Micah Roberts’ Sprint Cup Driver Ratings
Micah Roberts' sprint cup Driver Ratings
Aaron's 499
Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, Ala.
9 a.m. PDT today, Fox (5)
Rating Driver Odds Practice 1 Qualified Talladega '10* Daytona 500**
1. Kevin Harvick 13-2 11th 36th 2nd 42nd
2010 spring winner with three runner-up finishes; using car from Daytona that led 22 laps
2. Clint Bowyer 15-1 18th 10th 1st 17th
2010 fall winner with five of past six finishes in top 12; using winning car from last year
3. Kurt Busch 12-1 13th 8th 30th 5th
Took third four times; 13.7 average finish in 20 starts; using winning Bud Shootout car
4. Jeff Gordon 15-1 15th 1st 8th 28th
Leads all active drivers with six wins, last coming in 2007, when he swept the season
5. Jeff Burton 15-1 6th 26th 41st 36th
Lots of bad luck in recent plate races; using winning Gatorade Duel chassis
6. Jamie McMurray 15-1 36th 20th 36th 18th
2009 fall winner; three of six career wins have come in plate races; using Daytona chassis
7. Juan Montoya 30-1 38th 12th 3rd 6th
Finished third in both 2010 races; using his sixth-place Daytona 500 car from February
8. Kyle Busch 9-1 3rd 32nd 25th 8th
His 2008 spring win remains his only top-five on track in 12 starts; using Daytona chassis
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 10-1 29th 4th 39th 24th
Five-time winner, last in 2004; runner-up in 2009, his only top-five since last win
10. Denny Hamlin 15-1 8th 28th 9th 21st
Finished in top 10 of both 2010 races; career average finish of 18.3 in 10 starts
* Results from the Oct. 31 Talladega race, the last race run there
** Results from the Feb. 20 race, a restrictor-plate race that featured two-car tandem racing as expected today
NOTE: The final practice session was cut short because of rain with only eight drivers attempting a lap.
Odds courtesy of the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book.
Micah Roberts, a former race and sports director, has been setting NASCAR lines in Las Vegas since 1995. For more insights and postpractice analysis on the race, go to VegasInsider.com.
