MICAH ROBERTS’ SPRINT CUP DRIVER RATINGS

Bojangles’ Southern 500

Darlington Raceway, Darlington, S.C.

3:30 p.m. today, Fox (5); race starts at 4:15 p.m.

Rating Driver Odds Practice 1 Practice 2 Qualified Darlington ’11*

1. Greg Biffle 8/1 2nd 2nd 1st 8th
Two-time winner with 14.2 average finish; strong times in practice using Bristol car

2. Denny Hamlin 10/1 16th 13th 8th 6th
2010 winner with track-best 6.5 average; best 10-consecutive-lap average in final practice

3. Jimmie Johnson 6/1 7th 4th 2nd 15th
Two-time winner with 9.8 average finish; using winning Kansas chassis from last season

4. Martin Truex Jr. 25/1 6th 12th 6th 10th
Fast practices have translated well to race day all year; stellar average speeds in practice

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 15/1 19th 18th 24th 14th
Seeks career-record seventh straight top-10 finish on season; using third-place Fontana car

6. Jeff Gordon 8/1 13th 28th 12th 12th
Seven-time winner – at all stages of career; 18 top-five, 21 top-10 finishes in 29 starts

7. Carl Edwards 8/1 4th 3rd 7th 2nd
Two-time runner-up, including losing late battle to Regan Smith in 2011; using new chassis

8. Kyle Busch 8/1 26th 15th 5th 11th
2008 winner, his only top-five finish in seven starts; best 10-lap average in Practice 1

9. Brad Keselowski 12/1 18th 11th 15th 3rd
Average finish of 7.3 in three starts; this is his kind of track; using fifth-place Phoenix car

10. Kevin Harvick 10/1 1st 29th 23rd 17th
2003 runner-up with 18.9 average finish in 15 starts; using fourth-place Fontana chassis.

* Results from the Southern 500 on March 7, 2011, the most recent race run on the track.

Note: Because Darlington’s 1.336-mile configuration is unique, there isn’t a track to compare it to, but Las Vegas and Texas are the closest because of their banking.

Odds courtesy of the LVH Super Book.

Micah Roberts, a former sports book director, has been setting NASCAR lines in Las Vegas since 1995. For more of Roberts’ insights and post-practice analysis on the race, go to VegasInsider.com, TheLinemakers.com or follow him on Twitter: @MicahRoberts7.