Busch brothers sharing Nationwide driving duties at KBM

Autoracing Betting Lines

01/19/2012 - Mooresville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch Motorsports announced on Thursday that brothers Kyle and Kurt Busch will share driving duties in the No.54 Toyota during the 2012 Nationwide Series season.

KBM is entering its first full season of competition in Nationwide this year. Monster Energy will serve as primary sponsor for the team during the 33-race schedule. Kyle is scheduled to drive the car in the February 25 season-opening race at Daytona and then the next four events -- Phoenix, Las Vegas, Bristol and California.

In 2010, KBM won the Camping World Truck Series owner's championship in its inaugural year. KBM said its primary goal will be to capture the owner's title in Nationwide this season.

"Since debuting in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, KBM has had the goal to add a championship-caliber Nationwide Series team to our organization," driver/owner Kyle Busch said in a team statement. "With Monster Energy as primary sponsor and my brother Kurt as the second driver, we've accomplished that goal.

"The Monster Energy team of athletes consists of champion performers united by a desire to be the best. Kurt and I share that same desire and will settle for nothing less than adding a NASCAR championship to the long list of achievements for one of the strongest brands in the world."

It's not known at this time how many Nationwide races Kurt Busch will drive for KBM this year. He is also running a limited Nationwide schedule for Phoenix Racing, which begins with next month's race at Daytona. He will drive for Phoenix Racing in the Sprint Cup Series this season.

Mike Beam will serve as crew chief for the No.54 team. Beam's career has included stints at Roush Fenway Racing and Petty Enterprises.

Wwwthegreek Autoracing Betting News

<< Indians P Carmona arrested for double identity
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona was arrested Thursday in his native Dominican Republic on charges of double identity. Maximo Baez Aybar, a spokesman for the Dominican National Police, said through

<< Jacksonville State to play Arkansas, Florida
Jacksonville, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jacksonville State's Jack Crowe still keeps his ties to the SEC. The dean of Ohio Valley Conference head football coaches will lead his Gamecocks program into not one, but two games against SEC opponents i

<< Valencia signs Argentine Banega to extension
Valencia, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Valencia has signed Argentine midfielder Ever Banega to a contract extension through June 2015. Banega, 23, joined Valencia in 2008 from Boca Juniors and has played 87 games with the Spanish side. Bane

<< Inter's Forlan picks up new injury
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan forward Diego Forlan has suffered strained right hip flexor, and will be sidelined for an unknown period. The Uruguayan international joined Inter from Atletico Madrid last summer, but the 32-year

<< Third class set to be inducted into NASCAR Hall of Fame
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five new members will be enshrined into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Friday. Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Richie Evans, Dale Inman and Glen Wood make up the 2012 class. They were voted into the NASCAR

Acclamation's trainer disappointed with Eclipse Award >>
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It may seem funny, but trainer Don Warren doesn't appear all that enthused with winning a 2011 Eclipse Award. His charge, Acclamation, was voted 2011 champion Older Male thoroughbred. What's not to

DePaul F Freeland intends to transfer >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - DePaul junior forward Tony Freeland plans to transfer due to a family illness, the school announced Thursday. Freeland, who was already out for the season due to a shoulder injury, said that he is going h

Giants' Manning returns to practice >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning was a full participant in practice on Thursday after leaving Wednesday's practice with a stomach illness. "I'm 100 percent. I had a full practice today,

AC Milan's Pato to miss 3-4 weeks >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato is expected to miss three to four weeks with a thigh injury sustained Wednesday in the Coppa Italia win over Novara. Pato's extra-time goal helped Milan defeat Novara, 2-1, but

Report: Saints hire Spagnuolo as defensive coordinator >>
Metairie, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Saints have decided on Steve Spagnuolo as their next defensive coordinator, according to a report by FOX's Jay Glazer. Spagnuolo spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the St

FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

NFL Betting Lines

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.