Truck title fight continues at Martinsville

Autoracing Betting Lines

10/26/2011 - Martinsville, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck. Date: Saturday, October 29. Race: Kroger 200. Site: Martinsville Speedway. Track: 0.526-mile oval. Start time: 2:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 200. Miles: 105.2. 2010 winner: Ron Hornaday Jr. Television: Speed. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN) /SIRIUS NASCAR Satellite.

The battle for the Camping World Truck Series championship is turning out to be one of the best in the series'17-year history. With three races to go, 16 points separate leader Austin Dillon from fourth-place Ron Hornaday Jr.

James Buescher's finish of third compared to a seventh-place run for Dillon in last Saturday's race at Talladega allowed Buescher to move within three points of Dillon.

Johnny Sauter fell 14 points out of the lead after finishing 15th at Talladega.

Hornaday has been the hottest driver in the series lately, winning three of the last six races. He finished second at Talladega.

After finishing 24th in the August 24 race at Bristol, it looked as though Hornaday's chances of winning a record-extending fifth series title were over, as he trailed the leader by 68 points. But what a remarkable comeback he's made since then.

"This championship battle is really heating up, and with three races to go, it's important to drive smart and make good decisions," he said. "I've been in this hot seat before, and I really think this team can come together and pull off a victory."

Hornaday could very well continue his surge in the point standings this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, a track where he has finished no worse than fourth in the past three years. He won at this track for the first time one year ago.

Dillon's best finish in three races at Martinsville is seventh, which came in April.

Buescher has finished no better than 11th in four starts at this track. He finished 35th here earlier this season.

When the series competed at Martinsville in the spring, Sauter passed Kyle Busch with less than two laps remaining to win here for the first time. Sauter's victory came days before his wife, Cortney, gave birth to their second child. He also became the first non-Sprint Cup Series regular to win a NASCAR national touring race during the 2011 season.

"We don't have a choice but to win if we're going to pull off this championship," Sauter said. "We're going to do whatever it takes to win, within reason. I don't look out for anybody but us, especially now with just three to go."

Timothy Peters, who grew up 30 miles away from this track in Providence, NC, is currently fifth in points (-42). Peters' first truck win came at Martinsville in October 2009. His series debut came here as well, in April 2005.

Kevin Harvick and Virginia-native Denny Hamlin are those Sprint Cup regulars competing in this race.

Harvick is the only driver entered that has multiple truck victories at Martinsville. He won back-to-back spring races here from 2009-10. Harvick will drive the No.2 Chevrolet, while Hornaday will move back into the No.33 truck. Hornaday drove the No.2 at Kentucky, Las Vegas and Talladega.

Hamlin will be behind the wheel of Kyle Busch Motorsports' No.18 Toyota.

Forty-one teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Kroger 200.

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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

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