Robert Ballou leads Dave Darland, the Gas City race winner, by just 24 points, after coming off his first KISS victory, in the opening race at the Terre Haute Action Track. Five-time KISS King Jon Stanbrough four points further back; Coleman Gulick is only six points behind Darland. There are a number of drivers who could capture their first crown or second, and one who could still earn his sixth and it is a situation where no point lead is safe.

Gritty Thomas Meseraull is the one they will need to be contending. He has already tallied two consecutive victories at the ‘Burg this spring. Daron Clayton (2011), Brady Short (2010), Nic Faas (2009), Jon Stanbrough (2007), AJ Anderson (2006) and Brandon Petty (2005) are included in the previous KISS feature winners at the popular oval.

KISS sprint car features pay $250 to start and $2,500 to win. The KISS promoters in this year have included tow money. With this feature, any car that does not transfer to the feature will collect at least $100. Additionally, with the series champion earning $1,200, the point fund has increased to $4,200. $900 is for the one, second in points. Third, fourth and fifth will receive $800, $700 and $600 respectively.

Scout Night at Lawrenceburg is on Saturday. At 5:00 pm, the front gate will open. At 6 pm, hot laps will begin and the opening ceremonies at 7:00. Free general admission will be provided to all Scouts in uniform. Ages 6 and under are admitted free, tickets for kids 7 to 12 are just $7, while Adult tickets are for $20. Pit passes are $30. The racing program includes UMP modifieds and pure stocks in addition to the KISS sprint cars series.

The next KISS series event will compete in Haubstadt on May 27 at Tri-State Speedway. at Paragon Speedway on June 2, this year’s King of Indiana will then be crowned after the finale.

Hamlin had gone to the front when his car hooked up under the first sunshine of the afternoon, although Truex had dominated most of the race. Truex could not make the move stick and Hamlin pulled away, although he mounted a comeback, diving low with a couple laps left.

The rest of the way, he coaxed his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for his second win this season. Truex had to settle for second, although he wound up leading a race-high 173 laps. His third top-5 finish of the season. He still has not won in 175 Sprint Cup races.

Jimmie Johnson finished third for Hendrick Motorsports. The team has failed in 14 tries to win the team’s milestone 200th race. Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt Jr. also finished in the top 10. Hamlin was content to ride around during long green-flag runs away from the spotlight. His best finish at Kansas Speedway was third last year, and for most of Sunday.

When the sun finally appeared on a blustery, overcast day, he kept getting better with each stop, though, and his car seemed to hook up after the final one. Despite having a wild afternoon trying to get into the pits, Matt Kenseth finished fourth. He often slided across the commitment line. Last week, Greg Biffle followed his victory with a fifth-place run. He conceded he did not have the car to contend for the win.

Last week, Greg Biffle followed his victory with a fifth-place run. He conceded he did not have the car to contend for the win. He did not have the car to contend at Kansas, though he followed up his victory last week at Texas with a fifth-place run.

Biffle said that the day was tough and they were back and forth all day. He added that they were off just a bit; when the track had a lot of grip, the car was unbelievable.

Kevin Harvick was sixth, followed by Earnhardt and Kahne. He gave Hendrick Motorsports at least three cars in the top-10 for the second straight week. Jeff Gordon finished 21st. He had engine trouble late in the race.
Since going 15 races without a win during the 2002 and ’03 seasons, the -race drought for Hendrick is its longest. The streak began after Johnson’s win last October at Kansas.

Carl Edwards finished at ninth-place and he took another step in the right direction. Kyle Busch rounded out the top 10, and he was followed by Brad Keselowski, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray and Joey Logano.

In this year’s Eastern Storm, it was the third race. Jones stayed out front the rest of the way to earn the $6,000 payday. He started sixth and inherited the lead on lap three of the 40-lap affair.

Despite heavy pressure from Bryan Clauson over the final five laps of the race, Jones, driving the Tony Stewart Racing/Chevy No. 20, came from the sixth starting spot to assume the lead during a fourth lap caution and led the rest of the way.

In the 40-lap main event, Clauson finished a close second. Tracy Hines, Hunter Schuerenberg as well as New Jersey’s Mark Bitner, a regular in 360 sprint cars, completed the top five. A regular 410 sprint-car racer, Brent Marks of Myerstown finished sixth. Lewisberry’s Kyle Moody, Jon Stanbrough, Bobby East and Robert Ballou completed the top 10.

After contact with another car at the end of the backstretch, three-time Lincoln 410 sprint-car champion Brian Montieth of Phoenixville took a violent flip in his heat race. Although no serious injury was reported, Montieth was shaken up. With a lap of 15.658 Jones set a new track record in qualifying.

Check out NASCAR Betting closer to the June 5 race in online sports betting sites.

The Kansas Speedway is a flat intermediate track, which is right in the wheelhouse for the drivers that have superior car control and are not afraid to loose race car.

There are three two time winners on the Kansas Speedway mile and a half cookie cutter track and all three are excellent with car control. Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle have al taken the checkered flag twice.

This will be the first time the track has been raced in the summer months and a Kansas summer may cause some unique conditions for the drivers and crew chiefs to consider.

Look for some possible new winners to garner this their first win on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit. A.J. Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose are both solid candidates for a win on a track of this nature. Another possible surprise winner could be Mark Martin, who is a past winner on the Kansas track.

Martin has been making progress this season and he wants to notch a few wins before leaving the Hendrick Motorsports stable. Looking for a good bet in this race, Martin should be going off at better than 20-1 odds.

The favorites will be Jimmie Johnson at 6-1 and Kyle Busch at 7-1. Carl Edwards will also have low odds in the 7-1 to 9-1 range.

The Ventura Racing Association (VRA) has a rapidly growing Traditional 360 Sprint Car Division. The VRA has exciting and competitive Sprint Car Racing for fans to enjoy with Jim Naylor’s Ventura Raceway at Seaside Park in Ventura, CA as its home track. The VRA Sprint Cars have also competed at Perris, Bakersfield, Santa Maria, and Hanford’s Kings Speedway.

Ojai’s Troy Rutherford leads the point chase on the strength of four main event wins in six starts. The defending champion finished sixteenth on April 23rd Piloting the No.11 Trench Shoring / L&H Consulting entry. Rutherford has an eighty five point lead with three heat race victories, one semi main win, and one hard charger award heading into Saturday’s event. Troy will have his sights on another Ventura win.

Steve Conrad of Quartz Hill is second in the standings after scoring a third place finish on April 23rd. Conrad has one main event win, has one heat race victory, one hard charger award, and five top 10 finishes on the season, driving the No.56 Roy Miller Freight Lines / SC Grafix car. With another main event win the USAC TQ Midget graduate will look to close the point gap.

In the championship standings, Ventura’s Greg Taylor sits third. The pilot of the No.7 Westco International Consulting Inc. / Taylor Trucking & Crane Service machine was fourteenth on April 23rd. Taylor has three heat race victories, and four top10 finishes on the year. This Saturday, the former track champion will look to rebound.

Jeff Gordon has a triumph through eight races and he is only one driver ranked 11th-20th in points, which means that to secure a Chase berth through a victory-lane visit, there could plenty of occasions. For being among the dozen title contenders this season, NASCAR modified the eligibility, opening the Chase to the top 10 in points and the two drivers with the most wins ranked between 11th and 20th.

Johnson’s triumph raised the defending champion two positions in the point standings to second. This was his 54th triumph in 335 career Cup starts and he is just five points behind existing leader Carl Edwards.

Methodically, with four top-five and five top-10 finishes, Johnson has combated back from concluding 27th in the Daytona 500. With a 15-race winless streak, he entered Talladega, thereby tying the second-longest drought of his career.

At Hendrick Motorsports, Johnson certainly has his share of title competitors under his own roof. This season, his outside opposition is equally solid. The fight is as solid as the last season battle between Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. Johnson is aware that Roush Fenway Racing has picked up the pace considerably, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth in particular, and he is not counting out Harvick or Hamlin.

NASCAR betting have received a ton of action in these last few weeks. The current best odds for NASCAR drivers are – Jimmie Johnson 19/20, Kyle Busch 39/20, Carl Edwards 147/50, Matt Kenseth 63/10 and Kevin Harvick 21/2.

At online sportsbooks closer to the April 17 race, get NASCAR auto racing odds.

Jimmie Johnson at 6-1 is the favorite for this race according to the Las Vegas Hilton Superbook. As everyone insists on betting Johnson, that’s why he is the favorite so don’t be fooled. When Woods was at his best the trend is much like the trend of betting Tiger Woods over the field.

12-1 shots Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle are the drivers that have a strong history on this track. They will be up front much of the race as they both rank the top five of the NASCAR power numbers. Even though Carl Edwards has only four top ten finishes on this track, he is another Roush Fenway driver who has won three races in Texas. On this track Edwards is the definition of a hit and miss driver.

Even though Jeff Gordon cannot be dismissed, he is a 12-1 shot to win at Texas. Gordon will be a contender come crunch time as he has a history of running up front on this track. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is another Hendrick Motorsports driver many may not consider a threat. Even though Dale Jr. has the motivation to close the deal this weekend and he won his first race on this track, he is a 20-1 shot to win according to Vegas. In online sports handicapping, look for NASCAR odds closer to the April 17 race.

Riding the back bumper of Johnson down the backstretch, Harvick set up the final pass to precision by beginning his move as the cars entered Turn 3. At Fontana, it was Harvick’s first win and it became all the more sweeter for him, as he beat the five-time defending Sprint Cup champion who has five victories at Fontana.

Driving low into Turn 1 and passing Busch for the lead, Johnson made his move with three laps left. Harvick, who was fifth on the restart, blew past Kyle Busch‘s car, which got loose. After overtaking Busch, Harvick set his sights on the leader.

Before entering Turn 3, Harvick pushed Johnson and then gave him a bump, forcing the leader to go lower than he wanted and leaving the outside open just enough. At Fontana, this was the only Cup race scheduled to be held this year. The 92,000-seat Auto Club Speedway had one of its races removed from this year’s schedule, after numerous years of hosting two 500-mile races annually, and struggling with attendance declines.

The crowd was estimated by NASCAR at around 88,000, regardless of morning rain. The attendance was up from 72,000 when the race was held previous year in late February. A year ago, the race’s distance was cut to 400 miles from 500.

The sportsbooks are offering exciting odds for the NASCAR drivers. Jimmie Johnson 3, Carl Edwards 7/2, Kyle Busch 5, Kevin Harvick 8, Tony Stewart 10 are some of the drivers with their respective betting odds.

Stewart has 113 points heading into the season’s first off-weekend, along with Kurt Busch. Stewart leap-frogged Kyle Busch. Juan Pablo Montoya is with 106 points, Las Vegas race-winner Carl Edwards sitting at third and tied. Ryan Newman is in the top five with 103 points. Right now, Stewart Haas Racing is the lone team in the Cup garage with two drivers in the top-five.

In sixth comes Paul Menard with 96 points, pursued by Martin Truex Jr. with 95 points, Denny Hamlin with 95 points, AJ Allmendinger with 94 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. with 91 points. Mark Martin sits at 11th and Jimmie Johnson is four points back in 12th.

In Saturday’s Nationwide Series Sam’s Town 300 race, for Mark Martin, a roll of the dice proved to be the correct preference. At Vegas, fuel mileage was a most important aspect all over again. By not pitting and stretching his fuel, Martin had gambled, which paid off.

Until Saturday’s Sam’s Town 300, Dania Patrick’s brief foray into NASCAR had mostly mixed results. Patrick and crew chief Tony Euro Jr. used a permutation of speed and strategy that gave her finest finish by a woman ever in NASCAR’s national series and earn her career best finish, fourth. Last-lap flat tire from leader Brad Kieslowski benefitted Mark Martin to a win.

As per various betting odds, the best overall odds for some of the NASCAR drivers are Jimmie Johnson11/4, Kyle Busch6, Carl Edwards7, Denny Hamlin8, Jeff Gordon11.

The odds of winning the $5 million purse are long. If it occurs, it will become the richest single payday in motorsports history. It is quite spectacular as a promotional gambit.

A NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is scheduled for that weekend on Saturday. This would leave the NASCAR drivers free for the October 16^th race date in Vegas. However, it is highly unlikely that any of the Chase contenders will be willing to risk their status in the NASCAR championship stakes to do an IndyCar one-off. No matter how rich the payday would be, the fact is that even the drivers outside of the Chase will also be reluctant to try their hands into an unfamiliar race car.

However, still there are some hotshoes who may be willing to take up the challenge for this event. Here are three of the stronger candidates:

Simon Pagenaud - Along with his Highcroft Racing team, current ALMS shoe Pagenaud and former Champ Car driver has been rumored for months to make a switch to IndyCar racing in 2012. If it actually happens or not, depends upon proper funding. The rumors are that the team may shelve its’ IndyCar plans due to a lack of it. Behind the wheel, Pagenaud is lightning quick. To an aspiring team’s budget, $5 million would be a huge boost. You can’t count them out yet.

A.J. Allmendinger – Allmendinger could be one of the very few NASCAR drivers, who are likely to turn up at this mega event. If Dinger is not in the Chase come October, his primary goal will be to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup. This young Californian driver would be an ideal candidate for someone looking to make big turnaround. Allmendinger has got talent aplenty and he is winner in open-wheel.

Memo Gidley – Once raced for Chip Ganassi, Gidley has no fear on high-speed ovals. He has been behind the wheel of an open-wheel car for quite a few years. Gidley still keeps himself fit by racing everything and is currently racing for Team Sahlen in the Grand Am GT category. If he associated with the right team, he could be a serious contender for this jackpot event.