Busch brothers sharing Nationwide driving duties at KBM

Autoracing Betting Lines

01/19/2012 - Mooresville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch Motorsports announced on Thursday that brothers Kyle and Kurt Busch will share driving duties in the No.54 Toyota during the 2012 Nationwide Series season.

KBM is entering its first full season of competition in Nationwide this year. Monster Energy will serve as primary sponsor for the team during the 33-race schedule. Kyle is scheduled to drive the car in the February 25 season-opening race at Daytona and then the next four events -- Phoenix, Las Vegas, Bristol and California.

In 2010, KBM won the Camping World Truck Series owner's championship in its inaugural year. KBM said its primary goal will be to capture the owner's title in Nationwide this season.

"Since debuting in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, KBM has had the goal to add a championship-caliber Nationwide Series team to our organization," driver/owner Kyle Busch said in a team statement. "With Monster Energy as primary sponsor and my brother Kurt as the second driver, we've accomplished that goal.

"The Monster Energy team of athletes consists of champion performers united by a desire to be the best. Kurt and I share that same desire and will settle for nothing less than adding a NASCAR championship to the long list of achievements for one of the strongest brands in the world."

It's not known at this time how many Nationwide races Kurt Busch will drive for KBM this year. He is also running a limited Nationwide schedule for Phoenix Racing, which begins with next month's race at Daytona. He will drive for Phoenix Racing in the Sprint Cup Series this season.

Mike Beam will serve as crew chief for the No.54 team. Beam's career has included stints at Roush Fenway Racing and Petty Enterprises.

Wwwmlife Autoracing Betting News

<< Indians P Carmona arrested for double identity
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona was arrested Thursday in his native Dominican Republic on charges of double identity. Maximo Baez Aybar, a spokesman for the Dominican National Police, said through

<< Jacksonville State to play Arkansas, Florida
Jacksonville, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jacksonville State's Jack Crowe still keeps his ties to the SEC. The dean of Ohio Valley Conference head football coaches will lead his Gamecocks program into not one, but two games against SEC opponents i

<< Valencia signs Argentine Banega to extension
Valencia, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Valencia has signed Argentine midfielder Ever Banega to a contract extension through June 2015. Banega, 23, joined Valencia in 2008 from Boca Juniors and has played 87 games with the Spanish side. Bane

<< Inter's Forlan picks up new injury
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan forward Diego Forlan has suffered strained right hip flexor, and will be sidelined for an unknown period. The Uruguayan international joined Inter from Atletico Madrid last summer, but the 32-year

<< Third class set to be inducted into NASCAR Hall of Fame
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five new members will be enshrined into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Friday. Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Richie Evans, Dale Inman and Glen Wood make up the 2012 class. They were voted into the NASCAR

Acclamation's trainer disappointed with Eclipse Award >>
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It may seem funny, but trainer Don Warren doesn't appear all that enthused with winning a 2011 Eclipse Award. His charge, Acclamation, was voted 2011 champion Older Male thoroughbred. What's not to

DePaul F Freeland intends to transfer >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - DePaul junior forward Tony Freeland plans to transfer due to a family illness, the school announced Thursday. Freeland, who was already out for the season due to a shoulder injury, said that he is going h

Giants' Manning returns to practice >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning was a full participant in practice on Thursday after leaving Wednesday's practice with a stomach illness. "I'm 100 percent. I had a full practice today,

AC Milan's Pato to miss 3-4 weeks >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato is expected to miss three to four weeks with a thigh injury sustained Wednesday in the Coppa Italia win over Novara. Pato's extra-time goal helped Milan defeat Novara, 2-1, but

Report: Saints hire Spagnuolo as defensive coordinator >>
Metairie, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Saints have decided on Steve Spagnuolo as their next defensive coordinator, according to a report by FOX's Jay Glazer. Spagnuolo spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the St

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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