Welcome to our ninth year of staff predictions! Each week, our experts attempt to tell you who the winner of each Cup race will be. Take a look to see who your favorite writers think will win it all (or at least score some points) this week!
Think you can out-prognosticate our staff? Leave your picks in the comments and see how they stack up!
How we roll:
Each driver can be picked only twice each week. We can’t pick the same driver two weeks in a row. And if anyone is daring enough to pick from a pool of higher-risk drivers…well, he or she reaps some serious bonus points!
Prediction Scoring
+5 – Win
+3 – 2nd-5th
+1 – 6th-10th
0 – 11th-20th
-1 – 21st-30th
-2 – 31st-36th
-3 – 37th-40th
*High-risk bonus: Win: +3; 2nd-5th: +2; 6th-10th: +1
High-Risk Drivers—Talladega I:
Michael McDowell
Danica Patrick
Michael Annett
Matt DiBenedetto
Josh Wise
Trevor Bayne
Brian Scott
This week’s predictions: GEICO 500
Amy Henderson, Senior Editor: This week, to the dismay of millions, I am going with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Amelia. Hopefully they’ll give me a bounce back and not wind up another victim of the Amy jinx.
Jeff Wolfe, Senior Writer: Tony Stewart/Ty Dillon combo. Though Smoke would get the official victory.
Jeff Meyer, Semi-retired Contributor: Kyle Larson.Â
Tony Lumbis, Financial Manager: Aric Almirola.
Dan Greene, Webmaster: Denny Hamlin.
Aaron Bearden, Assistant Editor: Matt Kenseth.
Zach Catanzareti, Contributor: Michael McDowell.
Joseph Wolkin, Assistant Editor: I’ll go out on a limb and say Danica Patrick.
Jason Schultz, Contributor: Martin Truex, Jr.
Danny Peters, Senior Writer: I’ll go with Logano.
Dustin Albino, Contributor: Ryan Blaney.Â
Clayton Caldwell, Contributor: I’ll take Trevor Bayne in an upset.
Sean Fesko, Staff Writer: Dale Jr. returns to victory lane this weekend.
Vito Pugliese, Senior Writer: Matt Kenseth.
Phil Allaway, Newsletter Editor: I’m going with Jamie McMurray today to claim his third Talladega win.
Greg Davis, Senior Writer: Danica Patrick.
Huston Ladner, Senior Editor: Jimmie Johnson
Toyota Owners 400
Writer | Pick | Finishing Position | Points |
Mark Howell | Carl Edwards | 1st | 5 |
Aaron Bearden | Kyle Busch | 2nd | 3 |
Bryan Gable | Kyle Busch | 2nd | 3 |
Jeff Wolfe | Kevin Harvick | 5th | 3 |
Danny Peters | Kevin Harvick | 5th | 3 |
Amy Henderson | Denny Hamlin | 6th | 1 |
Clayton Caldwell | Denny Hamlin | 6th | 1 |
Huston Ladner | Matt Kenseth | 7th | 1 |
Jason Schultz | Joey Logano | 8th | 1 |
Jeff Meyer | Martin Truex, Jr. | 9th | 1 |
Dustin Albino | Kurt Busch | 10th | 1 |
Sean Fesko | Kurt Busch | 10th | 1 |
Vito Pugliese | Brad Keselowski | 11th | 0 |
Tony Lumbis | Brad Keselowski | 11th | 0 |
Joseph Wolkin | Chase Elliott | 12th | 0 |
Dan Greene | Tony Stewart | 19th | 0 |
Zach Catanzareti | Tony Stewart | 19th | 0 |
Standings
 Writer | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
Jeff Meyer | 18 | — | 9 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
Bryan Gable | 15 | -3 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
Jeff Wolfe | 15 | -3 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
Dustin Albino | 14 | -4 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
Danny Peters | 12 | -6 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
Sean Fesko | 11 | -7 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
Tony Lumbis | 9 | -9 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
Jason Schultz | 9 | -9 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
Amy Henderson | 8 | -10 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Huston Ladner | 8 | -10 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Clayton Caldwell | 8 | -10 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
Aaron Bearden | 7 | -11 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Dan Greene | 6 | -12 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
Jerry Jordan | 4 | -14 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Mike Neff | 4 | -14 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Mark Howell | 4 | -14 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Tom Bowles | 3 | -15 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Summer Bedgood | 1 | -17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Phil Allaway | 1 | -17 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Joseph Wolkin | 0 | -18 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Vito Pugliese | 0 | -18 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Matt Stallknecht | -1 | -19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Kevin Rutherford | -2 | -20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Zach Catanzareti | -2 | -20 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
About the author
The Frontstretch Staff is made up of a group of talented men and women spread out all over the United States and Canada. Residing in 15 states throughout the country, plus Ontario, and widely ranging in age, the staff showcases a wide variety of diverse opinions that will keep you coming back for more week in and week out.
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Last Night I had a dream: A black haired woman – that #10 car
The reason you suck at this is that you pick your favorites every week. And decent fantasy players know to go with head rather than heart. But FS writers don’t have brains, so I guess that would be impossible for the Joonyer-Blaney-Kenseth lovers!
And if Stewart-Dillon had won, it would have been the greatest travesty in racing history. Stewart can no longer race out of a paper bag. He is a rolling chicane on the track.