Final Darlington Driver Ratings: 2013 Bojangles Southern 500

Micah Roberts‘ Top-10 Driver Ratings 
Bojangles Southern 500
Darlington Raceway
Saturday, May 11, 2013 -  4:05 p.m. PT

Rating    Driver     Odds         Practice 1    Practice 2       Qualified     Darlington ‘12*

 1. Kyle Busch 5/1                       6th              10th                3rd                4th 
2008 winner with a 15.5 average finish; gets high marks because power on 1.5-mile tracks.
 2. Jeff Gordon 12/1                  26th                8th                8th               35th 
Seven-time winner, including four straight Southern 500’s from 1995-98; making 700th career Cup start.
 3. Jimmie Johnson 6/1             16th              15th                2nd               1st 
Three-time winner, including last fall, with 9.1 average finish --second best among active drivers.
 4. Clint Bowyer 18/1                  2nd              19th                13th             11th 
Best finish of ninth of 2007, but had a strong showing in practices with good average speeds
 5. Brad Keselowski 12/1          22nd              31st               26th              15th 
Career best third-place in 2011 with a 9.3 average finish; using fourth-place Phoenix chassis.
 6. Martin Truex Jr. 12/1             7th                 9th                 5th               5th 
Had best career finish last season; 11.3 average finish one of his best; practiced very well.
 7. Greg Biffle 12/1                    10th                6th                 9th              12th 
Two-time winner, his only top5 finishes in 12 starts; using 10th-place Texas chassis.
 8. Carl Edwards 10/1                 5th                3rd                 17th              7th 
Two-time runner-up, 2008 and 2011, with 13.1 average finish; using Bristol chassis.
 9. Kurt Busch 40/1                    19th                1st                 1st               21st 
10th anniversary of memorable runner-up finish to Ricky Craven, which remains his best career finish.
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 20/1        4th                11th                16th             17th  
Second best 10-consecutive lap average during practice 1; using sixth-place Bristol chassis.

* Because there are no other similar tracks to Darlington Raceway‘s 1.336-mile layout, results from race run last season (May 12, 2012) serve as the best reference.

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.