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—Michigan I:
Michael McDowell
Matt DiBenedetto
Michael Annett
Josh Wise
Reed Sorenson
Landon Cassill
Cole Whitt
This week’s predictions: FireKeepers Casino 400
Amy Henderson, Senior Editor: My pick this week is Carl Edwards. Sorry, Cousin Carl fans…
Jeff Meyer, Semi-retired Contributor: I’ll take Kevin Harvick.
Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer: A. Dillon…A is in “Austin”!
Dan Greene, Webmaster: Martin Truex, Jr.
Joseph Wolkin, Assistant Editor: Trevor Bayne. YOLO.
Phil Allaway, Newsletter Editor: For this week, I’m going to press my luck and go with Tony Stewart.
Mark Howell, Senior Writer: Dale Jr. for the win.
Aaron Bearden, Assistant Editor: Martin Truex, Jr.
Greg Davis, Senior Writer: Call me crazy… Going out on a huge limb here, but he’s been fast this weekend: Tony Stewart.
Vito Pugliese, Senior Writer: Kyle Larson.
Jeff Wolfe, Senior Writer: Brad Keselowski.
Tony Lumbis, Financial Manager: Larson makes it two in a row for interim crew chiefs.
Bryan Gable, Contributor: Chase Elliott.
Danny Peters, Senior Writer: I will go with Logano.
Clayton Caldwell, Contributor: I’ll take Logano too. Roger Penske would love to win at Michigan!
Sean Fesko, Staff Writer: Matt Kenseth.
Jason Schultz, Contributor: Carl Edwards.
Dustin Albino, Contributor: Austin Dillon
Corey Brewer, Contributor: Kevin Harvick.
Axalta We Paint Winners 400
| Writer | Pick | Finishing Position | Points |
| Tony Lumbis | Kurt Busch | 1st | 5 |
| Jason Schultz | Kurt Busch | 1st | 5 |
| Dan Greene | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 2nd | 3 |
| Clayton Caldwell | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 2nd | 3 |
| Aaron Bearden | Brad Keselowski | 3rd | 3 |
| Dustin Albino | Chase Elliott | 4th | 3 |
| Jeff Wolfe | Joey Logano | 5th | 3 |
| Vito Pugliese | Joey Logano | 5th | 3 |
| Huston Ladner | Carl Edwards | 8th | 1 |
| Joseph Wolkin | Carl Edwards | 8th | 1 |
| Jeff Meyer | Kyle Larson | 11th | 0 |
| Mark Howell | Kyle Larson | 11th | 0 |
| Zach Catanzareti | Jamie McMurray | 17th | 0 |
| Amy Henderson | Martin Truex, Jr. | 19th | 0 |
| Sean Fesko | Martin Truex, Jr. | 19th | 0 |
| Danny Peters | Kyle Busch | 31st | -2 |
| Bryan Gable | Jimmie Johnson | 35th | -2 |
Standings
| Writer | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
| Jeff Wolfe | 27 | — | 14 | 3 | 7 | 9 |
| Bryan Gable | 26 | -1 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 10 |
| Dustin Albino | 22 | -5 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| Jeff Meyer | 17 | -10 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| Dan Greene | 17 | -10 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| Tony Lumbis | 17 | -10 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Jason Schultz | 15 | -12 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Danny Peters | 14 | -13 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Clayton Caldwell | 14 | -13 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Vito Pugliese | 14 | -13 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Aaron Bearden | 12 | -15 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Huston Ladner | 11 | -16 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Mark Howell | 10 | -16 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Sean Fesko | 8 | -19 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Joseph Wolkin | 8 | -19 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Amy Henderson | 6 | -21 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Phil Allaway | 5 | -22 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Jerry Jordan | 4 | -23 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Mike Neff | 3 | -24 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Tom Bowles | 3 | -24 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Summer Bedgood | 1 | -26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Zach Catanzareti | 0 | -27 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Greg Davis | -1 | -28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Stallknecht | -1 | -28 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Kevin Rutherford | -2 | -29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Finley | -2 | -30 | 1 | 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 this week is that #21 car for the first win