Power sets IndyCar record with eighth pole of season

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08/21/2010 - Sonoma, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Will Power earned his record eighth IZOD IndyCar Series pole of the season after winning Saturday's qualifying for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway.

Power barely made it out of the second round of qualifying, but posted a quick lap around the 2.303-mile, 12-turn road course in one minute, 16.5282 seconds during the closing minutes of the "Fast Six" final session to surpass Helio Castroneves' series record, set in 2007, of seven poles for the season.

One year ago, Power's season came to an abrupt end at Sonoma, where he sustained multiple injuries during a practice crash. The Australian driver 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.

"I'm very happy to get the pole after what happened here last year," Power said. "It was so close, and I didn't think I was going to get the pole today. I knew it was going to be tight, but I'm very happy."

Power edged his Penske Racing teammate Castroneves by 0.037 seconds.

"I was very consistent, and the car was very good," Castroneves said. "We made some incredible changes and great gains from yesterday's [practice]."

Dario Franchitti, the defending series champion and last year's race winner at Sonoma, qualified third.

"We'll definitely try to get [Power] tomorrow, but he's done a heck of a job," Franchitti said.

Power holds a 42-point lead over Franchitti heading into the ninth and final road/street course race of the season. The last four IndyCar races this year will be contested on 1.5-mile ovals.

Alex Tagliani will share the second row with Franchitti after qualifying fourth, while Ryan Briscoe and Scott Dixon will roll off from row three.

Justin Wilson will start seventh, followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay, Tony Kanaan and Raphael Matos.

Danica Patrick had another disappointing qualifying session, as she will start 23rd in Sunday's race at Sonoma.

The 75-lap event will start around 5:45 p.m. (et).

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.