So the final race for the Chase has some major dud potential. Silly Season has been anything but. Here’s quick looks at winners and losers, Bert Convy style.

Win: Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch.
Hamlin gets Roush Fenway insight at the types of tracks where Joe Gibbs Racing has struggled the most. It’s a big missing link.

Lose: Trevor Bayne and Brian Vickers
How can neither of these guys get a full season commitment?

Draw: Joe Gibbs Racing
Matt Kenseth helps now. But they spent millions developing Joey Logano, only to see him have his best season and leave.

Win: Joey Logano
Logano gets a sponsor, a younger teammate and an understanding owner who can let him develop. This isn’t getting nearly enough play.

Lose: Kurt Busch
Where is he going to get an elite gig? And is Richard Petty Motorsports an elite gig anymore?

Draw: Jack Roush
Did Jack Roush to everything he could to do keep Kenseth? Did Roush let Kenseth go? Roush has Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ready to run and Trevor Bayne twiddling his thumbs. It’s a promising future, but it could also be a tough 2013.
 
It’s been a tough summer of 2012 for me. Up just a fake 402 dollars after the Hendrick headache, I need a win. So consider this for the sake of entertainment purposes alone.

• 20 fake dollars on Kyle Busch at 9/2
• 20 fake  dollars on Denny Hamln at 9/2
• 10 fake dollars on Jimmie Johnson at 8/1

In the last 28 starts at short tracks, Kyle Busch has eight wins. Denny Hamlin has seven wins. Jimmie Johnson has four wins. That’s nearly 61% of the total victories in play. Busch needs the win, though maybe not as much as his crew chief. Hamlin needs nothing, can race to win and Darian Grubb’s mojo in play. Johnson needs to prove he’s still the driver to beat. I’ll take my chances.  

Here’s what The Spread thinks. Enjoy what I hope is a dud free race Saturday night, and insert random catchphrase here.

Denny Hamlin 9/2
Kyle Busch 9/2
Jimmie Johnson 8/1
Tony Stewart 8/1
Jeff Gordon 8/1
Dale Earnhardt Jr 10/1
Kasey Kahne 10/1
Brad Keselowski 10/1
Kevin Harvick 12/1
Carl Edwards 20/1
Greg Biffle 20/1
Matt Kenseth 20/1
Clint Bowyer 20/1
Martin Truex Jr 25/1
Mark Martin 25/1
Ryan Newman 50/1
Joey Logano 60/1
Sam Hornish Jr 100/1
Marcos Ambrose 100/1
Jamie McMurray 100/1
Paul Menard 100/1
Juan Pablo Montoya 100/1
Jeff Burton 100/1
Kurt Busch 100/1
Regan Smith 300/1
Bobby Labonte 300/1
David Ragan 300/1
David Gilliland 300/1
Aric Almirola 300/1
Field (Any Other Driver) 50/1