Micah Roberts’ Top-10 Rated NASCAR Drivers Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500, Martinsville Speedway
Rating. Driver Odds Practice 1, Qualified, Practice 2, Practice 3
Jimmie Johnson 6/1 25th, 21st, 9th, 1st Eight-time Martinsville winner, including seven of last 18; best 10-consecutive lap average in Practice 3.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 12/1 24th, 22nd, 1st, 5th Won for first time here last fall after 30 starts; best 10-consecutive lap average in Practice 2.
Denny Hamlin 6/1 12th , 10th, 5th , 9th Five-time Martinsville winner, including March race. 10 top-five finishes in 19 starts here; native Virginian.
Kyle Busch* 12/1 8th, 6th, 6th, 26th 2012 runner-up here and has eight top-five finishes in 20 starts; should be very fast on long runs.
Jeff Gordon* 6/1 2nd, 5th, 16th, 12th Eight-time winner at this track; 28 top-fives in 45 starts and track-best 6.8 average finish. Final Martinsville start.
Joey Logano* 6/1 1st, 1st, 4th, 7th Looking to win fourth-straight race on schedule; led 108 laps in March – third straight top-five.
Kevin Harvick* 6/1 4th, 12th, 13th, 2nd 2011 winner with 16th-place average finish; best 10-consecutive lap average in Practice 1.
Martin Truex Jr.* 20/1 13th, 2nd, 2nd , 8th Only two top-five finishes in 19 starts (22.2 average) at Martinsville, but looked outstanding in all practices.
Ryan Newman 100/1 18th, 7th, 3rd , 13th 2012 winner, third-place last fall, 15.4 average in 27 starts; looked strong in practices.
Brad Keselowski* 12/1 3rd, 11th, 18th, 3rd Career-best runner-up in March race – led 18 laps, 14th-place place average in 11 starts.
*Among eight drivers still eligible to win the title. Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch are the others Notes: 95 of the 133 (71.4 percent) of Martinsville Sprint Cup races have been won from a top-10 starting position; 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.
