IndyCar kicks off season with first-time trip to Brazil

Autoracing Betting Lines

03/10/2010 - Sao Paulo, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: IndyCar. Date: Sunday, March 14. Race: Sao Paulo Indy 300. Site: Streets of Sao Paulo. Track: 2.6-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit. Start Time: 11:00 a.m. (et). Laps: 75. Miles: 195. Television: VERSUS. Radio: IMS Radio Network/SIRIUS XM Satellite.

The IndyCar Series -- with new title sponsor IZOD -- will compete in South America for the first time with the Sao Paulo Indy 300 on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Dario Franchitti also will begin his campaign to repeat as series champion. Franchitti ended the 2009 season with an 11-point margin over his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon. Four of his five wins last year came on road/street courses.

Seventeen races make up the 2010 IndyCar schedule, but nine of them take place on road/street circuits. The first oval race is scheduled for May 1 at Kansas -- the fifth event on the schedule.

"This year, with nine road and street courses, it's going to be very challenging," Franchitti said. "There are going to be lots of different drivers vying for wins, so we're going to have to be very focused and paying attention all the time."

In the last five years, three drivers went on to win the series championship after winning an inaugural race at a track. Dan Wheldon won the first event at St. Petersburg, FL and the series title in 2005. Dixon picked up the victory in the inaugural race at Edmonton during his 2008 championship season.

Franchitti won the first race at Iowa in 2007, the year he won his first series title. He also won both inaugural events on the '09 schedule -- Long Beach, CA and Toronto -- en route to his second championship.

Brazil will become the fourth country outside the United States to hold an IndyCar event after Canada, Japan and Australia. Canada (Edmonton and Toronto) and Japan continue to be on the schedule. The series held an exhibition race in Surfers Paradise, Australia at the conclusion of the '07 season.

Six Brazilian drivers -- Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Raphael Matos, Vitor Meira, Mario Romancini and Ana Beatriz -- will compete in front of their home crowd. Last month, all six competitors met with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and then toured the 2.6-mile, 11-turn Sao Paulo street course.

"I really like the race circuit," Castroneves said. "It has two really long straightaways, and it will be great for the fans. It is going to be a challenge for our Team Penske engineers to set up the car because of the changes between road surfaces, but it's going to be fun to drive."

Romancini and Beatriz are expected to make their first IndyCar starts in Brazil. Beatriz will drive a Dreyer & Reinbold-prepared car.

"This is very special for me doing my debut in the IZOD IndyCar race at my home event," Beatriz said. "It's also very special to be the first female Brazilian race car driver to race there, and it will be a great experience."

Romancini will run a full-time schedule for Conquest Racing.

"To have my first race in my hometown, in front of all my people, family and friends, will be amazing," Romancini said. "I am very excited for this moment and for sure couldn't ask for a better place."

Takuma Sato, a former Formula One competitor and native of Tokyo, and Swiss driver Simona de Silvestro also will make their series debuts this weekend.

Ganblenet Autoracing Betting News

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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