Can Hornaday Jr. keep the momentum going at Talladega?

Autoracing Betting Lines

10/20/2011 - Talladega, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck. Date: Saturday, October 22. Race: Coca-Cola 250. Site: Talladega Superspeedway. Track: 2.66-mile oval. Start time: 4:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 94. Miles: 250.04. 2010 winner: Kyle Busch. Television: Speed. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN) /SIRIUS NASCAR Satellite.

After winning the last two races, Ron Hornaday Jr. is right back in contention for the Camping World Truck Series championship.

What a remarkable comeback the 53-year-old Hornaday has made in the past couple of months. Following his 24th-place finish in August at Bristol, Hornaday trailed then-leader Johnny Sauter by 69 points.

Hornaday, a record four-time series champion, cut his 42-point deficit in half after taking the checkered flag at Las Vegas for the first time in his career this past Saturday. Leader Austin Dillon and James Buescher, who ranked second in points heading into Las Vegas, crashed at separate times during the race.

With four races to go, Dillon holds just a five-point lead over Sauter and a seven-point advantage over Buescher. Hornaday is 21 down, while Timothy Peters trails by 25.

The series moves on to Talladega Superspeedway, where Hornaday has yet to win.

"With four races to go, Talladega is a track where we will just have to hold our breath all weekend and hope we don't get caught in the big one," he said. "We are in the midst of this championship battle and would really like to make it out of Talladega with momentum."

This will be the third race in a row that Hornaday drives the No.2 Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc. Team owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick moved Hornaday from the No.33 to the No.2, since that truck is presently leading in the series' owner point standings. Crew chief Bruce Cook will remain with Hornaday at least for Talladega.

Cale Gale drove KHI's No.33 at Las Vegas, but Nationwide Series regular Mike Wallace is taking over driving duties this weekend.

"I am very excited about the chance to race for KHI, especially when I'm going to be racing a truck that I know has an opportunity to win the race," Wallace said. "I've won at Talladega before in the ARCA Series, and I'm excited to have the opportunity to win again. Hornaday is back in the run for another championship, so I think we'll be able to work together and help him along as well and hopefully accomplish a sweep for KHI this weekend."

Kyle Busch is the only Sprint Cup Series regular competing in this race. Busch has won the truck event at Talladega the previous two seasons. Last year, he nipped Aric Almirola at the finish line by only 0.002 seconds, making it the closest finish in series history.

Forty-one teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Coca-Cola 250.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.