Allmendinger claims first Sprint Cup pole at Phoenix

Autoracing Betting Lines

04/09/2010 - Avondale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A.J. Allmendinger will start on the pole for the first time in his Sprint Cup Series career after winning Friday's qualifying for the Subway Fresh Fit 600 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Allmendinger, a former open-wheel competitor, turned in a blazing lap of 134.675 m.p.h. for his first pole in 87 starts. He also put the Richard Petty- owned No.43 car on the pole for the first time since John Andretti did it for Petty in November 1999 at Phoenix.

"To get a pole, it might be minor, but it's a small victory for us," Allmendinger said. "We've always struggled in qualifying, but to get our first pole and kind of get that monkey off our back, we get to see the green flag drop and go to the front."

Allmendinger's best Sprint Cup finish so far is third, which came in the 2009 Daytona 500.

Scott Speed will join Allmendinger on the front row after turning a lap of 134.373 m.p.h. Speed matched his best qualifying effort, with his first outside pole coming in November 2008 at Homestead.

"We knew looking at the data after practice that our car was pretty good," Speed said. "As a team, we did a good job this week, because [Phoenix] is one of those places where we only get two practices all weekend. We really have to maximize those as much as we can."

Sam Hornish Jr. qualified a career-best third, while Marcos Ambrose and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top-five.

Joey Logano took the sixth starting spot, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya, Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards, who's making his 200th career Cup start, and Jeff Gordon.

Four-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson qualified 16th. Johnson has won four of the last five races at Phoenix. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin won here one year ago. Martin was 23rd in qualifying.

Denny Hamlin will start 26th. Hamlin returned to the track for the first time since he underwent surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee nine days ago. He expects to start the 375-lap race, but might hand over his car to relief driver Casey Mears in the early going.

"My goal is to know what I am going to do before lap 100," Hamlin said. "If I go past lap 100, there's no reason to decide and abort. I just need to tough it out at that point. We got to do it early, and I will know early what I've got. There's so much different stuff that were going to do tomorrow morning to help this thing. I don't know how much better I will feel tomorrow, but I know as of today, there's no way I can do it."

Hamlin and Mears shared driving in the No.11 Toyota during both practices on Friday. Hamlin topped the charts in the first practice with a lap of 131.120 m.p.h. He was 23rd quickest in the final session.

The 29-year-old Hamlin plans to have his stitches removed and his knee drained on Saturday morning.

David Stremme, Aric Almirola, Mike Bliss and Brandon Ash failed to qualify.

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Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

Bet on NFL Football

Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

NFL football gambling

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.