Final 2015 Sylvania 300 New Hampshire Practice Notes & Driver Ratings

Carl Edwards looked the best throughout all practices, but Kyle Busch's excellence at NHMS makes him the one to beat 

Micah Roberts' Top-10 Rated NASCAR Drivers
Sylvania 300
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sunday, September 27, 2015 - 11:16 am (PT)
 
Rating     Driver       Odds                    Practice 1        Qualified        Practice 2         Practice 3  
 1. Kyle Busch 5/1                        14th             17th            18th              2nd 
Two-time winner; second or better in four of past five starts. Outstanding final practice.
 2. Kevin Harvick 9/2                  11th               2nd             2nd              1st  
2006 winner is in desperation mode to advance; best 10-consecutive lap average in practice 2.
 3. Carl Edwards 12/1                    1st               1st               1st                5th 
No wins and only two top-fives in 22 career starts, but was the best overall during practices.
 4. Brad Keselowski 5/1               3rd               4th              3rd               3rd  
Won last season and was runner-up in July; track-best 10.3 average finish among actives.
 5. Joey Logano 7/1                      13th               8th             4th               11th
Two-time winner, including first career win; top-fives in past three races on similar flat tracks.
 6. Denny Hamlin 10/1               16th               7th              8th               7th 
Two-time winner with 10.6 average; loves flat tracks. Has a free roll with ticket into next round.
 7. Matt Kenseth 8/1                   10th              13th            9th               10th 
2013 winner in first year with Gibbs; led 352 lap en route to win two weeks ago at Richmond.
 8. Kurt Busch 12/1                       5th               3rd              5th                9th 
Three-time winner, the last in 2008; led 291 laps in April win at Richmond, a similar flat track.
 9. Jimmie Johnson 10/1             2nd               5th             7th                 4th 
Three-time winner with 10.7 average finish; could surprise the stout Gibbs and Penske cars.
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 20/1         6th              11th             6th              15th 
Never won in 32 career starts, but did finish fifth in last two races held on similar tracks.

Note: Great handicapping tool for this race is to refer to the four races run earlier this season at Phoenix, Richmond and New Hampshire. All three tracks are flat and almost the same size which require similar set-ups. If good on one track, a driver should be good on the others.

Odds courtesy of the Westgate Las Vegas Super Book.

Video: Roberts talks New Hampshire odds from Vegas

Micah Roberts, a former Las Vegas sports book director, has been setting NASCAR odds since 1994. Follow him on twitter @MicahRoberts7