Micah Roberts’ Sprint Cup Driver Ratings, April 7
MICAH ROBERTS’ SPRINT CUP DRIVER RATINGS
STP Gas Booster 500
Martinsville Speedway; Martinsville, Va.
9:30 a.m. today, Fox (5); race starts at 10:15 a.m.
Rating Driver Odds Practice 1 Qualified Practice 2 Practice 3
1. Jimmie Johnson 7/2 1st 1st 11th 2nd
Seven-time winner, including last fall, with amazing 5.5 average finish in 22 starts
2. Clint Bowyer 12/1 3rd 15th 1st 1st
Fastest 10-consecutive lap average speeds in all three practice sessions
3. Jeff Gordon 5/1 4th 6th 3rd 16th
Seven-time winner, the last coming in sweep of 2005 season — 11 top-fives since then
4. Kyle Busch 6/1 6th 11th 2nd 12th
Finished fourth or better in three of past five starts, including runner-up last fall
5. Kevin Harvick 12/1 12th 21st 10th 10th
2010 winner; one of the better-suited drivers for short-track racing; using new chassis
6. Ryan Newman 25/1 11th 10th 5th 14th
2012 spring race winner with career average finish of 13.6; using new chassis
7. Carl Edwards 20/1 24th 9th 23rd 3rd
Career best of third place in 2008; new chassis looked sharp in final practice
8. Brian Vickers 50/1 10th 3rd 4th 8th
Has made most of part-time role in No. 55 on short tracks; strong in practices
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 12/1 9th 17th 28th 9th
Only Johnson, Gordon and Hamlin have better average than his 11.4 in last 20 races
10. Tony Stewart 18/1 21st 26th 27th 26th
Three-time winner, last in 2011; did nothing in practice, but he’ll find way to front.
Note: Four-time Martinsville winner Denny Hamlin not participating because of back injury stemming from Auto Club 400 at Fontana, Calif., on March 24.
Odds courtesy of LVH
Micah Roberts, a former sports book director, has been setting NASCAR lines in Las Vegas since 1995. For more of Roberts’ insight on the race, go to The Linemakers on SportingNews.com or follow on Twitter: @MicahRoberts7.
