Micah Roberts’ Sprint Cup driver ratings
MICAH ROBERTS’ SPRINT CUP DRIVER RATINGS
STP 500
At Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Pa.
10 a.m. today, FS1 (329); race starts at 10:16
Rating DriverOddsPractice 1QualifiedPractice 2Practice 3
1. Jimmie Johnson7/24th5th2nd2nd
Eight-time winner, 6.2 average finish in 26 starts; wins every 3.2 starts; winless in past three
2. Jeff Gordon5/13rd4th3rd3rd
Eight-time winner, 6.8 average finish in 44 starts; using 2014 Martinsville runner-up chassis
3. Denny Hamlin7/19th15th1st4th
Four-time winner with 8.76 average finish; Virginian grew up racing on this track
4. Ryan Newman25/11st2nd7th5th
2012 winner with 15th-place average in 26 starts, third last fall; new chassis this week
5. Kurt Busch18/114th26th12th1st
Two-time winner, including 2014; second-best 10-consecutive-lap average in Practice 2
6. Joey Logano10/16th1st15th7th
Career-best second in 2010; top-five finishes in both 2014 races; kid has the hang of it
7. Kevin Harvick5/116th17th10th8th
Won in 2011, one of only three top-fives in 27 starts; not his best track (16.4 average)
8. Carl Edwards25/112th11th5th9th
Career-best third in 2008; also not his best track, but looked good in final practices
9. Matt Kenseth20/126th8th16th11th
No wins in 30 starts, but outstanding in past three starts with second and two sixths
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.10/125th14th18th18th
After 30 career starts, finally won here last fall; using same winning chassis this week
Note: Qualifying well is key at Martinsville with 95 of 132 winners (71.9%) coming from a top-10 starting position.
Odds courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas
Micah Roberts, a former race and sports book director, has been setting NASCAR odds since 1995. For more post-practice analysis, visit the Linemakers on SportingNews.com or follow MicahRoberts7 on Twitter.
