Franchitti, Dixon lead the way in final Indy 500 practice

Autoracing Betting Lines

05/25/2012 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon drove their Honda-powered Target Chip Ganassi Racing cars to the top of the speed charts in Friday's final practice session for the Indianapolis 500.

With air temperatures reaching the mid-80s and track temperatures climbing to 120 degrees during the one-hour practice session, Franchitti posted a lap at 222.360 mph. The three-time defending IZOD IndyCar Series champion and two- time Indy 500 winner drove a total of 42 laps around the famed 1.5-mile oval.

"It was slippery out there today, more so than all month," Franchitti said.

The weather forecast for Sunday's 500-mile race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is calling for temperatures to soar into the mid-90s. The track temperature is likely to reach 140 degrees.

Dixon was clocked at 222.274 mph on lap 26 of his 51 laps. Both drivers will start the Indy 500 in the middle of the 33-car field, with Dixon rolling off from the outside of row five and Franchitti staring from the inside of row six.

"I think we concentrated a lot as a team on downforce and where we need to be," Dixon said. "We didn't make a whole lot of changes, and the car felt pretty strong."

Chevrolet secured nine of the top-10 starting positions for the Indy 500. Ryan Briscoe from Team Penske won the pole position last Saturday. Briscoe was fifth quickest in Friday's practice (221.025 mph).

"We actually had to adjust the car a lot during that session," he said. "We needed the full hour of running, and we made a lot of changes."

Marco Andretti from Andretti Autosport recorded the third fastest lap, followed by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Takuma Sato.

Will Power, the current points leader, turned in the seventh quickest lap, while his Penske teammate, Helio Castroneves, a three-time Indy 500 winner, was 11th.

"I felt very consistent, and we had no issues at all with the car," said Castroneves, who will attempt to tie A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser for most wins in this prestigious race. "I might not be the fastest guy, but we were very consistent. For 3 1/2 hours of racing, you need to know the tools that you can use in the car so that you are able to attack."

Power and Castroneves will share row two with Marco Andretti.

There were no the incidents during the session; however, Ana Beatriz from Andretti did not make any laps due to a mechanical issue with her car.

Mysb Autoracing Betting News

<< The Sixth Man: LeBron and D-Wade respond like champions
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami got knocked to the canvas by the Indiana Pacers in the East semifinals before responding like a champion. The Heat are headed back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight season after surviving an in

<< LeBron and D-Wade respond like champions
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami got knocked to the canvas by the Indiana Pacers in the East semifinals before responding like a champion. The Heat are headed back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight season after surviving an in

<< Schiavone, Cornet reach Strasbourg final
Strasbourg, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy will battle French crowd favorite Alize Cornet in Saturday's championship match at the $220,000 Strasbourg International tennis event,

<< College baseball to experience plenty of drama this holiday weekend
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - This holiday weekend there will be 22 different conference tournaments decided across the college baseball landscape. Championship series are on the docket from today until next Tuesday, with a slew of teams,

<< Radwanska will face Halep in Brussels finale
Brussels, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska and rising Romanian Simona Halep will be the combatants in Saturday's final at the $637,000 Brussels Open, a final clay-court French Open tune-up. The to

Philadelphia, Toronto hope to reverse winless runs >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - BMO Field will host a meeting of two Major League Soccer bottom-feeders Saturday as the Philadelphia Union head north to face Toronto FC. Toronto is without a point this season, sitting last in the East w

Blue Jays place Francisco on DL among slew of moves >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays on Friday placed outfielder Ben Francisco on the 15-day disabled list and optioned pitcher Evan Crawford to Triple-A Las Vegas. Francisco, 30, left Sunday's game in the sixth

Bengals ink first-round pick Zeitler >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Bengals signed their 2012 first-round pick, guard Kevin Zeitler, on Friday. The Bengals picked Zeitler with the 27th overall pick in last month's draft. Zeitler spent four years at Wis

Dallas tries to snap road woes at RSL >>
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas is facing a tough task as the team attempts to snap its eight-game winless streak with a trip to Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday to face a rested Real Salt Lake side. Dallas saw its winless s

Sixers and Celtics set to finish latest chapter in rivalry >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Might as well show up. That could be the Philadelphia 76ers' motto as they prepare to face off with long-time rival Boston in the deciding Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at TD Garden on Saturday. The eighth

MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.