a marked man
in the garage.
Several drivers, particularly Martin Truex Jr., were furious with Gordon's
aggressive driving throughout the 110-lap race. Following the second restart
on lap 61, Truex was running among the top-10, but Gordon slammed into the
back of him and turned him around.
Truex fell back to the middle of the field, but shortly after, the Michael
Waltrip Racing driver was caught in a five-car pileup, which ended his day
prematurely.
"We got put in by Jeff Gordon, and getting spun out there on that restart is
what got us in the back there," an angry Truex said. "I guess Jeff figured he
couldn't catch us on the race track, so he was going to spin us out on the
restart."
Truex felt there was no excuse for Gordon's actions.
"Now I know he's going to say Juan [Pablo Montoya] was trying to pass me, and
I was trying to block him," Truex said. "I don't care. Just because he's trying
to pass you, it's all right for you to spin me out? No. Let him pass you then.
I would have let Juan pass me. If it was either get passed or spin out Jeff
Gordon, I would have lifted and get passed. That's the difference between me
and him. That's why I'm here, that's why he's out there and that's why I'm
[ticked] off."
Truex wound up finishing 42nd, which put a serious dent in his bid to qualify
for this year's championship Chase. He fell three spots in the standings to
19th, and trails current 12th-place driver Carl Edwards by 157 points, as 10
races remain before the cutoff for the Chase. Truex held the 12th spot in
points one month ago.
After finishing fifth, Gordon, whose hometown is in nearby Vallejo, CA,
admitted his carelessness on the track and understood that Truex should be
irate with him.
"I certainly owe Martin Truex and apology," Gordon said. "He was just racing
as clean as he could, and I was racing with [Montoya], and I just got in there
and took him straight out. I feel awful about that."
But has Gordon's apology resolved the issue, or does Truex plan on future
payback?
"It's all right; we'll get him," Truex said.
And Gordon knows it maybe happen soon.
"Whatever is coming back to me, I understand," he said.
Truex was not the only driver who had a run-in with Gordon at Sonoma. Gordon
also tangled with Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle and road-racing expert Mattias
Ekstrom before spoiling Elliott Sadler's strong run late in the race.
Gordon turned Sadler around while he was running inside the top-10 with 11
laps remaining. Sadler approached Gordon and had a few words with him at the
conclusion of the race.
"We got taken out by Gordon, and it's just frustrating," said Sadler, who
finished 17th. "This is one of the best tracks for us and one of the good
chances we had this year for a top 10. It's a shame. He took out Martin Truex
for no reason."
Gordon has been the center of other on-track skirmishes this season,
particularly with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson, who won at
Sonoma for the first time. Johnson and Gordon were disappointed in each
other after they made contact while battling for Tony Stewart for the lead
late in the April 19 race at Texas. One week later, disappointment turned into
anger between the teammates when they banged into each other again in the
closing laps at Talladega.
In March, Gordon and Matt Kenseth renewed their ongoing rivalry when Gordon
shoved Kenseth up the track and into the wall with less than two laps remaining
at Martinsville. Kenseth was leading before the incident, but wound up
finishing 18th, while Gordon came in third.
It's not even halfway through the season, and Gordon has adapted well to
NASCAR's "boys, have at it" theme this year.
For a driver looking to snap a winless streak that stretches back to April
2009, perhaps Gordon should cool it a bit before someone gives him a taste of
his own medicine.
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The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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