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: Ford EcoBoost 400
Tom Bowles, Majority Owner: My heart says Jeff Gordon. My head says Kevin Harvick. The way this season has gone? I’ll go with Martin Truex Jr. for both the win AND the title. That might be the best possible outcome for the sport long-term.
Amy Henderson, Senior Editor: Jimmie Johnson checks another track off the list. Champion? Hell if I know who wins the crapshoo—er, title.
Mark Howell, Senior Writer: Call me nostalgic or sentimental, but I’m choosing Gordon. He has shown us his ability to excel when it counts, and this is one time when it most certainly counts.
Toni Montgomery, Senior Editor: Let’s go with Harvick. I’m not really sorry if I jinx him.
Jeff Wolfe, Senior Writer: HARVICK!
Zach Catanzareti, Contributor: Harvick for the championship aaaaand Brad Keselowski for the win.
Huston Ladner, Senior Editor: Race: Johnson. Title: Harvick.
Danny Peters, Senior Writer: Race and title winner: Harvick.
Jerry Jordan, Contributor: Kurt Busch for the win and Kyle Busch for champion.
Matt Stallknecht, Senior Editor: Race and title: Gordon.
Sean Fesko, Contributor: Race and title: Gordon.
Vito Pugliese, Senior Writer: Joey Logano for the win, Truex for the title.
Matt McLaughlin, Senior Writer: Based on sentiment (and qualifying) Gordon. Harvick for champion. Yes, I know that’s impossible. It’s called hedging your bets.
Joseph Wolkin, Assistant Editor: I seem to be the ultimate jinx and I don’t want to jinx a title favorite, so I’ll go with Greg Biffle for the race win.
Aaron Bearden, Assistant Editor: Going Kyle Busch all the way, for better or for worse. I picked him for the title and it’ll probably take a win to accomplish it.
Greg Davis, Senior Writer: Race and the Cup: Harvick (back-to-back champ).
Results: Quicken Loans 500
| Writer | Pick | Finishing Position | Points |
| Toni Montgomery | Kevin Harvick | 2nd | 3 |
| Jeff Wolfe | Kevin Harvick | 2nd | 3 |
| Sean Fesko | Kevin Harvick | 2nd | 3 |
| Matt McLaughlin | Kevin Harvick | 2nd | 3 |
| Greg Davis | Kevin Harvick | 2nd | 3 |
| Matt Stallknecht | Joey Logano | 3rd | 3 |
| Mark Howell | Kyle Busch | 4th | 3 |
| Amy Henderson | Jimmie Johnson | 5th | 3 |
| Huston Ladner | Jimmie Johnson | 5th | 3 |
| Jerry Jordan | Kurt Busch | 7th | 1 |
| Mike Neff | Kurt Busch | 7th | 1 |
| Danny Peters | Brad Keselowski | 9th | 1 |
| Vito Pugliese | Brad Keselowski | 9th | 1 |
| Aaron Bearden | Brad Keselowski | 9th | 1 |
| Joseph Wolkin | Carl Edwards | 12th | 0 |
| Zach Catanzareti | Jamie McMurray | 15th | 0 |
Standings
| Writer | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
| Matt Stallknecht | 71 | — | 35 | 10 | 19 | 25 |
| Mike Neff | 51 | -20 | 32 | 6 | 14 | 20 |
| Jeff Wolfe | 51 | -20 | 33 | 5 | 17 | 23 |
| Aaron Bearden | 50 | -21 | 33 | 3 | 16 | 24 |
| Huston Ladner | 46 | -25 | 32 | 2 | 14 | 23 |
| Matt McLaughlin | 37 | -34 | 33 | 4 | 12 | 17 |
| Vito Pugliese | 36 | -35 | 29 | 3 | 13 | 19 |
| Mark Howell | 31 | -40 | 35 | 2 | 10 | 16 |
| Zach Catanzareti | 30 | -41 | 31 | 1 | 10 | 18 |
| Danny Peters | 29 | -42 | 31 | 3 | 11 | 17 |
| Toni Montgomery | 29 | -42 | 35 | 4 | 12 | 18 |
| Amy Henderson | 27 | -44 | 35 | 4 | 9 | 18 |
| Sean Fesko | 24 | -47 | 28 | 2 | 4 | 17 |
| Tony Lumbis | 24 | -47 | 32 | 1 | 9 | 16 |
| Tom Bowles | 23 | -48 | 21 | 4 | 7 | 12 |
| Brett Winningham | 19 | -52 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Joseph Wolkin | 12 | -59 | 34 | 2 | 8 | 13 |
| Phil Allaway | 8 | -63 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Greg Davis | 8 | -63 | 28 | 1 | 6 | 13 |
| Jerry Jordan | 6 | -65 | 19 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Jeff Meyer | 5 | -66 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| S.D. Grady | 4 | -67 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| David Ifeguni | 3 | -68 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Dan Greene | -1 | -72 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clayton Caldwell | -2 | -73 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
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.