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 bonus: Win: +3; 2nd-5th: +2; 6th-10th: +1
High-Risk Drivers—Charlotte I:
Michael McDowell
Michael Annett
Matt DiBenedetto
Josh Wise
Cole Whitt
Landon Cassill
Danica Patrick
This week’s predictions: Coca-Cola 600
Amy Henderson, Senior Editor: My pick this week is Joey Logano. That’s probably the kiss of death, but he does have the best average finish among active drivers and has been fast this week, so if he survives being my pick, he should have a great run.
Huston Ladner, Senior Editor: That Johnson guy…
Dan Greene, Webmaster: Martin Truex, Jr. He has to win sometime, right?
Joseph Wolkin, Assistant Editor: I’ll take Jimmie Johnson. It might be his house again.
Phil Allaway, Newsletter Editor: Â For this week, I’m going to go with Kevin Harvick.
Mike Neff, Short Track Coordinator: Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Vito Pugliese, Senior Writer: Chase Elliott.
Michael Finley, Contributor: Kyle Busch.
Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer: AJ Allmendinger, he seems to always do well on any Memorial Day weekend race
Tony Lumbis, Financial Manager: Denny Hamlin
Danny Peters, Senior Writer: Martin Truex, Jr.
Clayton Caldwell, Contributor: Charlotte’s always been good to first-time winners (Pearson, Gordon, Labonte, Kenseth, Mears, Reutimann). With that being the case I’ll take Kyle Larson, please.
Sprint Showdown and All-Star Race
Because the All-Star Race is a non-points paying event, we’ve got a little different system. Our writers chose the drivers they thought would grab the three transfer spots from the Sprint Showdown into the All-Star Race, the fan votes and the All-Star trophy. Pick limits do not apply. Each correct pick is worth one point, and if anyone gets all six correct, it will be worth a total of 10 bonus points. No points will be lost for low finishes, and the race does not count toward race count, wins, to 5s and top 10s.
| Writer | Showdown Transfer Picks (3) | Fan Vote Winner Picks (2) | All-Star Winner | Bonus Points |
| Amy Henderson | Chase Elliott
Ryan Blaney Austin Dillon |
Matt DiBenedetto
Danica Patrick |
Kyle Busch | 1 |
| Clayton Caldwell | Chase Elliott
Kyle Larson Ryan Blaney |
Danica Patrick
Matt DiBenedetto |
Brad Keselowski | 2 |
| Tony Lumbis | Ryan Blaney
Chase Elliott Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. |
Danica Patrick
Matt DiBenedetto |
Carl Edwards | 2 |
| Dan Greene | Chase Elliott
Ryan Blaney Austin Dillon |
Matt DiBenedetto
Danica Patrick |
Kevin Harvick | 1 |
| Joseph Wolkin | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
Chase Elliott Austin Dillon |
Matt DiBenedetto
Danica Patrick |
Jimmie Johnson | 2 |
| Jason Schultz | Chase Elliott
Austin Dillon Kyle Larson |
Matt DiBenedetto
Danica Patrick |
Carl Edwards | 2 |
| Dustin Albino | Chase Elliott
Austin Dillon Kyle Larson |
Danica Patrick
Matt DiBenedetto |
Kevin Harvick | 2 |
| Sean Fesko | Chase Elliott
Austin Dillon Kyle Larson |
Matt DiBenedetto
Danica Patrick |
Brad Keselowski | 2 |
| Vito Pugliese | Ryan Blaney
Austin Dillon AJ Allmendinger |
Danica Patrick | Jimmie Johnson | 1 |
| Mark Howell | Ricky Stehouse, Jr.
Kyle Larson AJ Allmendinger |
Danica Patrick
Ryan Blaney |
Matt Kenseth | 3 |
| Greg Davis | Austin Dillon
AJ Allmendinger Chase Elliott |
Matt DiBenedetto | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 0 |
| Aaron Bearden | Kyle Larson
Chase Elliott Ryan Blaney |
Danica Patrick
Matt DiBendetto |
Jimmie Johnson | 2 |
| Bryan Gable | Chase Elliott
Kyle Larson Austin Dillon |
Matt DiBenedetto
Danica Patrick |
Kurt Busch | 2 |
Standings
| Â Writer | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
| Bryan Gable | 25 | — | 10 | 1 | 6 | 9 |
| Jeff Wolfe | 24 | -1 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 8 |
| Dustin Albino | 19 | -6 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| Jeff Meyer | 17 | -8 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| Danny Peters | 11 | -14 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Clayton Caldwell | 11 | -14 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Vito Pugliese | 10 | -15 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Sean Fesko | 10 | -15 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Jason Schultz | 10 | -15 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Mark Howell | 10 | -15 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Tony Lumbis | 9 | -16 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Aaron Bearden | 9 | -16 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Dan Greene | 8 | -17 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Huston Ladner | 7 | -18 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Amy Henderson | 5 | -20 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Joseph Wolkin | 4 | -21 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Jerry Jordan | 4 | -21 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Mike Neff | 3 | -22 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Tom Bowles | 3 | -22 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Phil Allaway | 2 | -22 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Summer Bedgood | 1 | -24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Zach Catanzareti | 0 | -25 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Greg Davis | -1 | -26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Stallknecht | -1 | -26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Kevin Rutherford | -2 | -27 | 3 | 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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My Pick is that #78 car