Barnhart relieved of IndyCar race control duties

Autoracing Betting Lines

11/30/2011 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sanctioning body for the IZOD IndyCar Series revealed on Wednesday that Brian Barnhart will no longer serve as race director.

In restructuring its organization, IndyCar will split the responsibilities of president of operations and race director into separate positions. Barnhart will remain head of operations, overseeing the operational and logistical areas of the series. InyCar is reviewing candidates to fill the race director position.

"As our sport continues to grow and we prepare for our first new car in almost a decade, we feel that splitting these roles will help fully service our teams and venues as we prepare for the demands of the 2012 season," Barnhart said in a statement.

Barnhart has served as IndyCar's president of competition and racing operations since 2007. But Barnhart had been under immense criticism by competitors for some of his officiating calls during the 2011 season.

Several drivers in the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix complained about the start of the race when a safety truck was still on the track.

Barnhart came under fire in August at New Hampshire, where race officials determined after a brief rain shower that the track was dry enough to resume racing, but drivers, particularly Will Power, pleaded with officials not to restart since there was still moisture on the track. Power crashed on the final restart, and shortly after, he made an inappropriate gesture (finger) to the direction of race control. Days later, Power was fined and placed on probation for the remainder of the season for his gesture.

In the October race at Motegi, Japan, Helio Castroneves was furious with Barnhart after he received a penalty for passing under a local yellow during the final lap. Castroneves later posted on his Twitter account, "Brian Barnhart is inconsistent and even changes the rule book when it is convenient for him and his own personal interests...It is sad to see one person being responsible for bringing down an entire series." Castroneves was also fined and put on probation for his comments.

IndyCar also announced another organizational change. Terry Angstadt resigned his position as commercial division president. Angstadt, who had served in the role since 2007, was instrumental in IndyCar's partnership with series title sponsor IZOD, as well as securing races in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Qingdao, China. The series is scheduled to race in China for the first time next year.

Marc Koretzky will replace Angstadt. Koretzky joined IndyCar in May as director of corporate business development. Angstadt will assist with the transition.

"I'm confident that Brian and Marc will lead our company into a bigger and brighter future in these new roles," IndyCar Chief Executive Officer Randy Bernard said.

The 2012 IndyCar season is scheduled to begin on March 25 in St. Petersburg, FL.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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