Final Chicagoland Practice Notes & Driver Ratings

Look who is back the mix? After a three month nap, Truex Jr. and Johnson are major players again.

Micah Roberts' Top-10 Rated NASCAR Drivers
MyAfibStory.com 400
Chicagoland Speedway
Sunday, September 20, 2015 - 12:16 pm (PT)
 
Rating     Driver       Odds                   Practice 1       Practice 2         Practice 3          Kansas*
 1. Kevin Harvick 5/1                   1st               11th             14th             2nd
Two-time winner  with 9.5 average finish; dominator on lap leads between six 1.5-mile tracks.
 2. Jimmie Johnson 10/1          12th              6th                6th               1st 
One of four tracks he's never won at; best 10-consecutive lap average in in final two practices.
 3. Martin Truex Jr. 12/1             4th              1st                 1st                9th
No top-5s in nine, but looks to be happeiest -- maybe Johnson -- with regular aero package.
 4. Brad Keselowski 7/1             3rd               5th               2nd               7th 
Two-time winner, including last season; kicked off 2012 Chase with a win and won the Chase.
 5. Joey Logano 7/1                      2nd              8th              23rd               5th
Career-best fourth last season; currently on spectacular run with nine top-5s in past 12 starts.
 6. Matt Kenseth 8/1                  13th              19th             3rd                6th 
2013 winner in first year with Gibbs; on great run of winning three of past six races on schedule.
 7. Denny Hamlin 12/1               30th              2nd              7th               41st
Sixth last season and career-best fifth in 2009; looked best of the Gibbs cars in final practices.
 8. Kyle Busch 5/1                          7th               9th              16th             DNP
2008 winner, seventh last season; Chase has been issue over career, but he's new man in 2015.
 9. Carl Edwards 12/1                  15th             22nd             4th              20th
Career-best runner-up in 2010; fourth or better in past two 1.5-mile tracks -- won at Charlotte.
10. Kurt Busch 10/1                     10th             10th              17th              8th
Career-best fourth-place in 2013; tenth or better in past three races on 1.5-mile tracks.

Note: Qualifying was cancelled due to rain so the starting lineup will be set by speeds set in practice 1.

* Results from the May 9, 2015 race at Kansas Speedway, a track similar to Chicagoland, and the last 1.5-mile track that didn't feature the low down force aero-package.

Odds courtesy of the Westgate Las Vegas Super Book.

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