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 Drivers—Phoenix:
Trevor Bayne
Cole Whitt
Michael McDowell
Brian Scott
Landon Cassill
Matt DiBenedetto
Michael Annett
This week’s predictions: Good Sam 400
Amy Henderson, Senior Editor: I’m going with Kevin Harvick, which is sure to jinx him terribly for whoever else takes him…
Jeff Wolfe, Senior Writer: Joey Logano.
Matt Stallknecht, Senior Editor: Kurt Busch.
Mark Howell, Senior Writer: Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. for the win. An added prediction: he’ll propose to Danica in Victory Lane.
Jeff Meyer, Semi-retired Contributor: Carl Edwards.
Aaron Bearden, Assistant Editor: #BoomConfetti…JimmieJohnson.
Tony Lumbis, Financial Manager: Matt DiBenedetto.
Joseph Wolkin, Assistant Editor: Paul Menard.
Zach Catanzareti, Contributor: Austin Dilly.
Jason Schultz, Contributor: Kyle Busch.
Danny Peters, Senior Writer: Kyle Busch.
Huston Ladner, Senior Editor: Jimmie Johnson.
Dustin Albino, Contributor: Martin Truex, Jr.
Greg Davis, Senior Writer:Â Trevor Bayne (because why not?)
Clayton Caldwell, Contributor: Brad Keselowski.
Bryan Gable, Contributor: I’ll take Dale Jr.
Sean Fesko, Contributor: Dale Jr.
Michael Finley, Contributor: Kevin Harvick.
Vito Pugliese, Senior Writer: Kurt Busch.
Kobalt 400
| Writer | Pick | Finishing Position | Points |
| Dustin Albino | Brad Keselowski | 1st | 5 |
| Bryan Gable | Joey Logano | 2nd | 3 |
| Sean Fesko | Jimmie Johnson | 3rd | 3 |
| Mike Neff | Jimmie Johnson | 3rd | 3 |
| Jeff Wolfe | Kyle Busch | 4th | 3 |
| Aaron Bearden | Kyle Busch | 4th | 3 |
| Danny Peters | Kevin Harvick | 7th | 1 |
| Dan Greene | Kevin Harvick | 7th | 1 |
| Matt Stallknecht | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 8th | 1 |
| Joseph Wolkin | Kurt Busch | 9th | 1 |
| Vito Pugliese | Kurt Busch | 9th | 1 |
| Huston Ladner | Kasey Kahne | 10th | 1 |
| Jeff Meyer | Martin Truex, Jr. | 11th | 0 |
| Clayton Caldwell | Ryan Newman | 13th | 0 |
| Zach Catanzareti | Paul Menard | 15th | 0 |
| Mark Howell | Carl Edwards | 18th | 0 |
| Tony Lumbis | Carl Edwards | 18th | 0 |
| Phil Allaway | Denny Hamlin | 19th | 0 |
| Michael Finley | Aric Almirola | 24th | -1 |
| Kevin Rutherford | Aric Almirola | 24th | -1 |
| Amy Henderson | Matt Kenseth | 37th | -3 |
| Jason Schultz | Matt Kenseth | 37th | -3 |
Standings
| Â Writer | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
| Sean Fesko | 11 | — | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Dustin Albino | 10 | -1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Jeff Meyer | 6 | -5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Danny Peters | 6 | -5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Huston Ladner | 4 | -7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Mark Howell | 4 | -7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Jerry Jordan | 4 | -7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Jeff Wolfe | 4 | -7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Mike Neff | 4 | -7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Bryan Gable | 4 | -7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Dan Greene | 3 | -8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Tom Bowles | 3 | -8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Aaron Bearden | 3 | -8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Matt Stallknecht | 2 | -9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Clayton Caldwell | 1 | -10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tony Lumbis | 1 | -10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Summer Bedgood | 1 | -10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Amy Henderson | 0 | -11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Jason Schultz | 0 | -11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Zach Catanzareti | 0 | -11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vito Pugliese | 0 | -11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Joseph Wolkin | -1 | -12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kevin Rutherford | -2 | -13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Allaway | -2 | -13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Not the obviously “Where did he came from” but #21 Ryan Blaney for the second time