Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Preview - Four Fighting for Chase Lives

Race-day: 9/12/2009

Race-time: 7:00 pm EST

It has come down to four. The Chevy Rock and Roll 400 is the final race before the Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship begins next week. What that means is that it is the last chance for the four drivers below to make it into the Top 12 and into the Chase.

Somebody is going to be disappointed. The lines makers at BetUS don’t believe it will be Kyle Busch, currently 14 th in the Sprint Cup Standings, as Busch is a +500 favorite to win the Chevy Rock & Roll. Let’s take a look at four drivers with their odds in the Chevy Rock & Roll.

Kyle Busch +500 - - Busch won at Richmond earlier this year, but disappointed in the Pep Boys 500. He’s the likeliest out of the four to make a leap into the Top 12, but KB still hasn’t figured out that getting into the Chase is what you need to do before winning a Sprint Cup, not going pedal to mettle and winning every race. He’s just as likely to do something ridiculous on Saturday as win it.

Matt Kenseth +3000 - - The 2009 Daytona 500 winner just hasn’t done much since earlier this year. He is currently 12 th in the Sprint Cup Standings and is in danger of getting knocked out of the Top 12. It would be the first time that Kenseth hasn’t made the Chase. His chances of winning the Chevy Rock & Roll are very low. So, Matt’s got to concentrate on just driving well.

Brian Vickers +4000 - - Vickers is a bigger long shot to win the Chevy Rock & Roll than Kenseth. He should be. Like KB, he’s kind of a hot head and more than likely will do something to hurt his chances on Saturday night. He is 13 th in the Sprint Cup Standings but doesn’t have great history at Richmond like Kyle does.

Greg Biffle +2000 - - Biffle drives for Roush Fenway Racing. That in itself implies that he should do enough to make the Chase. He did a good job last week when finishing 10 th and could surprise some drivers this week, but his lead over Kenseth, Vickers and Busch, at 11 th in the standings, is tenuous.

Who’s in? I’m going with Biffle and Busch. Kyle has a good chance of repeating his run at Richmond earlier in 2009, which led to a victory, and Biffle has higher average finish at Richmond than both Vickers and Kenseth. Kenseth and his crew just haven’t been doing well at all lately and Vickers is likely to push harder than Busch.

I’m saying that Greg Biffle and Kyle Busch make the Chase while Brian Vickers and Matt Kenseth are left out.

When it comes to winning this Saturday’s race, two driver’s stand out. Denny Hamlin, +700 in the sportsbook, has no victories at Richmond but does have an average finish of 9.6. He could hoist his first trophy at the track if he can push that car just a bit further and get to the finish line first. Joe Gibbs would like nothing more than for that to happen as the driver most likely to challenge Hamlin is one of their former guys.

That former guy would be Tony Stewart, of course. Danica Patrick’s future boss has an average finish of 10 th place at Richmond. Smoke also has three victories on the track making him one of the better wagers in the online sportsbook in this contest.