Franchitti riding high into Texas after Indy win

Autoracing Betting Lines

06/02/2010 - Fort Worth, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: IZOD IndyCar. Date: Saturday, June 5. Race: Firestone 550k. Site: Texas Motor Speedway. Track: 1.5-mile tri-oval. Start Time: 8:45 p.m. (et). Laps: 228. Miles: 550 (kilometers). 2009 winner: Helio Castroneves. Television: VERSUS. Radio: IMS Radio Network/SIRIUS XM Satellite.

After winning the Indianapolis 500 in dominating fashion last Sunday, Dario Franchitti made a strong statement in his bid for a second straight IZOD IndyCar Series championship.

Franchitti led 155 of 200 laps to claim his second Indy 500 victory. His first win came in 2007.

"To win two of these things is pretty special," Franchitti said. "They showed me a list of two time winners. Those guys are legends. I said the other night, I'm just a driver, those guys are legends. I'm so lucky to be drive for Chip [Ganassi] and Team Target, getting in good cars, especially having gone away after we won in '07. To be invited back was pretty cool. To have won a championship and an Indy 500, I didn't expect any of this."

Franchitti collected nearly $2.8 million for his Indy 500 win.

"That's a lot of money in any currency," he said. "This race just gets better and better, and I think we're getting back to the glory days. I'm so proud to be back here and be a part of it. It's home for me."

Franchitti not only gave Ganassi his fourth Indy 500 victory as a team owner, but also helped Ganassi become the only owner to win the Indy 500 and the Daytona 500 in the same year. Jamie McMurray, in his first year with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, won the Daytona 500 in February.

With six of 17 races completed on the 2010 IndyCar schedule, Franchitti is just 11 points behind leader Will Power from Team Penske.

Franchitti has recorded 14 career IndyCar victories, but has yet to win at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway. His best finish in six starts at Texas is second, which came in 2004. He started on the pole there in '04 and last year.

Helio Castroneves is the defending race winner.

Castroneves' Penske teammate, Ryan Briscoe, dominated the race by leading 160 of 228 laps, but Castroneves beat Briscoe out of the pits during final round of stops and took the lead for good with 53 laps remaining. The Brazilian has not won a race since one year ago at Texas.

After sustaining multiple injuries during a hard crash in the closing laps of the Indy 500, Mike Conway will be out of the No.24 Dreyer and Reinbold Racing car for at least three months. The team has yet to name a driver for Saturday's race at Texas.

Conway had surgery to repair fractures to his lower left leg. He also has a soft tissue injury to his lower left leg and is expected to have another surgical procedure later this week. Conway also suffered a compression fracture of one of his thoracic vertebrae. He has been fitted for a back brace, which he will wear for the next few months.

Ryan Hunter-Reay also was involved in the late-race crash at Indy. Hunter-Reay had surgery on his left thumb and was fitted with a carbon fiber splint, which should allow him to participate at Texas.

Twenty-six teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Firestone 550k.

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

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