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 section 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—Martinsville I:
Michael McDowell
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
Kyle Larson
Michael Annett
Matt DiBenedetto
Trevor Bayne
Landon Cassill
This week’s predictions: STP 500
Amy Henderson, Senior Editor: Since I picked Jimmie Johnson last race (and I’m not complaining about it!) I can’t take him again. So, I’ll go with Denny Hamlin to cart the clock home. Via FedEx, of course.
Jeff Wolfe, Senior Writer: Give me Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
Jeff Meyer, Semi-retired Contributor: Carl Edwards.
Aaron Bearden, Assistant Editor: Wow. No one’s picked Johnson yet? Well, if he’s still available…
Mark Howell, Senior Writer: I’ll take Jimmie Johnson since I rarely ever do so.
Tony Lumbis, Financial Manager: Keselowski brings back the blue deuce magic at Martinsville.
Dan Greene, Webmaster: Kurt Busch.
Zach Catanzareti, Contributor: Jamie McMurray.
Joseph Wolkin, Assistant Editor: Matt Kenseth, who won’t get suspended this time.
Jason Schultz, Contributor: Joey Logano.
Danny Peters, Senior Writer: No. 11 for me, please.
Huston Ladner, Senior Editor: Matt Kenseth.
Phil Allaway, Newsletter Editor: I’m going to go with Kyle Busch this week. Hopefully, his performance will be enough to gain some positive points in the championship. I haven’t earned any yet this year.
Dustin Albino, Contributor: Jamie McMurray.Â
Clayton Caldwell, Contributor: Ryan Newman.
Sean Fesko, Contributor: Harvick’s still available too. I’ll take him.
Michael Finley, Contributor: Water cooler Dale is my pick for this week. Now that he has some experience in the office, he should know a thing or two about paperclips.
Vito Pugliese, Senior Writer: Kevin Harvick.
Auto Club 400
| Writer | Pick | Finishing Position | Points |
| Amy Henderson | Jimmie Johnson | 1st | 5 |
| Jeff Wolfe | Jimmie Johnson | 1st | 5 |
| Greg Davis | Kevin Harvick | 2nd | 3 |
| Dan Greene | Kevin Harvick | 2nd | 3 |
| Jason Schultz | Denny Hamlin | 3rd | 3 |
| Dustin Albino | Carl Edwards | 7th | 1 |
| Bryan Gable | Carl Edwards | 7th | 1 |
| Huston Ladner | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 11th | 0 |
| Clayton Caldwell | Brian Vickers | 13th | 0 |
| Michael Finley | Ryan Newman | 14th | 0 |
| Tony Lumbis | Matt Kenseth | 19th | 0 |
| Vito Pugliese | Matt Kenseth | 19th | 0 |
| Joseph Wolkin | Aric Almirola | 21st | -1 |
| Phil Allaway | Austin Dillon | 24th | -1 |
| Danny Peters | Kyle Busch | 25th | -1 |
| Sean Fesko | Kyle Busch | 25th | -1 |
| Aaron Bearden | Matt DiBenedetto | 27th | -1 |
| Jeff Meyer | Kurt Busch | 30th | -1 |
| Matt Stallknecht | Kurt Busch | 30th | -1 |
| Zach Catanzareti | Kyle Larson | 39th | -3 |
| Mark Howell | Kyle Larson | 39th | -3 |
Standings
| Â Writer | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
| Sean Fesko | 13 | — | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Dustin Albino | 11 | -2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Amy Henderson | 10 | -3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Jeff Wolfe | 9 | -4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Danny Peters | 8 | -5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Bryan Gable | 8 | -7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Jeff Meyer | 8 | -5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Jason Schultz | 6 | -7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Jerry Jordan | 4 | -9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Huston Ladner | 4 | -9 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Mike Neff | 4 | -9 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Dan Greene | 4 | -9 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Tom Bowles | 3 | -10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Aaron Bearden | 2 | -10 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Matt Stallknecht | 2 | -10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Vito Pugliese | 1 | -12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Tony Lumbis | 1 | -12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Summer Bedgood | 1 | -12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Clayton Caldwell | 0 | –13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mark Howell | -2 | -15 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Zach Catanzareti | -2 | -15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kevin Rutherford | -2 | -15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Allaway | -3 | -16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joseph Wolkin | -5 | -18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
#14 Brian Vickers