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 for the Axalta We Paint Winners 400!
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—Pocono I:
Michael McDowell
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
Trevor Bayne
Josh Wise
Reed Sorenson
Landon Cassill
Danica Patrick
This week’s predictions: Axalta We Paint Winners 400
Amy Henderson, Senior Editor: I’m going with Martin Truex, Jr. to go back-to-back. The No. 78 bunch has been their own worst enemy at times but there’s no denying they have speed to spare.
Huston Ladner, Senior Editor: Carl Edwards.
Jeff Meyer, Semi-retired Contributor: Larson, cuz he’s due.
Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer: Jamie Mac will get his first Pocono top 5 with a win Sunday.
Dan Greene, Webmaster: Dale Jr. Toyota is hot right now but Earnhardt runs well at Pocono (see: 2014) and seems ready for a win if he can stay out of trouble.
Joseph Wolkin, Assistant Editor: Carl Edwards.
Mark Howell, Senior Writer: No. 42 + 3 turns = 1 Cup victory for Kyle Larson.
Aaron Bearden, Assistant Editor: I’ll take Keselowski.
Vito Pugliese, Senior Writer: Joey Logano.
Jeff Wolfe, Senior Writer: Since the track is in Long Pond, I’m picking Longano err… make that Logano.
Tony Lumbis, Financial Manager: Kurt Busch.
Bryan Gable, Contributor: Looks like nobody has taken Jimmie Johnson yet, and the No. 48 express got back on track at Charlotte, so I’ll go with him.
Danny Peters, Senior Writer: Kyle Busch.
Clayton Caldwell, Contributor: I’ll take Dale Jr., too.
Sean Fesko, Staff Writer: Truex for me, too.
Jason Schultz, Contributor: Kurt Busch. He has been one of the most consistent performers without a win 13 races into the season and Pocono has been a good track for him.
Dustin Albino, Contributor: Chase Elliott.
Coca-Cola 600
| Writer | Pick | Finishing Position | Points |
| Dan Greene | Martin Truex, Jr. | 1st | 5 |
| Danny Peters | Martin Truex, Jr. | 1st | 5 |
| Phil Allaway | Kevin Harvick | 2nd | 3 |
| Bryan Gable | Kevin Harvick | 2nd | 3 |
| Huston Ladner | Jimmie Johnson | 3rd | 3 |
| Joseph Wolkin | Jimmie Johnson | 3rd | 3 |
| Tony Lumbis | Denny Hamlin | 4th | 3 |
| Vito Pugliese | Chase Elliott | 8th | 1 |
| Amy Henderson | Joey Logano | 9th | 1 |
| Clayton Caldwell | Kyle Larson | 13th | 0 |
| Dustin Albino | Kyle Larson | 13th | 0 |
| Mike Neff | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 14th | 0 |
| Mark Howell | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | 15th | 0 |
| Zach Catanzareti | AJ Allmendinger | 16th | 0 |
| Jeff Meyer | Carl Edwards | 18th | 0 |
| Jeff Wolfe | Ryan Blaney | 20th | 0 |
| Michael Finley | Kyle Busch | 33rd | -2 |
| Sean Fesko | Kyle Busch | 33rd | -2 |
Standings
| Writer | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
| Bryan Gable | 28 | — | 11 | 1 | 7 | 10 |
| Jeff Wolfe | 24 | -4 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 8 |
| Dustin Albino | 19 | -7 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| Jeff Meyer | 17 | -11 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| Danny Peters | 16 | -12 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Dan Greene | 13 | -15 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Tony Lumbis | 12 | -16 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Clayton Caldwell | 11 | -17 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Vito Pugliese | 11 | -17 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Huston Ladner | 10 | -18 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Jason Schultz | 10 | -18 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Mark Howell | 10 | -18 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Aaron Bearden | 9 | -19 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Sean Fesko | 8 | -20 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Joseph Wolkin | 7 | -21 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Amy Henderson | 6 | -22 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Phil Allaway | 5 | -23 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Jerry Jordan | 4 | -24 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Mike Neff | 3 | -25 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Tom Bowles | 3 | -25 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Summer Bedgood | 1 | -27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Zach Catanzareti | 0 | -28 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Greg Davis | -1 | -29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Stallknecht | -1 | -29 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Kevin Rutherford | -2 | -30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Finley | -2 | -30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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.