Friday, February 11, 2011

Roberts Top-10 Sprint Cup Driver Ratings: Budweiser Shootout

Roberts Weekly Driver Ratings 
Each week I will provide an analysis of my top rated drivers on how well they will do in the race based on the following criteria:
• Practice sessions leading up to the weekend’s Sprint Cup race
• Chassis information on what was brought to each track by each team, good or bad
• Driver tendencies at certain tracks
• Recent and overall histories for each driver at each track
• Decipher poor past results with what really happened, good car -- or bad luck?
These final ratings should help assist in final betting strategies with the Las Vegas books or match-up and prop plays, as well as help in NASCAR fantasy leagues.


Micah Roberts Top 10 Driver Ratings
Budweiser Shootout (75-lap non-points race)
Daytona International Speedway
Saturday, February 12, 2011 - 5:10 pm (PDT)

                                                 Pre-Season Test         Bud Shootout
Rating    Driver     Odds                Best   2nd Best       Practice 1  Practice 2

 1. Clint Bowyer 12/1                 1st          7th                 4th           DNP
Won at Talladega, the last restrictor plate race run at; using the same chassis Saturday.
 2. Kyle Busch 7/1                      3rd         9th                 5th             2nd                          
Consistent times throughout all testing and practices; his style suits the short format well.                            
 3. Kevin Harvick 6/1                 13th       15th               16th            7th                            
Won the last two Shootouts on top of winning two plates races during 2010 season.        
 4. Joey Logano 20/1                 1st          3rd                10th            1st   
He may have the best car of the bunch, but lacks plate race seat time to rank him No. 1.
 5. Jeff Gordon 10/1                    2nd        6th                20th            8th                              
Two-time Shootout winner with 10 top-5 finishes in 17 starts; plate program much improved.
 6. Jamie McMurray 10/1            4th         7th                13th          DNP                                
Plate race specialist; finished within top-3 in the last two Shootouts; won Daytona 500 in 2010.
 7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 10/1         7th        11th                1st             16th 
Two-time Shootout winner with a new crew chief and garage (Johnson’s)? Dangerous!
 8. Denny Hamlin 10/1               1st          3rd                 8th              6th
Won Shootout as a rookie in 2006; had a great pre-season test and practiced well Friday.
 9. Kurt Busch 12/1                    2nd        14th               14th            14th 
The best driver to never win a plate race, including the Shootout. He’ll need friends to help.
10. Jimmie Johnson 12/1            8th       26th                3rd             15th 
Won the Shootout in 2005; he was hooked up with Earnhardt Jr. throughout the first practice.
                      
* The Sprint Cup teams tested out Daytona’s new surface, changes to the car and tires in January. The listed speeds are their two best performances in any of the five sessions they participated in.

Odds courtesy of the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book.

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