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—Sonoma:
Landon Cassill
Josh Wise
Michael Annett
David Ragan
Regan Smith
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
This week’s predictions:Â Toyota Save Mart 350
Amy Henderson, Senior Editor: My pick this week is Chase Elliott. His NXS road course numbers are pretty darn impressive, and he’s knocking on the door of Victory Lane.
Jeff Meyer, Semi-retired Contributor: Kyle Larson. He’s been knocking more than Dr. Sheldon Cooper.
Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer: Tony Stewart.
Dan Greene, Webmaster: Kyle Busch. No particular reason. What wine pairs well with M&M’s?
Joseph Wolkin, Assistant Editor: Clint Bowyer is back!
Mark Howell, Senior Writer: Tony Stewart for the win in Wine Country, please.
Huston Ladner, Senior Editor: How about Martin Truex, Jr.?
Vito Pugliese, Senior Writer: Carl Edwards.
Jeff Wolfe, Senior Writer: Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
Tony Lumbis, Financial Manager: Kyle Busch–this place is special for him. Got him into the Chase last year, will break his mini bad luck streak this year.
Bryan Gable, Contributor: AJ Allmendinger has been a contender at Sonoma for the past few seasons. I’ll take him this week.
Danny Peters, Senior Writer: Kurt Busch.
Clayton Caldwell, Contributor:Â I’ll take Jamie McMurray please. Very underrated road racer!
Sean Fesko, Staff Writer: The ‘Dinger has to break his bad luck streak, right?
Jason Schultz, Contributor:Â Jimmie Johnson is always strong at Sonoma and nearly captured the victory last season, making him one to watch.
Corey Brewer, Contributor: Kurt Busch.
Results: FireKeepers Casino 400
| Writer | Pick | Finishing Position | Points |
| Clayton Caldwell | Joey Logano | 1st | 5 |
| Danny Peters | Joey Logano | 1st | 5 |
| Bryan Gable | Chase Elliott | 2nd | 3 |
| Vito Pugliese | Kyle Larson | 3rd | 3 |
| Tony Lumbis | Kyle Larson | 3rd | 3 |
| Jeff Wolfe | Brad Keselowski | 4th | 3 |
| Jeff Meyer | Kevin Harvick | 5th | 3 |
| Corey Brewer | Kevin Harvick | 5th | 3 |
| Amy Henderson | Carl Edwards | 6th | 1 |
| Jason Schultz | Carl Edwards | 6th | 1 |
| Phil Allaway | Tony Stewart | 7th | 1 |
| Greg Davis | Tony Stewart | 7th | 1 |
| Zach Catanzareti | Austin Dillon | 8th | 1 |
| Dustin Albino | Austin Dillon | 8th | 1 |
| Dan Greene | Martin Truex, Jr. | 12th | 0 |
| Aaron Bearden | Martin Truex, Jr. | 12th | 0 |
| Sean Fesko | Matt Kenseth | 14th | 0 |
| Joseph Wolkin | Trevor Bayne | 15th | 0 |
| Mark Howell | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 39th | -3 |
Standings
| Â Writer | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
| Jeff Wolfe | 30 | — | 15 | 3 | 8 | 10 |
| Bryan Gable | 29 | -1 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 11 |
| Dustin Albino | 23 | -7 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| Jeff Meyer | 20 | -10 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 8 |
| Tony Lumbis | 20 | -10 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| Danny Peters | 19 | -11 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 8 |
| Clayton Caldwell | 19 | -11 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Dan Greene | 17 | -13 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| Vito Pugliese | 17 | -13 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| Jason Schultz | 16 | -14 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| Aaron Bearden | 12 | -18 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Huston Ladner | 11 | -19 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Sean Fesko | 8 | -22 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Joseph Wolkin | 8 | -22 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Amy Henderson | 7 | -23 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Mark Howell | 7 | -23 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Phil Allaway | 6 | -24 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Jerry Jordan | 4 | -26 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Corey Brewer | 3 | -27 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mike Neff | 3 | -27 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Tom Bowles | 3 | -27 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Summer Bedgood | 1 | -29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Zach Catanzareti | 1 | -29 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Greg Davis | 0 | -30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Matt Stallknecht | -1 | -31 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Kevin Rutherford | -2 | -32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Finley | -2 | -32 | 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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Jeff Wolfe… You lead the standings by a mere point…. Why would you blow it by taking Stenhouse? It’s not worth the three measly extra points, man. You should have taken Danica!
The Dinger too