Micah Roberts’ Sprint Cup driver ratings

MyAFibStory.com 400

At Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Ill.

11 a.m. today, ESPN (30); race starts at 11:16

Rating DriverOddsPractice 1Practice 2Practice 3Atlanta*

1. Brad Keselowski5/125th20th2nd39th

Kicked off 2012 Chase with a win here, which led to championship; two wins on 1.5s; new chassis

2. Kasey Kahne15/119th2nd6th1st

Career-best third-place twice; best five-consecutive lap average in practice 2; using brand-new chassis

3. Matt Kenseth12/15th24th8th2nd

Won last season; streak of three straight top-five finishes on 1.5-mile tracks; first 2014 win is coming soon

4. Jeff Gordon5/18th4th12th17th

2006 winner, 11.6 average finish in 13 starts; won at Kansas (1.5-mile); using brand-new chassis

5. Kevin Harvick5/112th3rd13th19th

Won the first two races held (2001-02), 9.9 average finish; using new chassis that tested at Chicago

6. Jimmie Johnson6/17th10th4th4th

One of four tracks he has yet to conquer, but still has second-best 8.9 average; using Michigan chassis

7. Carl Edwards30/13rd5th1st5th

Hasn’t seemed like a threat on 1.5s in 2014, but has finished sixth or better in four of the six

8. Joey Logano8/128th25th18th14th

Looking for his first top-five at Chicago, but has three on other 1.5s in 2014; using brand-new chassis

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.10/113th9th26th11th

2005 winner; three top-five finishes on 1.5s in 2014; using Michigan chassis that finished fifth last month

10. Denny Hamlin15/124th13th21st3rd

Career-best fifth place in 2009; like teammate Kenseth, he’s been on the upswing with more horsepower

Note: Qualifying was rained out Friday, so the order of finish from the first practice session was used to set the starting lineup.

* Results from the Aug. 31 race at Atlanta, the last 1.5-mile track raced on. The layout at Chicago is vastly different from Atlanta, but it holds more relevance than the five other 1.5-mile tracks raced on already just because it has been the most recent.

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.