Does Patrick have a shot at winning the Daytona 500?

Autoracing Betting Lines

02/20/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookies aren't supposed to win the Daytona 500, but Trevor Bayne proved that to be wrong last year. So why can't Danica Patrick be the next rookie to accomplish the same astounding feat?

She's got the talent to do it.

When a reporter asked Patrick if she could win the Daytona 500 during last Thursday's media day at Daytona International Speedway, she replied, "Do I think I can win the Daytona 500? Yeah."

Patrick is making her first career Sprint Cup Series start this week at Daytona. After placing 29th in time trials for the Daytona 500 over the weekend, Patrick will start 17th in a field of 25 cars in Thursday's first of the Gatorade Duel twin 150-mile qualifying races at Daytona.

No driver has won a Sprint Cup race in his or her first start since 1963 when Johnny Rutherford took the checkered flag for the second Daytona 500 qualifier race. The qualifiers counted as wins and points back then.

Bayne's win in the 2011 Daytona 500 came in just his second Sprint Cup start. He made his series debut in November 2010 at Texas, where he finished 17th.

Patrick is expected to be the third female to compete in the Daytona 500, joining Janet Guthrie and Shawna Robinson. Guthrie holds the record for best finish by a woman in the Daytona 500 -- 11th in 1980.

The Gatorade Duel will serve as Patrick's first chance to race with the big boys in NASCAR's premier series. She's competed in 25 Nationwide races so far, with three of them at Daytona.

One thing is for sure. The Duels will be Patrick's first day of school in Sprint Cup competition.

"Oh, wow, bigtime," Patrick said. "It's going to be about getting some rapport with some of the drivers I haven't raced with yet and getting a feel for how the pack running is going to go. I'm not completely unfamiliar with the pack running.

"The first year here [2010] was some pack, and even last year in the first race of the year in Nationwide, we did pack running. It was interesting to watch how you can be very organized in a single file line. You can pull away. It was interesting to see how the tandem will work in the end. So, trust me, I'll be studying that last pass at the end [of last Saturday's Budweiser Shootout on tape] with Tony [Stewart] and Kyle [Busch] to see when the perfect time is to do that."

During her 2005 rookie season in the IndyCar Series, Patrick started and finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500, setting records for her gender at the time. She also became the first women to lead laps during the Indy 500, running in front for a total of 19 laps. Patrick finished a career-best third in the 2009 Indy 500 to reset the gender record.

But that's the Indy 500...This is the Daytona 500.

"I think with the Indy 500 there's all the work that goes up to it," she said. "There's the team that you drive for, and there's the race car that you've worked on and made handle the way you want it to. I think there's a little more luck in certain ways with the Daytona 500 just because of the style of racing that it is."

"There is no bad driver that wins the Daytona 500, that's for sure," continued Patrick. "But things have to fall your way, and you've got to stay out of trouble that might not have even been your making, so I just think there is a little more of a luck side involved with it, and you can't account for that."

Regardless of her performance in the qualifiers, Patrick is guaranteed a starting position in the Daytona 500. Thanks to Tommy Baldwin Racing's recent alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing, Patrick's No.10 team is now among the top-35 in last year's owner points. TBR's No.36 entry finished 33rd in points. The 36 transferred over to the 10.

Patrick's team co-owner and reigning Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart thinks she certainly has a chance to win NASCAR's most prestigious race of the season.

"Did anybody think Trevor Bayne could win the race last year," Stewart questioned. "Anything can happen here; it is anybody's ball game. She did a really good job in July last year in the Nationwide race when I ran with her. I was really impressed at how smooth she was and how good a job she did in the two-car deal. Talent, there is no doubt in my mind. She has the talent to do it."

Stewart has yet to win the Daytona 500 in 13 attempts.

Patrick's team boss in Nationwide, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who won the Daytona 500 in 2004, revealed who he would rather like to see win this race -- him or her.

"Me! She don't drive for me in the 500, so it wouldn't matter to me if she won it," Earnhardt Jr. said. "If I win it, it would be a big deal for me. As far as what everybody else thinks, everybody is going to have a different opinion about that."

If Patrick were to win the Daytona 500, it would indeed be the biggest Cinderella story in NASCAR's history, more so than Bayne's triumph in this race one year ago.

Let's see if the glass slipper fits on her this Sunday.

Nflventure Autoracing Betting News

<< Nashville inks Poile, Fenton to contract extensions
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators inked both general manager David Poile and assistant general manager Paul Fenton to contract extensions on Monday. Poile's deal will keep him in charge in the Music City throug

<< Diggins powers Notre Dame to win over Louisville
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Skylar Diggins scored a game-high 21 points to lift No. 3 Notre Dame to a 68-52 win over 16th-ranked Louisville. Diggins, who made 11-of-12 free throws, dished out seven assists, grabbed three rebounds

<< Ko Olina to host LPGA event
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The LPGA Tour announced Monday that Ko Olina Golf Club will host the LPGA LOTTE Championship Presented by J Golf. The new event will be contested April 18-21. "The LPGA is proud to partner with LOTTE

<< Dodig ousts Tomic in Memphis
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Croat Ivan Dodig upset eighth-seeded Aussie Bernard Tomic in Monday's opening-round action at the $1.155 million Regions Morgan Keegan Championships. Dodig blasted 19 aces and came from behind to stop the risin

<< Karlsson picks up 4 points as Sens blank Isles
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Erik Karlsson totaled four points on two goals and two assists as Ottawa chased Kevin Poulin before the game was two minutes old and cruised to a 6-0 victory over the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseu

De Rosario inks new United deal >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United announced on Monday that the club has signed 2011 MLS MVP Dwayne De Rosario to a new contract. The 33-year-old is coming off the best season of his career as he netted 16 goals and assist

Bulls' Rose returns to lineup against Hawks >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose returned to the starting lineup Monday against the Atlanta Hawks after missing the past five games with back spasms. Rose has been battling the ailment since February 6,

More surgery for Oden >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers announced that center Greg Oden will undergo an arthroscopic procedure on Monday to remove debris from his left knee. It's the fifth surgery for the 7-foot Oden, who had

At the Net: Raonic on the rise >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If you're trying to find young tennis stars from Canada (or anywhere else for that matter), look no further than Milos Raonic. Okay, Raonic (pronounced Rau-nitch) plays under the Canadian flag o

Castro doubles up on Zaragoza >>
Aragon, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A goal in each half from Ruben Castro was enough for Real Betis to claim its second successive win on Monday as the club topped Real Zaragoza, 2-0. Castro's first tally arrived in the 41st minute when he

FOOTBALL BETTING LINES

NFL Football Sports Betting

Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.

New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.

His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.

HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.

The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.

RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.

First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.

The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.

These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.

New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.

You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting