IndyCar wraps up road/street course schedule at Sonoma

Autoracing Betting Lines

08/17/2010 - Sonoma, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: IZOD IndyCar. Date: Sunday, August 22. Race: Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. Site: Infineon Raceway. Track: 2.303-mile, 12-turn road course. Start Time: 5:45 p.m. (et). Laps: 75. Miles: 172.7. 2009 winner: Dario Franchitti. Television: VERSUS. Radio: IMS Radio Network/SIRIUS XM Satellite.

The IZOD IndyCar Series will run its ninth and final road/street course race of the season this weekend at Infineon Raceway.

Last week at Mid-Ohio, Will Power's second-place finish allowed him to claim the Mario Andretti Trophy for clinching the series' first-ever road/street course championship. Power has won four course events so far this season -- Sao Paulo, Brazil; St. Petersburg, FL; Watkins, NY and Toronto.

The Team Penske driver currently holds a 41-point lead over defending series champion Dario Franchitti and an 82-point advantage over Franchitti's Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon.

One year ago, Power's season came to an abrupt end at Sonoma, where he sustained multiple injuries during a practice crash. Power suffered two broken vertebrae and a concussion when his car hit the stalled car of Nelson Philippe, who spun exiting the blind, downhill corner. Philippe also suffered a concussion, along with an open fracture to his left foot.

Indy Racing League and track officials recently have made several safety improvements to help prevent serious crashes, like the one of Power and Philippe's, at the 2.303-mile, 12-turn course in Northern California.

Thirteen IndyCar drivers, including Power, participated in a test session at Sonoma last week. Power topped the overall speed charts with a lap of one minute, 17.46 seconds.

"It's nice to be back, actually," Power said. "I was a little nervous heading up over that hill (at Turn 3A) a couple of times, for sure. But the track has done a fantastic job of making sure that everyone is aware if someone does spin. If there is a car sitting up and over the top, there's a lot of lights and plenty of warning before you get there now.

"I enjoy this track. It's very technical and one of the better road courses we come to, so I'd like to come back here and I'd love to win."

There have been five different winners in as many races at Sonoma. Franchitti is the defending race winner. Helio Castroneves (2008), Dixon (2007), Marco Andretti (2006) and Tony Kanaan (2005) also have won here.

After Sonoma, the series will run its final four races on ovals.

The October 2 season-finale at Homestead will determine the oval titleholder and the overall IndyCar champion.

Wwwracingone Autoracing Betting News

<< Seahawks release RB Peterson
Renton, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Seahawks released running back Adrian Peterson, less than a week after signing the former member of the Chicago Bears. Not to be confused with the Minnesota running back of the same name

<< Trucks kick off NASCAR's week at Bristol
Bristol, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck. Date: Wednesday, August 18. Race: O'Reilly 200. Site: Bristol Motor Speedway. Track: .533-mile oval. Start time: 8:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 200. Miles: 106.6. 2009 winner: Kyle Busch

<< Keselowski looking for bigger points lead at Bristol
Bristol, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Nationwide. Date: Friday, August 20. Race: Food City 250. Site: Bristol Motor Speedway. Track: .533-mile oval. Start time: 8:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 250. Miles: 133.25. 2009 winner: David Ragan. Televis

<< Ole Miss basketball coach Kennedy settles lawsuit
Jackson, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ole Miss men's basketball head coach Andy Kennedy has agreed to settle a lawsuit stemming from a December 2008 run-in with a cab driver in Cincinnati. The Clarion-Ledger on Tuesday reported that Ken

<< Chase battle moves on to Bristol
Bristol, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Saturday, August 21. Race: IRWIN Tools Night Race. Site: Bristol Motor Speedway. Track: .533-mile oval. Start time: 7:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 500. Miles: 266.5. 2009 winner: Kyle Busch

Mets place Rodriguez on disqualified list after thumb surgery >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets took another step towards distancing themselves from embattled closer Francisco Rodriguez on Tuesday, placing him on the disqualified list. The move came immediately followin

Rockies recall Chacin, place Buchholz on DL >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies on Tuesday placed right-handed pitcher Taylor Buchholz on the 15-day disabled list and recalled righty Jhoulys Chacin from Triple-A Colorado Springs. Buchholz had previously been

Oklahoma's Hand out five months >>
Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oklahoma guard Whitney Hand will miss five months after undergoing microfracture surgery Tuesday to repair cartilage damage in her right knee. Hand, the 2009 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, missed the ma

Mets withhold K-Rod's salary, put him on DQ list >>
HOUSTON (AP) -The New York Mets are withholding injured closer Francisco Rodriguez's salary while he's sidelined, and the team wants to convert his contract to a non-guaranteed deal.The moves could be a prelude to the Mets releasing the star closer

Lakers owner still enjoying Hall of Fame induction >>
BELL GARDENS, Calif. (AP) -Relishing the afterglow of being inducted into the Hall of Fame last week, Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss was candid, funny and reflective when sharing his thoughts on his life, his team and the Miami Heat.Buss, a pok

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.