Welcome to our eighth 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!
Prediction Scoring
+5 – Win
+3 – Top 5
+1 – Top 10
0 – 11th-20th
-1 – 21st-30th
-2 – 31st-40th
-3 – 41st-43rd
This week’s predictions: Coke Zero 400
Tom Bowles, Editor-In-Chief: I’ll go with Jamie McMurray.
Amy Henderson, Senior Editor: Restrictor-plate race, so might as well pick one out of a hat. Casey Mears did right by me in the Daytona 500, so I’ll go with him again this week.
Jeff Wolfe, Senior Writer: Going to go with Junior.
Matt Stallknecht, Senior Editor: Dale Earnhardt Jr. It’s pointless to pick against him right now on plate tracks.
Mark Howell, Senior Writer: My Daytona pick is Jimmie Johnson.
Joseph Wolkin, Assistant Editor: I’m going with David Ragan considering how strong he is at restrictor-plate tracks. Oh, and Michael Waltrip Racing kind of has a good history at the plate races, too.
Tony Lumbis, Financial Manager: Tony Stewart finally breaks back into the win column.
Toni Montgomery, Senior Editor: Carl Edwards. Call it a little experiment.
Huston Ladner, Senior Editor: Ryan Newman.
Matt McLaughlin, Senior Writer: Jerry Garcia… er, nope that won’t work. Earnhardt. So when does the Chase start and everyone have their scores reset to zero? I’ve got a couple wins so I’m in, right?
Aaron Bearden, Assistant Editor: @DaleJr
Greg Davis, Senior Writer: I’ll take Earnhardt Jr. – that trip he took down to Florida in his hauler will pay off when it comes time for the race on Sunday. Daytona’s a special place for him
Jerry Jordan, Contributing Writer: Stewart is also my pick for this week. I think I will pick him until he wins.
Danny Peters, Senior Writer: Denny Hamlin.
Phil Allaway, Senior Editor: I’m going with Stewart for the win. He’s got a good record at Daytona, no matter how much he hates restrictor-plate racing.
Jeff Meyer, Senior Writer: Edwards o’ course!
Vito Pugliese, Senior Writer: McMurray.
Zach Catanzareti, Contributing Writer: David Gilliland. He always seems to do something at these plate tracks.
Results: Toyota/SaveMart 350
Writer | Pick | Finishing Position | Points |
Aaron Bearden | Kyle Busch | 1st | 5 |
Phil Allaway | Kyle Busch | 1st | 5 |
Jeff Wolfe | Kurt Busch | 2nd | 3 |
Vito Pugliese | Kurt Busch | 2nd | 3 |
Mike Neff | Kurt Busch | 2nd | 3 |
Amy Henderson | Clint Bowyer | 3rd | 3 |
Tom Bowles | Kevin Harvick | 4th | 3 |
Huston Ladner | Kevin Harvick | 4th | 3 |
Tony Lumbis | Jamie McMurray | 11th | 0 |
Jerry Jordan | Tony Stewart | 12th | 0 |
Mark Howell | Jeff Gordon | 16th | 0 |
Matt McLaughlin | Jeff Gordon | 16th | 0 |
Clayton Caldwell | Jeff Gordon | 16th | 0 |
Brett Winningham | Brad Keselowski | 19th | 0 |
Matt Stallknecht | AJ Allmendinger | 37th | -2 |
Sean Fesko | AJ Allmendinger | 37th | -2 |
Joseph Wolkin | Casey Mears | 38th | -2 |
Danny Peters | Carl Edwards | 40th | -2 |
Jeff Meyer | Carl Edwards | 40th | -2 |
Toni Montgomery | Martin Truex Jr. | 42nd | -3 |
Greg Davis | Martin Truex Jr. | 42nd | -3 |
Standings
Writer | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
Jeff Wolfe | 36 | — | 15 | 4 | 10 | 13 |
Matt Stallknecht | 35 | -1 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 11 |
Mike Neff | 34 | -2 | 16 | 4 | 9 | 11 |
Huston Ladner | 24 | -12 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
Tom Bowles | 21 | -15 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 7 |
Vito Pugliese | 20 | -26 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
Brett Winningham | 20 | -16 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
Aaron Bearden | 20 | -16 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
Matt McLaughlin | 18 | -18 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
Sean Fesko | 18 | -18 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 9 |
Amy Henderson | 16 | -20 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
Joseph Wolkin | 13 | -23 | 16 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
Danny Peters | 11 | -25 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
Zach Catanzareti | 11 | -25 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
Phil Allaway | 9 | -27 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Mark Howell | 8 | -28 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
Jeff Meyer | 7 | -29 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
Tony Lumbis | 7 | -29 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
Clayton Caldwell | 6 | -30 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
S.D. Grady | 4 | -32 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
David Ifeguni | 3 | -33 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Toni Montgomery | 0 | -36 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
Greg Davis | 0 | -36 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
Jerry Jordan | -1 | -37 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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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