Racing world mourns the loss of Dan Wheldon

Autoracing Betting Lines

10/17/2011 - Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Wheldon was hugely popular and greatly admired by his fans and fellow competitors around the auto racing world. His tragic death in a crash during Sunday's IndyCar race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has the auto racing community in a deep state of mourning. Wheldon was an inspiration to all in the sport. He will be sorely missed.

In what was figured to be one of the most thrilling IZOD IndyCar Series races in memory suddenly turned into the racing circuit's darkest moment. Wheldon, 33, was involved in a horrific 15-car crash on lap 11 that sent his car sailing into catch fence along turn two before it erupted into flames.

Wheldon, driving the No.77 Sam Schmidt Motorsports car, had an opportunity to split a $5 million bonus with a fan if he would have won the scheduled 300- mile season-ending race at Las Vegas. The Englishman had to start from the rear of the record 34-car field due to the rules of bonus program.

The race was also to determine the series championship. Dario Franchitti came to Las Vegas with an 18-point lead over Will Power.

Instead, the race was called off and no championship celebration took place. Roughly two hours after the accident, IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard had the difficult task of announcing Wheldon's death.

IndyCar had not experienced a fatality at a track since Paul Dana was killed in a practice crash at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2006.

With heavy hearts, drivers later paid tribute to the fallen two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and 2005 IndyCar champion with a five-lap parade around the 1.5-mile track. As bagpipes played "Amazing Grace" during the tribute, a somber mood was felt along pit lane, the garage area and the grandstands.

Franchitti claimed his record third straight and fourth overall IndyCar title, but that didn't matter to him. Franchitti, who was Wheldon's teammate at Andretti-Green Racing (now known as Andretti Autosport) from 2003-05, sobbed heavily while sitting in his car just before partaking in the parade laps.

"I was driving around there on the parade lap we did, and I was thinking about Dan," Franchitti said. "I was thinking of all Dan's stories and just things that we did. In situations like this, I think obviously the sadness, I was thinking of some of the fun times we had. But really right now it's just sad. It's just really, really sad. It's the ugly, ugly side of our sport. You see it all."

Danica Patrick, who ended her full-time career in IndyCar, could not hide her emotions as well.

"We're all very sad, and he was a friend to all of us," she tearfully said. "He'll be missed, and I just feel for his family."

Wheldon is survived by his wife, Susie, and two sons, Sebastian and Oliver.

With Patrick moving over to NASCAR full-time in 2012, Wheldon was expected to replace her at Michael Andretti's team.

Wheldon was also scheduled to compete in next weekend's V8 Supercars event in Surfers Paradise, Australia. Tony Kanaan had planned on joining Wheldon for the race, but the Brazilian has since withdrawn. Kanaan and Wheldon were former teammates as well.

"He was one of my best friends and one of my greatest teammates back in the day," Kanaan said. "We race car drivers have to block this possibility, and unfortunately when it happens, it's really hard."

Wheldon pulled off a stunning upset in the May 29 Indy 500. His second win in IndyCar's most prestigious race of the year came at the expense of rookie J.R. Hildebrand, who crashed coming out of final turn of the last lap while leading. Wheldon made his first start of the season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, driving an entry for Bryan Herta Autosport. His first Indy 500 victory came in '05, as he became the first driver from the United Kingdom to win it since Graham Hill did so in 1966.

"Everyone at Bryan Herta Autosport is reeling from the loss of our friend and teammate Dan Wheldon," team owner Bryan Herta said in a statement. "Dan was the glue that bound our little team together. It was his spark and belief in us that carried us all to victory lane at Indianapolis this year, and his legacy within the sport as a tremendous champion and competitor is unquestioned."

"But more than that, Dan became my little brother from our time together as teammates at AGR. I watched with pride as he developed from the brash young hotshot on the circuit to a man who was a great husband and father, ambassador, friend, champion and hero."

At the end of the 2010 season, Wheldon lost his ride with Panther Racing after spending two years with the team. Hildebrand replaced him in the Panther's No.4 car.

Wheldon had recently served as test driver for IndyCar's new Dallara chassis at IMS.

In preparation for Las Vegas, Schmidt placed Wheldon in the No.77 car, which is normally occupied by Alex Tagliani, for the October 2 race at Kentucky Speedway. Wheldon started 28th and finished 14th there.

Wheldon's IndyCar career began in 2002, running two races for Panther. He drove for Andretti Green Racing and then Chip Ganassi Racing before returning to Panther for the start of the 2009 season.

"We're all going to miss him. A little bit of everybody in IndyCar racing died today," Ganassi said during a press conference on Sunday at Las Vegas.

Condolences from members of the racing community worldwide have been pouring in, particularly Formula One and NASCAR.

Wheldon had explored his options in F1 and NASCAR after his '05 IndyCar championship season, but his future in either circuit did not come to fruition.

He competed against many of F1's current stars, including McLaren driver and 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton.

"Dan was a racer I'd followed throughout my career, as I often followed in his footsteps as we climbed the motorsports ladder in the UK," Hamilton said. "As a British guy, who not only went over to the [United] States but who twice won the Indy 500, he was an inspirational guy, and someone that every racing driver looked up to with respect and admiration."

Hamilton's teammate and 2009 F1 titleholder Jenson Button raced with Wheldon in Formula Ford and Formula Three.

"I have so many good memories of racing with Dan in the early 90's, a true fighter," Button noted.

Following Wheldon's death, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France issued a statement.

"NASCAR offers its deepest sympathies and condolences to the family of Dan Wheldon, his teammates, and the entire IndyCar Series community for their tragic loss [Sunday]," France said. "They will be in our thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was one of many drivers who shared their memories of Wheldon.

"I had the pleasure of meeting Dan Wheldon at the National Guard Youth Challenge dinner about five years ago, and we crossed paths several times since then, mostly through our mutual partnership with the National Guard," Earnhardt said. "His success as a racer speaks for itself, but I will remember him as a true professional who was friendly, respectful, and genuine. On behalf of everyone at JR Motorsports, I send condolences to Dan's family, team, and friends in the racing community."

The 2012 IndyCar season is scheduled to begin on March 25 at St. Petersburg, FL, where Wheldon had resided.

Wfantasysharks Autoracing Betting News

<< Colts supplemented to Breeders Crown at Woodbine
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of high profile trotters have been added to the 2011 Breeders Crown Three-year-old Trot. The mile race will be part of the 12 championship harness races set for Saturday, October 29 at Woodbine. Daylon

<< Texans QB Schaub has MRI on hip
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub reportedly underwent an MRI Monday morning. According to the Houston Chronicle, Schaub had a precautionary MRI on his hip. He came out of Sunday's 29-14 loss at

<< Rams' Bradford has high ankle sprain
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford has a high left ankle sprain, coach Steve Spagnuolo announced Monday. "It is a high ankle sprain," said Spagnuolo. "It will be day-to-day. There's no question tha

<< Raiders QB Campbell hopes to return this season
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Campbell is hopeful that his season is not over. According to the Oakland Tribune, the Raiders quarterback was scheduled for surgery Monday on his broken right clavicle, but envisions a return i

<< Kesler to make season debut Tuesday night
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vancouver forward and reigning Selke Trophy winner Ryan Kesler will make his 2011-12 season debut Tuesday night when the Canucks host the New York Rangers. Kesler had been recovering from offseason surger

Athletic rides fast start to win over Osasuna >>
Bilbao, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Athletic Bilbao claimed a second straight win on Monday as the club scored three first-half goals in a 3-1 win over Osasuna at San Mames. Iker Muniain tallied the opening goal on the half-hour mark after bei

Hildebrand, Mann released from Las Vegas hospital >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - IndyCar drivers J.R. Hildebrand and Pippa Mann were released from the University Medical Center in Las Vegas on Monday, one day after suffering injuries in a 15-car crash that claimed the life of two-tim

Southern chancellor issues apology about brawl >>
Baton Rouge, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The chancellor of Southern University issued an apology on Monday in response to the post-game brawl that involved his school's football team and Arkansas-Pine Bluff Saturday night in Pine Bluff, Ark. In t

Pens F Kennedy out with concussion-like symptoms >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh Penguins forward Tyler Kennedy has been diagnosed with concussion-like symptoms. Penguins coach Dan Bylsma is uncertain how long Kennedy will be out and when the forward was injured. Kenne

Kessel highlights NHL's 'Three Stars' >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Phil Kessel, New York Islanders center John Tavares and Dallas Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for games played from October 6 throu

Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.