Martinsville: Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 Ratings Following All Practice Sessions

Micah Roberts Top 10 Driver Ratings
Las Vegas Review-Journal


Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500
Martinsville Speedway
Sunday, March 28, 2010 - 10:15 am (PT)

Rating - Driver - Odds                            Practice 1         Qualifying*           Practice 2          Practice 3
1.Jeff Burton 15/1                          21st               7th                 1st                2nd
Ran the most laps in Saturday’s practice with best results. Converted 2009 Charlotte chassis for this race. One career win with average finish of 14.6 for the Virginian.

2.Dale Earnhardt Jr 20/1                15th                8th                22nd            7th
Best average lap times in happy hour. New Chassis for this race. Fifth best NASCAR loop rating at track with career best finish of second-place in 2008.

3.Jeff Gordon 6/1                           4th                 11th                5th               4th
Seven-time winner with average finish of 6.8. Has top-5 finish in last 10 starts. Strong in every practice with single lap and average times.

4.Denny Hamlin 5/1                       5th                 19th                 7th               5th
The native Virginian won two of the last four; solid practice times while debuting new chassis. Fourth best NASCAR loop rating.

5.Jimmie Johnson 7/2                     7th                 3rd                  16th              9th
The six-time winning is debuting new chassis and the team struggled (by their standards) with it. He has nine straight top-5 finishes.

6.Juan Pablo Montoya 18/1           6th                 22nd                 4th              6th
His best statistical non-road course track on schedule with average finish of 11th including third-place in last race there. Third fastest average speeds in happy hour.

7.Mark Martin 15/1                       2nd                16th                 1st               8th
Last of his two career wins came in 2000. Using same car that finished eighth at Martinsville last fall. Second fastest average speeds in happy hour.

8.Tony Stewart 12/1                      13th                5th                  8th               28th
Debuts new chassis this week. Two career wins and average finish of 12.0. Finished third in this race last year.

9.Jamie McMurray 35/1              10th               15th                  9th                1st
Fastest in happy hour on what is his third-best track with an average finish of 15.6.

10.Kevin Harvick 12/1                 16th                1st                  13th              13th
Using Chassis that teammate Clint Bowyer won with at New Hampshire (2007) and Richmond (2008). Huge advantage of pitting out of first box. Winner in Nationwide and Trucks, but no Cup wins at Martinsville.

* Qualifying rained out and set by driver points.
Odds courtesy of the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book.
For more insights on the upcoming race, log onto http://www.lvrj.com/ under Motorsports, available on-line every Saturday evening.