Saturday, July 30, 2011

Final Brickyard 400 Driver Ratings Following All Practice Sessions

Micah Roberts' Top 10 Driver Ratings
All-State 400 at the Brickyard
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Sunday, July 31, 2011 - 10:19 am (PDT)

Rating   Driver   Odds         Practice 1  Practice 2  Practice 3  Qualified

1. Jimmie Johnson 6/1          32nd          3rd          10th          3rd
Three-time winner, his only top-10 Indy finishes in last eight starts; new chassis this week.

2. Greg Biffle 15/1                20th           1st            1st          18th
Finished fourth and third in last two Indy starts; 13.9 average finish in eight starts.

3. Matt Kenseth 10/1            1st           29th           8th           9th
Two-time runner-up; using winning Texas chassis that finished second at Michigan as well.

4. Carl Edwards 6/1               4th            6th            5th          10th
Runner-up in 2008, his only top-five in six starts; using fifth-place Kansas chassis.

5. Jeff Gordon 10/1               9th           26th          26th           8th
Four-time winner with an average finish of 9.5 in 17 starts; last win came in 2004.

6. Kevin Harvick 10/1         30th            5th           11th         19th
2003 winner with an average finish of 9.9, runner-up last year. Using Darlington car this week.

7. Denny Hamlin 12/1          2nd           18th          28th          14th
Best finsh of third in 2008; third best 10-consecutive lap average in final practice.

8. Juan Pablo Montoya 10/1 7th          31st            6th            7th
2007 runner-up finisher with an average running position of 11.53; 2000 Indy 500 winner.

9. Kasey Kahne 30/1           2nd           13th           2nd            2nd
Runner-up in 2005 with an average finish position of 15.6 in seven starts; great practices.

10. Clint Bowyer 30/1         15th           17th          13th           26th
Best finish of fourth in 2010 tied career his best set in 2006; debuts new chassis this week.

Note: Results from the June 12, 2011 race at Pocono Raceway can serve as a great barometer for handicapping Indy. The long straightaways and flat turns of Pocono make it the most similar track to Indianapolis. Drivers that did well then should do well Sunday.

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.


Brickyard Starting Lineup

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