Daytona adding short track races to its Speedweeks 2013

Autoracing Betting Lines

02/17/2012 - Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daytona International Speedway will include short track races to its Speedweeks activities, starting in 2013, NASCAR and track officials announced on Friday.

The 2.5-mile superspeedway will host a two-day event labeled as the "UNOH Battle at the Beach." A temporary oval -- tentatively slated to be 0.4-mile in length -- will be setup along Daytona's backstretch. The inaugural event, scheduled for February 18-19, 2013, will include three non-point special races: the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, NASCAR Whelen Modified tours, and the Late Model division of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.

"This is all about the stars of tomorrow vying for glory at Daytona International Speedway," said George Silbermann, who is NASCAR's vice president of regional and touring series. "During two days and nights of intense competition, fans will be able to see today's aces of short track racing and some great young talent."

The criteria for setting the field in the event include: winners of the 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West events as well as the series champions will automatically be locked into that series' race at Daytona next year.

Additionally, winners of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour or NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour races this season and series champions will be locked into the Modified event.

The top-10 finishers in this year's NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division I national standings will earn a starting spot in the Late Model race.

And the champions of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, NASCAR Toyota Series from Mexico, and Euro Racecar NASCAR Touring Series this season will earn a protected starting spot in whichever one of the three 2013 Daytona races they choose to run.

The remaining spots in next year's features at Daytona will be filled through time trials and heat races.

"Grassroots short track racing is the foundation of this great sport, and we are thrilled to give these young drivers the opportunity to fight for a win at the 'World Center of Racing'," track president Joie Chitwood said. "Many of NASCAR's greatest stars cut their teeth on short tracks around the country, and we look forward to hosting the stars of tomorrow in 2013."

Event entitlement sponsor, the University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH), has been heavily involved with NASCAR's grassroots racing programs.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.