Saturday, October 19, 2013

Talladega Driver Ratings Following All Practice

Micah Roberts‘ Top-10 Driver Ratings 
Camping World RV Sales 500
Talladega Superspeedway
Sunday, October 20, 2013 -  11:16 a.m. PT

Rating    Driver     Odds       Practice 1*  Practice 2  ‘Dega May** Daytona July**

 1. Matt Kenseth 10/1                12th            17th              8th                 33rd 
Won this race last season; been fast in all plate races, led 142 of 192 laps in May race.
 2. Jimmie Johnson 10/1           11th             1st               5th                  1st 
Two-time winner; only driver to finish top-5 in all three plate races, including Daytona sweep.
 3. Brad Keselowski 15/1           13th            18th            15th                 21st 
Two-time winner, the last in May, 2012. Also site of his first career win in 2009, 12.6 average finish.
 4. Carl Edwards 18/1                 5th             12th              3rd                 29th 
Doesn’t have any plate race wins, but has turned himself into a very good driver on these tracks.
 5. Jeff Gordon 10/1                   20th             9th             11th                 34th 
Six-time winner, the last in a 2007 sweep; 15 top-5 finishes, will be making 42nd start Sunday.
 6. Kevin Harvick 10/1                34th            DNP           40th                 3rd 
2010 winner with 16.4 average finish in 25 starts; using new chassis, needed just 10 laps of practice.
 7. Clint Bowyer 15/1                  21st            DNP           18th                 4th 
Two-time winner, 16.3 average finish in 15 starts; using fourth-place chassis from Daytona (July).
 8. Kyle Busch 10/1                    28th            DNP           37th                12th 
2008 winner and 2012 runner-up, but has felt wrath of track more than most: 22.9 average finish.
 9. Denny Hamlin 25/1               15th              3rd             34th                36th 
Third-place in 2008; led 20 laps at Daytona (July) and has benefit of driving Gibbs plate race car.
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 10/1         8th             10th            17th                  8th 
Five-time winner, the last in 2004, 15.1 average finish; using runner-up Daytona 500 chassis.

* Qualifying rained out, starting lineup set by practice 1 order of finish.

** Results from the past two restrictor plate races run: 2013 Aaron’s 499 at Talladega and Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.

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. 

No comments: