Wilson claims first IndyCar pole at Toronto

Autoracing Betting Lines

07/17/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Wilson will start on the pole for the first time in his IZOD IndyCar Series career after posting the quickest lap in Saturday's qualifying for the Honda Indy Toronto.

Wilson lapped the 1.721-mile, 11-turn Toronto street circuit in one minute, 0.2710 seconds for his maiden pole in his 43rd IndyCar start. The 31-year-old Englishman also set a new track qualifying record.

I think this is a great boost after having a couple of difficult races," Wilson said. "We've been working really hard, but we just haven't got the results. To come in and get a result, we've been close in the Firestone Fast Six a few times, but it's just not quite happened, so this really is a big morale boost for everyone on the team. We're just going to enjoy the race tomorrow."

Wilson, in his first year driving for Dreyer and Reinbold Racing, gave the team its second pole. Sarah Fisher recorded DRR's first pole in 2002 at Kentucky.

Will Power from Team Penske qualified 0.19 seconds behind Wilson to grab the outside pole. Wilson denied Penske from winning its ninth straight pole.

"I didn't get the most out of the last sector, but [Wilson] laid down a really quick time," Power said. "To have the car on the front row, we'll see if we can beat him in the race tomorrow."

Power, the current points leader, has scored the most victories so far this season with three, including a win two weeks ago at the Watkins Glen, NY road course.

Helio Castroneves, also from Penske, qualified third, while Ryan Hunter-Reay from Andretti Autosport took the fourth spot.

Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon will share the third row. Franchitti, the defending series champion and last year's race winner at Toronto, qualified fifth, while Dixon took sixth.

Power's lead is 32 points over Franchitti.

Ryan Briscoe will start seventh, followed by Tony Kanaan, Alex Tagliani and Marco Andretti.

Danica Patrick had her best road/street course qualifying performance so far this season with a 12th-place finish.

"I was pleased with our qualifying run today," Patrick said. "It was a good step in the right direction. I'm happy with the car, and hopefully we can have a decent day tomorrow."

Canadian Paul Tracy will start 24th in front of his home crowd. Tracy spun out during his run during the first qualifying session.

Sunday's IndyCar race at Toronto is scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m. (et).

Justsoccerchance Autoracing Betting News

<< Report: Brad Miller signs with Rockets
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets have agreed to a three- year deal with veteran center Brad Miller. Miller's agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed the pact to the Houston Chronicle and indicated it to be worth just shy of

<< Monfils, Montanes to battle for Stuttgart title
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - France's Gael Monfils and Albert Montanes of Spain will square off in the final of the Mercedes Cup tennis event following their semifinal wins Saturday. The third-seeded Monfils was taken

<< Martino to remain Paraguay's manager
Asuncion, Paraguay (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerardo Martino has agreed to a four- year contract extension to remain in charge of Paraguay's national team, although he could still leave following the Copa America tournament. Martino's new

<< Woods unable to get anything going
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three-time Open champion Tiger Woods mixed four bogeys and three birdies in a round of one-over 73 Saturday at the British Open. Woods finished three rounds at three-under-par 213 and is currently

<< Celtic inks Mexico international Juarez
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mexico international Efrain Juarez has agreed to a four-year deal with Celtic and has met up with his new teammates in Seattle on their preseason tour of North America. The 22-year-old has been gra

Indians beat Tigers to begin doubleheader >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trevor Crowe's two-out RBI single in the seventh inning gave Cleveland a 4-3 win over Detroit in the first game of a doubleheader from Progressive Field. Fausto Carmona (9-7) went seven-plus inning

Tigers call up Porcello to start back end of DH >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers have recalled right- hander Rick Porcello from Triple-A Toledo to start the second game of a doubleheader with the Indians Saturday. Porcello was demoted on June 20 after pi

D.C. fails to pick up option on Emilio >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United and striker Luciano Emilio have parted ways after a brief three-month reunion as United opted not to pick up its option on the former Major League Soccer MVP. Emilio returned to the team i

Polanco contributes big hit in return for Phils >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Placido Polanco made a huge impact Saturday in his return to the lineup with the Philadelphia Phillies. The veteran infielder, who was activated off the 15-day disabled list prior to the game, singled

Phillies use four-run ninth to beat Cubs >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ross Gload scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in a wild four-run, two-out rally in the ninth inning that carried the Phillies to a 4-1 comeback win over Chicago in third meeting of a four-

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.


Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.