IndyCar Odds - Briscoe adds to back-to-back trend at Mid-Ohio
With five races to go and a fierce battle in the points standings, IndyCar betting odds get more important as we head to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Honda 200 on Sunday afternoon. Drivers who’ve won here have gone back-to-back on six occasions, and last year’s winner will make it seven in 2009.
IndyCar Odds: Briscoe breaks away with second straight win
- Briscoe (Penske, Castroneves) vs Ganassi (Dixon, Franchitti)
- Patrick is consistent, but can’t close
- Power looking for another good result
Ryan Briscoe grabbed the points lead with a win at Kentucky, and he should be the favorite in your offshore sportsbook this week. Briscoe led a race-high 43 laps in last year’s race at Mid-Ohio, and he’s finished in the top two in six of his last eight races. Briscoe leads Scott Dixon by only eight points in the standings, so a win would go a long way in giving him a much-needed cushion.
Scott Dixon had a rough time at Kentucky, as he was on his way to another win after leading 95 laps, but a penalty put him back in the pack and he wound up in seventh. Dixon won when the IRL returned to Mid-Ohio in 2007 after a four-year absence, and he followed that up with a third-place run in 2008. Dixon is looking to take over the career lead in IRL wins, which he currently shares with Sam Hornish Jr., so that could be the motivation he needs to lift him to another sports betting win.
Dario Franchitti is only three points behind Dixon after a sixth-place run at Kentucky, and he’ll be coming to a track that has bothered him in the past. Franchitti has only two top-10s in seven trips to Mid-Ohio, but he can be encouraged by 2007’s second-place run.
Helio Castroneves is likely out of the championship picture despite a fourth-place result at Kentucky, as he is now 75 points out of first. This means he can race for wins, and he knows where Victory Lane is at Mid-Ohio with back-to-back wins in 2000 and 2001. He also finished in the top three in 2007 and 2008, so watch for the No.3 on Sunday.
Danica Patrick came in fifth in her first trip to Mid-Ohio in 2007, then proceeded to come in 12th last year. Since a 19th-place finish in the first race of the year, Patrick has finished outside of the top 10 twice in 11 races, and those two finishes were 11th-place runs. She’s consistent as anyone in the series, but she doesn’t have the equipment to run with the Penskes and Ganassis of the IRL.
LEE-ROY’S PICK: Trends are the bread and butter of online betting research, and there is an interesting one for Mid-Ohio: six drivers have won back-to-back races here, including four straight in the 1990s. Briscoe is running for the championship now, so he’ll have all the data and equipment he needs at his disposal to hold off Dixon, which is why he’ll become the seventh driver to win two in a row at Mid-Ohio. His streak of runner-up finishes had to translate to wins at some point, and Kentucky may have just whetted his appetite. Go with Ryan Briscoe’s IndyCar lines on Sunday.
For more IndyCar odds and sports betting lines as the season winds down, visit the offshore sportsbook at BetOnline.com.
Born in the betting capital of Las Vegas, Lee-Roy has grown to appreciate the likes of IndyCar and Formula 1 racing, but his first love is the high-speed ovals of NASCAR and he is a HUGE Tony Stewart fan. When it comes to motorsports handicapping, Buckles takes the checkered flag. Thoughts or questions? Email Comments@BetOnline.com.
