How about a little Brad Keselowski to win 2016 Sprint Cup? 2016 Chase Grid Outlook
Pos.	Drivers	Points	Wins	Chase Bonus Pts
1	Brad Keselowski	551	3	9
2	Kyle Busch	492	3	9
3	Carl Edwards	527	2	6
4	Jimmie Johnson	475	2	6
5	Kevin Harvick	565	1	3
6	Kurt Busch	545	1	3
7	Joey Logano	531	1	3
8	Martin Truex Jr.	482	1	3
9	Denny Hamlin	446	1	3
10	Matt Kenseth	443	1	3
11	Tony Stewart	212	1	3
12	Chase Elliott	482	0	0
13	Austin Dillon	434	0	0
14	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	433	0	0
15	Ryan Newman	425	0	0
16	Ryan Blaney	409	0	0
Outside Looking In
17	Jamie McMurray	405	0	0
18	Trevor Bayne	399	0	0
19	Kasey Kahne	396	0	0
20	Aj Allmendinger	393	0	0
21	Kyle Larson	390	0	0
22	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	388	0	0
23	Greg Biffle	324	0	0
24	Paul Menard	320	0	0
25	Clint Bowyer	304	0	0
26	Aric Almirola	304	0	0
27	Danica Patrick	302	0	0
28	Casey Mears	268	0	0
29	Landon Cassill	259	0	0
30	David Ragan	243	0	0
	Green = Locked into the Chase, provided they attempt to qualify for the remaining regular season races and are in the top 30 in points
	Yellow = Have a win, inside the current Chase Grid's top 16 - Currently in the Chase, not locked in
	Orange = No wins, Inside the current Chase Grid's top 16 - Currently in the Chase, not locked in
	Red = Inside the current top 30 in points, outside of the Chase cutoff, not locked in

Brad Keselowski finally captures elusive Daytona victory

Brad Keselowski paid out at 15/1 odds at Las Vegas sports books.

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – Brad Keselowski finally won at Daytona International Speedway, a track where victory had eluded him despite strong success in restrictor-plate races.

Keselowski has four career victories at Talladega Superspeedway, including a win there in May. But he could never pull it off at Daytona, at least not until Saturday night’s dominating run. He and his No. 2 Ford crew kept chipping away at it even after he had a disappointing run in the season-opening Daytona 500.

“I’ve doubted myself here,” said Keselowski, who had just three top-10 finishes in 14 previous starts at Daytona.

The win was the 100th for Team Penske.

“This is huge, I love this place,” Keselowski said.

The race was marred by a 22-car wreck that collected more than half the field. It really left only Kyle Busch as a legitimate contender, but he couldn’t make up ground after a restart for a two-lap shootout that sent it into overtime.

Read More Here......StarTribune.com

Coke Zero 400 results

Coke Zero 400 Betting Notes

Kyle Busch is 12/1 this week at Daytona.

The best way to handicap Sprint Cup restrictor-plate races might be to randomly pull a car number out of a hat.

Bettors have to tread lightly four times a season with their bankrolls in these races because driver ratings don’t hold true as they do at tracks such as Texas or Phoenix. Of the 40 drivers starting Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona’s massive 2.5-mile layout, 35 have a legitimate shot to win because of the volatile nature of the track and cars being so equal.

Sports books make major adjustments in weekly odds to reflect the equality of the cars. Three weeks ago at Michigan, Danica Patrick was 500-1. This week she’s 80-1 because two of her six career top-10 finishes are at Daytona. She has a chance to win Saturday, which can’t be said in the 32 races on other types of tracks.

Daytona has produced some long-shot winners. Aric Almirola won the rain-shortened summer race in 2014 for his first career victory and paid 60-1. David Ragan won his first career race in the summer of 2011 and paid 50-1. Trevor Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500 in his first attempt on the track and paid 100-1.

While the books chop down the odds on the long shots, they also offer more generous odds with drivers on the power teams. Denny Hamlin, who dominated Daytona Speedweeks in February with Sprint Unlimited and Daytona 500 wins, is 10-1 at the Westgate.

His Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch are each at 12-1, and Martin Truex Jr. is at 15-1. Four of the top five finishers in the Daytona 500 were JGR cars, and the Gibbs driver who didn’t make it, Matt Kenseth, led 40 of the final 41 laps and got shuffled to 14th on the last lap.

Those trends from February sound like results from JGR at Kentucky’s 1.5-mile layout, not a superspeedway where randomness is supposed to be the key. But also consider that within a second of Hamlin at the finish line were Kyle Larson (seventh) and Regan Smith (eighth), and less than two seconds behind were Almirola (12th) and Michael McDowell (15th).

JUNIOR FAVORED AGAIN

Because he is one of the best plate racers in NASCAR history and sports books know the public is going to bet on him, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is usually the favorite in any plate race.

He has won four times in 33 Daytona races and six at Talladega. He won this race last season and two of the past five. But he finished 36th at the 500 in February and last at Talladega in May.

Read More Betting Notes Here.....LVRJ.com

Micah Roberts' Sprint Cup Ratings for Daytona

Final Coke Zero 400 Driver Ratings

Greg Biffle starts from the pole Saturday night at Daytona.

Thursday's Sprint Cup practices at Daytona International Speedway got rained out, but the series added time to the schedule on Friday morning where Brian Scott posted the fastest lap. Kyle Busch also wrecked his primary car in the session which is why crew chiefs and drivers aren't very enthused about trying too much on the volatile track. Why try mimicking race conditions when actual race conditions require side-by-side and bumper-to-bumper racing? Qualifying doesn't mean much, either. These restrictor-plate races really are crap shoot, so shorten your bankrolls, and make a few wagers for fun and enjoy the fireworks.




Micah Roberts' NASCAR Sprint Cup Ratings
Coke Zero 400
Daytona International Speedway
Saturday, July 2, 2016 - 5:08 pm (PT)     
 
Rating     Driver       Odds     Daytona '16*   Talladega '16*     Practice     Qualified
 1. Denny Hamlin 10/1                1st                    31st                    30th               9th
Only Bobby Allsion (1982) has won Unlimited, Daytona 500 and Coke Zero 400 in same year.
 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr 9/2          36th                   40th                    32nd            16th 
Four-time winner, including 2015; active leader with 13 top-fives, second with 593 laps led.
 3. Kyle Busch 12/1                      3rd                     2nd                    28th                3rd
2008 winner, the last season he won a restrictor-plate race. Crashed primary car in practice.
 4. Jimmie Johnson 8/1           16th                   22nd                   19th                 8th
Three-time winner, including 2013 sweep; 16.9 avg. finish, 11 top-fives and 278 laps led.
 5. Joey Logano 10/1                   6th                   25th                      8th                11th
2015 Daytona 500 winner, and won at Talladega in fall, his only two plate wins of career.
 6. Kevin Harvick 10/1                4th                   15th                   33rd                 21st
Two-time winner, the last coming in 2010; using '16 back-up chassis from Talladega/Daytona.
 7. Matt Kenseth 12/1              14th                  23rd                    26th                  7th
Two-time Daytona 500 winner; led 40 of final 41 laps in Feb. race, shuffled back on last lap.
 8. Brad Keselowski 15/1         20th                     1st                      3rd                  5th
No Daytona wins in 14 attempts, but has four wins at Talladega. Best finish: third in 2014.
 9. Chase Elliott 15/1                 37th                     5th                    25th                24th
Debut in Feb. wasn't so good, but leading 27 laps and finishing fifth at Talladega impressive.
10. Kurt Busch 15/1                   10th                     8th                    20th                10th 
The best plate racer without ever winning a plate races -- top-10 finish in his last four starts.

Note: Thursday's two scheduled practice sessions were cancelled due to rain and made up into one early Friday session.

* Results from the past two races using restrictor-plates to slow the cars down: Daytona (February, 2016) and Talladega (May, 2016).

Odds courtesy of the Westgate SuperBook.

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

Hamlin attempting to join Allison with Daytona Triple

The 2016 Daytona 500 was a historical race for many reasons. For one, it was Denny Hamlin's first "Great American Race" win. The trip to Victory Lane also secured Toyota its first Daytona 500 win, as well as Joe Gibbs' first victory at the event since 1993.

The kicker for Hamlin is that the Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman became the sixth driver to win the Sprint Unlimited and Daytona 500 in the same year. Check out the elite company Hamlin now keeps. Only Bobby Allison completed the Triple by winning the summer Firecracker 400 as well.

DRIVERS WHO HAVE WON THE SPRINT UNLIMITED AND DAYTONA 500 IN SAME YEAR

NAME	YEAR
Bobby Allison	1982
Bill Elliott	1987
Dale Jarrett	1996
Jeff Gordon	1997
Dale Jarrett	2000
Denny Hamlin	2016

Brian Scott fastest in final Coke Zero 400 practice, Kyle Busch wrecks car

Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch and Joey Logano at lone practice Friday.

Brian Scott posted a lap of 199.349 mph to lead the way in Friday morning’s final practice session at Daytona International Speedway.

Kyle Busch was uninjured in a crash late in the session and will go to a backup car. A Goodyear official said that a cut right rear tire was the cause of Busch’s crash. Busch will go to a backup car.

Austin Dillon was next behind Scott on the speed chart with a lap of 199.344 mph. Next was Brad Keselowski (198.711 mph), Ryan Blaney (198.649) and David Gilliland(198.623).

Read More Here...NBC Sports

Final Practice Results