Earnhardt Jr. tops in qualifying at Atlanta

Autoracing Betting Lines

03/05/2010 - Hampton, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the pole for the Kobalt Tools 500 with a blazing lap in Friday's qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Earnhardt Jr.'s lap of 192.761 m.p.h. set a record for the fastest qualifying speed in the new Sprint Cup Series car -- the Car of Tomorrow. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jimmie Johnson, held the record with a lap of 192.376 m.p.h. last October at Charlotte.

"It's really fast," Earnhardt Jr. said of his qualifying lap around the 1.54- mile track. "You just got to hang on. I think there's a lot of cars that can run that fast, but you just got to hang on to it."

Earnhardt Jr. recorded his ninth career Cup pole, but his first since April 2008 at Texas. He also won the pole at Atlanta in November 2001.

Since his disappointing 25th-place finish in points last year, team owner Rick Hendrick has made his priority to turn around Earnhardt Jr.'s team. NASCAR's most popular driver has begun this season with two front starting row positions in the first four races. He started on the outside pole at Daytona.

"I feel pretty confident with this group," Earnhardt Jr. said. "They're a lot of fun, and we're building some pretty good relationships. The changes we have made have given us a lot of confidence, and we can go out on the racetrack and do some good things to help build it."

Kyle Busch will start on the outside pole after posting a lap of 192.280 m.p.h.

Juan Pablo Montoya qualified third, followed by Hendrick drivers Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. Martin won the pole here one year ago.

Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Elliott Sadler, David Reutimann and Carl Edwards completed the top-10.

Kurt Busch, the defending race winner, will start 11th.

Johnson was the slowest among the Hendrick cars, as he qualified 16th. The four-time defending series champion has won the last two races -- Las Vegas and California.

"I don't know why I was slow," Johnson said. "It was a decent lap. We were concerned about overdriving in [turn] three, so I might have been a little bit conservative there."

Aric Almirola, Casey Mears and Terry Cook failed to qualify.

Sunday's 500-mile race at Atlanta is scheduled to start around 1:00 p.m. (et).

Adventure-casino Autoracing Betting News

<< Trio on top at Toshiba Classic
Newport Beach, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former PGA Champion Bob Tway, Mark Wiebe and Chien-Soon Lu each fired six-under 65s on Friday to share the first-round lead of the Toshiba Classic. Fred Couples, already a winner after two Champions Tou

<< Redskins re-sign DE Daniels, OL Williams
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins on Friday re-signed defensive end Phillip Daniels and offensive lineman Mike Williams. Daniels started all 16 games for the Redskins last year, recording 46 tackles, one sack, and

<< Broncos sign RB Arrington
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos have brought back running back J.J. Arrington. Arrington originally signed a four-year deal worth a reported $10 million with Denver last offseason, but was subsequently

<< Duke holds on down the stretch to edge Maryland
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jasmine Thomas scored a game-high 21 points, and ninth-ranked Duke survived down the stretch to beat Maryland, 66-64, and advance to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. Joy Cheek added 14 points, five r

<< Jets release Thomas Jones, Strickland
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets announced the release of veteran running back Thomas Jones on Friday. The team also released cornerback Donald Strickland. Jones, 31, ran for a career-high 1,402 ya

Report: Texans retain Walter with multi-year deal >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Texans wide receiver Kevin Walter has reportedly re-signed with the team after becoming an unrestricted free agent earlier in the day. The Houston Chronicle reports the pact is for multiple years.

Boston College upsets No. 8 FSU in ACC tourney >>
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stefanie Murphy posted 14 points to lead all scorers, and Boston College moved on to the semis of the ACC Tournament with a 67-60 upset over No. 8 Florida State. Jasmine Gill added 13 points, while Carolyn

Ohio State fends off Illinois in Big Ten quarters >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jantel Lavender poured in 19 points and pulled down six rebounds, as 10th-ranked Ohio State held off Illinois, 66-55, in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Samantha Prahalis added 13 points

Pistons' Stuckey taken off on stretcher >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey was taken from the court at Quicken Loans Arena on a stretcher after possibly suffering a seizure during Friday night's game against the Cavaliers. The incident

Horizon League Tournament Recaps >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eli Holman scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the seventh-seeded Detroit Titans beat the third-seeded Green Bay Phoenix, 62-53, in the second round of the Horizon League Tournament. Xavier K

Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back

With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.

"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."

Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .

Get all your baseball betting lines, MLB lines and MLB team props at the My Sportbook.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your baseball sportsbook needs.