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 bonus: Win: +3; 2nd-5th: +2; 6th-10th: +1
High-Risk Drivers — Richmond I:
Michael McDowell
Danica Patrick
Michael Annett
Matt DiBenedetto
Josh Wise
Regan Smith
Landon Cassill
This week’s predictions: Toyota Owners 400
Amy Henderson, Senior Editor: I’m going with Denny Hamlin this week.
Jeff Wolfe, Senior Writer: Kevin Harvick.
Mark Howell, Senior Writer: Cousin Carl makes it two in a row.
Jeff Meyer, Semi-retired Contributor: Martin Truex, Jr.
Tony Lumbis, Financial Manager: Brad Keselowski.
Dan Greene, Webmaster: Smoke.
Aaron Bearden, Assistant Editor: Rowdy Busch.
Zach Catanzareti, Contributor: I’ll welcome Smoke back with a pick.
Joseph Wolkin, Assistant Editor: Chase Elliott.
Jason Schultz, Contributor: Joey Logano.
Danny Peters, Senior Writer: Kevin Harvick.
Huston Ladner, Senior Editor: Matt Kenseth.
Dustin Albino, Contributor: Kurt Busch.
Clayton Caldwell, Contributor: I’ll take Hamlin too.
Sean Fesko, Staff Writer: Kurt Busch.
Vito Pugliese, Senior Writer: Brad Keselowski.
Bryan Gable, Contributor: Kyle Busch.
Food City 500
| Writer | Pick | Finishing Position | Points |
| Jeff Meyer | Carl Edwards | 1st | 5 |
| Joseph Wolkin | Carl Edwards | 1st | 5 |
| Dustin Albino | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 2nd | 3 |
| Clayton Caldwell | Kurt Busch | 3rd | 3 |
| Bryan Gable | Kurt Busch | 3rd | 3 |
| Tony Lumbis | Trevor Bayne* | 5th | 5 |
| Jason Schultz | Kevin Harvick | 7th | 1 |
| Zach Catanzareti | Clint Bowyer | 8th | 1 |
| Dan Greene | Joey Logano | 10th | 1 |
| Danny Peters | Joey Logano | 10th | 1 |
| Mark Howell | Martin Truex, Jr. | 14th | 0 |
| Jeff Wolfe | Brad Keselowski | 18th | 0 |
| Huston Ladner | Brad Keselowski | 18th | 0 |
| Michael Finley | Jimmie Johnson | 23rd | -1 |
| Phil Allaway | Casey Mears* | 24th | -1 |
| Vito Pugliese | Matt Kenseth | 36th | -2 |
| Amy Henderson | Kyle Busch | 38th | -3 |
| Sean Fesko | Kyle Busch | 38th | -3 |
Standings
| Â Writer | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
| Jeff Meyer | 17 | — | 8 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Dustin Albino | 13 | -4 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Bryan Gable | 12 | -5 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Jeff Wolfe | 12 | -5 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Sean Fesko | 10 | -7 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Tony Lumbis | 9 | -8 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Danny Peters | 9 | -8 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Jason Schultz | 8 | -9 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Amy Henderson | 7 | -10 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Huston Ladner | 7 | -10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Clayton Caldwell | 7 | -10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Dan Greene | 6 | -11 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Jerry Jordan | 4 | -13 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Mike Neff | 4 | -13 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Aaron Bearden | 4 | -13 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Tom Bowles | 3 | -14 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Summer Bedgood | 1 | -16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Phil Allaway | 1 | -16 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Joseph Wolkin | 0 | -18 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Vito Pugliese | 0 | -17 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Matt Stallknecht | -1 | -18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Mark Howell | -1 | -18 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Kevin Rutherford | -2 | -19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zach Catanzareti | -2 | -19 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
No one has the obvious pick? But me – that #48 car
Way to get out there on that limb, risk-taker.
Wonder how far you have to go back to find a race where no one picked JJ for the win.
Probably last August when that team takes their customary summer vacation.