Busch brothers tops in qualifying at Las Vegas

Autoracing Betting Lines

02/27/2009 - Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch won the pole at his hometrack, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, for the second year in a row, while his elder brother, Kurt Busch, posted the second best lap in Friday's qualifying for the Shelby 427.

Kyle Busch set a new track qualifying record with a lap of 29.033 seconds (185.995 m.p.h.). However, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver will have to start the Sprint Cup Series race from the rear of the field after an engine change prior to qualifying.

"We're just going to buy our time and race the 427 miles," Busch said. "All the guys on this team did an awesome job changing the engine today. We look forward to hopefully being able to do it on Sunday."

The pole victory was Busch's fifth in his Sprint Cup career.

Kurt Busch will now lead the 43-car field to the green flag after recording a lap of 29.078 seconds.

The last time brothers qualified on the front row for a Cup race occurred in April 2000 when Rusty Wallace won the pole and Kenny Wallace secured the outside pole at Martinsville Speedway.

Jimmie Johnson qualified third at Las Vegas, followed by David Reutimann and Marcos Ambrose.

Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart completed the top-10.

Other drivers of note and their starting positions include: Carl Edwards (16th), Greg Biffle (24th), Jeff Gordon (28th), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (31st) and Matt Kenseth (40th).

Jeremy Mayfield and Scott Riggs were among the eight drivers who failed to qualify. Both drivers raced their way into the Daytona 500 earlier this month. Other drivers missing the field were: Travis Kvapil, Dave Blaney, Mike Garvey, Sterling Marlin, Tony Raines and Dexter Bean.

After winning the Daytona 500 and the Auto Club 500 at California, Kenseth will attempt to become the first driver in NASCAR history to win the first three Cup races of the season. Kenseth currently holds an 81-point lead over Gordon in the series standings. He won back-to-back races at Las Vegas from 2003-04.

"I didn't think we would have won the first two races, so I haven't really thought about the third," Kenseth said. "Hopefully we can get our car to handle good this weekend and have a shot. The pit crew has been operating at an extremely high level, and so have all the guys getting the cars to handle and run - the engine guys and everything - so I feel like we have the tools to be competitive and we'll just try to be as competitive as we can and hopefully be somewhere in position at the end."

Roush Fenway Racing has been dominant at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with the team's six victories best compared to Hendrick Motorsports' four wins since the series started racing there in 1998.

Gordon, who is coming off a second-place finish at California, is eager to snap his winless streak, which now stretches to 43 races. He won at Las Vegas in 2001, the same year he captured his fourth Cup championship.

Edwards won last year's event at Las Vegas.

The green flag for Sunday's race is scheduled to drop around 4:30 p.m. (et).

Wwwmaxim Autoracing Betting News

<< Jets land Bart Scott
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets have signed free agent linebacker Bart Scott. Although terms of the deal weren't disclosed, the New York Daily News reported early Friday that the former Baltimore Raven had agreed

<< Thunder's Durant leaves game with ankle injury
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant left in the first quarter of Friday's game against the Dallas Mavericks with a right ankle injury. Durant came down on his right ankle awkwardly after goin

<< Jags sign S Considine
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars signed free agent safety Sean Considine to a contract on Friday. The Jacksonville Sun reports it's a two-year deal. The 27-year-old Considine, taken in the fourth round by the E

<< Mets sign veteran P Villone to minor league contract
Port St. Lucie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets signed veteran relief pitcher Ron Villone to a minor league contract, which includes a invitation to spring training, on Friday. In 74 games with the Cardinals last year, Villone pro

<< Fish solves Serra in tiebreakers, heads to semis in Florida
Delray Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mardy Fish used his serve effectively on Friday, getting the better of Frenchman Florent Serra 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4) in quarterfinal action at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships. Fish n

Williams to face Pennetta in Mexican Open final >>
Acapulco, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Italian Flavia Pennetta is one victory away from capturing her third Mexican Open, but will have to overcome top- seeded American Venus Williams in the final on Saturday. Pennetta, the reigning c

Schneider lifts Canadiens over Flyers in OT >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mathieu Schneider scored on the power play 3:21 into overtime, as the Montreal Canadiens took a 4-3 decision from the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wachovia Center. Montreal got a power play due to an in

Iverson has MRI exam, replaced in starting lineup >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pistons guard Allen Iverson missed Friday's 93-85 win against the Orlando Magic after returning to Detroit for an MRI exam on his stiff back. Iverson left Wednesday's loss to New Orleans after playing only

Wizards work magic in front of Obama, down Bulls >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Antawn Jamison scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead eight double-digit scorers, as the lowly Washington Wizards used a strong fourth quarter to hold on for a 113-90 win over th

Bills ink QB Fitzpatrick >>
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills filled their backup quarterback role, signing free agent signal-caller Ryan Fitzpatrick. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Fitzpatrick started 12 games for the Cincinnati Ben

El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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