Saturday, October 20, 2012

Final Kansas Driver Ratings Following All Practice Sessions


Micah Roberts’ Top 10 Driver Ratings
Hollywood Casino 400
Kansas Speedway
Sunday, October 21, 2012 -  11:16 a.m. (PDT)

Rating    Driver     Odds        Practice 1     Qualified    Practice 2    Practice 3

 1. Jimmie Johnson 5/1              6th                7th              21st               3rd 
Two-time winner with track best 7.9 average finish; using chassis that won at Indy and Dover.
 2. Greg Biffle 7/1                       1st               11th               1st              13th 
Two-time winner with eighth-place average finish; using a brand new chassis this week.
 3. Matt Kenseth 12/1                 8th               12th               4th               1st 
Career best fourth-place finish in past two starts; using a brand new chassis this week.
 4. Kasey Kahne 8/1                   5th                1st                3rd               4th 
Runner-up last fall; using chassis that has three top-three finishes, including Charlotte win.
 5. Denny Hamlin 5/1                 21st               9th              12th              10th 
Won April 22 race, the first of two wins on 1.5-mile tracks this season; 15-points behind in Chase.
 6. Mark Martin 15/1                  14th               2nd              10th               7th 
2005 winner; best 10-consecutive lap average in final practice; using Indy chassis.
 7. Regan Smith 30/1                 7th               39th              24th               2nd 
Driving No. 88 car for injured Dale Earnhardt Jr.; using chassis that Junior won with at Michigan.
 8. Martin Truex Jr. 15/1            20th             16th                5th               5th 
Led four times for race high 173 laps in April 22 race en route to a runner-up finish.
 9. Clint Bowyer 15/1                 12th               3rd               13th             16th  
Emporia, Kansas native with a career best runner-up in 2007; only 28-points behind in Chase.
10. Brad Keselowski 8/1            19th             25th               16th              6th 
2011 winner with two wins on 1.5-mile tracks this season; using winning Chicago chassis.

Note: Kansas Speedway was recently resurfaced giving the 1.5- track a progressive banking that makes it now run similar to Homestead. Some drivers compared it to Michigan.  

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 Roberts insights on the race, go to The Linemakers on SportingNews.com or follow on Twitter: MicahRoberts7. 

Betting Notes
Martin has been teasing us all season with good cars (Getty)
The Fords of Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle looked pretty strong during the practice sessions giving reason to believe their little slump on 1.5-mile tracks is over. We saw Biffle run well last week at Charlotte with a fourth-place finish and they are going to be tough to beat Sunday. Both Kenseth and Biffle are using brand new cars for this race.

The one driver that could ruin the day for the new Roush Fords is Jimmie Johnson. He finished third last week at Charlotte and is still searching for his first 1.5-mile track win of the season. He’s using a car this week that has two wins in four starts. The beast of a car won at Dover and Brickyard, as well as finishing runner-up at Chicago and fourth at Dover a few weeks ago. In the second practice session, Johnson had the best 10-consecutive lap average.

Mark Martin has been a driver teasing us all season with great qualifying and practice efforts, but still doesn’t have a win on the season. We know he’s got a strong car, but he just can’t seem to get over the hump. He looks to be capable again this week. He had the best 10-consecutive lap average in final practice.

Kasey Kahne is still only 35-points behind the leader with five Chase races left and should find himself running in the top-5 all race. He had fantastic practice sessions and is using a chassis that finished third or better three times, including winning at Charlotte in May.        

Denny Hamlin has been the best on 1.5-mile tracks this season, but didn’t do anything in practice to suggest he’ll be running for the win. He’s got a top-10 car for sure, but for his sake, hopefully he doesn’t try to get too much out of it and get himself in a wreck, which would ruin his Chase chances. He’s got to take what the car gives him and make the most of it, which may be hard for a driver like Hamln to do.

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