Micah Roberts’ Sprint Cup Driver Ratings
Micah Roberts’ SPRINT CUP Driver Ratings
AAA Texas 500
At Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas
Noon today, ESPN (30); race starts at 12:16 p.m.
Rating/Driver Odds Practice 1 Qualified Practice 2 Practice 3
1. Jimmie Johnson 7/1 8th 3rd 2nd 1st
Three-time winner, including last fall; best 10-consecutive lap average in final practice; using Dover chassis
2. Jeff Gordon 5/1 5th 2nd 29th 24th
2009 winner; only driver to start all 27 Texas races; using runner-up chassis from Chicago and Charlotte
3. Joey Logano 7/1 20th 10th 27th 4th
Won spring race, giving him three straight top-five finishes; using winning Bristol chassis from August
4. Kevin Harvick 9/2 2nd 5th 16th 11th
No Texas wins (13.6 average) but has led laps in 24 of 33 races this season; using winning Charlotte chassis
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 20/1 14th 12th 14th 5th
His only win came in 2000, the first of his career; using chassis that won both Pocono races
6. Brad Keselowski 5/1 24th 26th 25th 14th
Runner-up during 2012 Chase; needs to win today or next week to advance in Chase; using Bristol chassis
7. Kasey Kahne 25/1 15th 14th 24th 6th
2006 winner; his only win of 2014 came in August at sister 1.5-mile track in Atlanta; using Brickyard chassis
8. Carl Edwards 30/1 7th 11th 1st 8th
Three-time winner, the last during 2008 sweep; four top-five finishes on 1.5-mile tracks this season
9. Denny Hamlin 20/1 12th 20th 7th 12th
Swept 2010 season; 10.6 average finish in 18 starts; good matchup play due to cautious approach for Chase
10. Kyle Larson 12/1 22nd 17th 21st 22nd
Finished fifth during April race; the 1.5-mile tracks have been his best, and he’s close to winning
Note: This will be the 10th of 11 races this season on a 1.5-mile track and the second at Texas Motor Speedway. The first was April 7 and won by Joey Logano.
Odds courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas
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.
