MICAH ROBERTS’ SPRINT CUP DRIVER RATINGS
September 10, 2011 - 1:01 am
MICAH ROBERTS’ SPRINT CUP DRIVER RATINGS
Wonderful Pistachios 400
Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Va.
4:30 p.m. PDT today, ABC (13)
Rating Driver Odds Practice 1 Practice 2 Qualified Richmond*
1. Kyle Busch 3/1 12th 4th 13th 1st
Three-time winner with 4.9 average finish in 13 starts; using winning Kentucky chassis
2. Denny Hamlin 9/2 13th 36th 28th 2nd
Won two of past four races on his home track; has 7.5 average finish in 11 starts
3. Jimmie Johnson 8/1 2nd 7th 3rd 8th
Three-time winner, last coming in 2007; using fifth-place New Hampshire chassis
4. Jeff Gordon 8/1 1st 8th 17th 39th
Two-time winner, last coming in 2000; best 10-consecutive-lap average in final practice
5. Clint Bowyer 20/1 4th 5th 5th 6th
2008 winner, also finished sixth in three of past four starts; using New Hampshire chassis
6. Carl Edwards 10/1 6th 1st 8th 5th
Best finish of fifth has come in two of past three starts; using Richmond chassis
7. Kasey Kahne 30/1 17th 10th 12th 3rd
Only driver to finish sixth or better at Phoenix, New Hampshire and Richmond in 2011
8. AJ Allmendinger 50/1 5th 21st 9th 7th
Has finished eighth or better in past two starts; using chassis from April race
9. Ryan Newman 30/1 18th 31st 18th 20th
2003 winner with 11.8 average finish; won at New Hampshire, which requires similar setup
10. Tony Stewart 12/1 30th 27th 22nd 9th
Three-time winner, last coming in 2002; using Phoenix car that led four times for 59 laps
* Results from the Crown Royal 400 held on April 30, the first Richmond race of the season.
Note: Because of the similar banking and distances, Phoenix and New Hampshire track data from earlier this season can be used as a barometer for Richmond.
Odds courtesy of the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book.
Micah Roberts, a former race and sports director, has been setting NASCAR lines in Las Vegas since 1995. For more Roberts insights and post-practice analysis on the race, go to VegasInsider.com or follow MicahRoberts7 on Twitter.