Micah Roberts’ Sprint Cup Driver Ratings
Micah Roberts’ SPRINT CUP Driver Ratings
Geico 500
At Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, Ala.
11 a.m. today, ESPN (30); race starts at 11:16
Rating Driver Odds Practice 1 Practice 2 Qualified ’Dega May*
1. Matt Kenseth 12/1 14th 14th 13th 37th
2012 winner with two other restrictor-plate wins in Daytona 500; needs help in Chase
2. Denny Hamlin 12/1 28th 7th 38th 1st
Won spring race and dominated at Daytona speed weeks; has one of best-handling cars
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 10/1 12th 9th 28th 26th
Five-time winner, but none since 2004; will likely need to win to advance in Chase
4. Kyle Busch 12/1 10th 1st 41st 12th
2008 winner, 2012 runner-up, fifth last fall; needs finish of 24th or better to advance
5. Kevin Harvick 12/1 37th DNP 39th 7th
2010 winner and one of the best plate racers; already locked into next round of Chase
6. Jamie McMurray 20/1 3rd DNP 31st 29th
Two-time winner, including last fall; best 10-consecutive lap average in practice
7. Clint Bowyer 25/1 1st DNP 33rd 3rd
Two-time winner, the last in 2011; using chassis that finished ninth at Daytona in July
8. Greg Biffle 25/1 11th 20th 24th 2nd
Looking for first Talladega win; led the most laps in May race; using new chassis
9. Jeff Gordon 12/1 33rd 4th 43rd 39th
Six-time winner, last coming during 2007 sweep; needs 16th or better to advance
10. Jimmie Johnson 12/1 32nd 15th 2nd 23rd
Two-time winner; almost has to win to advance or record seventh title will have to wait
* Results from the May 4 Aaron’s 499 at Talladega that featured 48 lead changes among 23 drivers and eight cautions.Note: Only 21 drivers participated in Practice 2 because the risk of Talladega’s volatile nature far outweighs the reward of gained information. No need to mess up a good car in practice running four-wide.
Odds courtesy of the Westgate Las Vegas Super Book
Micah Roberts, a former race and sports book director in Las Vegas, has been setting NASCAR odds since 1995. For more post-practice analysis, visit the Linemakers on SportingNews.com or follow MicahRoberts7 on Twitter.
