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—Daytona II:
Matt DiBenedetto
Kyle Larson
Brian Scott
Josh Wise
Michael McDowell
Michael Annett
Cole Whitt
This week’s predictions: Coke Zero 400
Amy Henderson, Senior Editor: My pick is Dale Earnhardt, Jr. He’s not on solid Chase ground yet, and a win would put him there.
Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer: Kyle Larson.
Dan Greene, Webmaster: Smoke. He’s riding high from the win and Daytona in the summer has been good to him in the past.
Joseph Wolkin, Assistant Editor: Brian Scott because why not?
Mark Howell, Senior Writer: Kevin Harvick for the win, please.
Huston Ladner, Senior Editor: Um, Jimmie Johnson?
Michael Finley, Contributor: Bobby Labonte.
Vito Pugliese, Senior Writer: Matt Kenseth.
Jeff Wolfe, Senior Writer: Smoke ’em for two straight.
Greg Davis, Senior Writer: Casey Mears? No other reason than he has a pretty bad a$$ paint scheme this weekend for the 4th, and wayyyyy overdue for a win. And hey- its a plate track, anything can happen!
Aaron Bearden, Assistant Editor: Katt Menseth. I mean, Matt Kenseth.
Bryan Gable, Contributor: Denny Hamlin.
Danny Peters, Senior Writer: I will take the 88 too.
Clayton Caldwell, Contributor: Give me Larson please. Good HP under that hood and a lot of skill behind the wheel. I’ll take the risk.
Sean Fesko, Staff Writer: Austin Dillon.
Jason Schultz, Contributor: I’ll go with Trevor Bayne. Solid run at Talladega, along with his plate racing ability and improvements from Roush this season will make him a threat.
Corey Brewer, Contributor: Chase Elliott. It’s only a matter of time.
Dustin Albino, Contributor: Landon Cassill.
Toyota Save Mart 350
| Writer | Pick | Finishing Position | Points |
| Mark Howell | Tony Stewart | 1st | 5 |
| Zach Catanzareti | Tony Stewart | 1st | 5 |
| Vito Pugliese | Carl Edwards | 4th | 3 |
| Huston Ladner | Martin Truex, Jr. | 5th | 3 |
| Dan Greene | Kyle Busch | 7th | 1 |
| Tony Lumbis | Kyle Busch | 7th | 1 |
| Corey Brewer | Kurt Busch | 10th | 1 |
| Danny Peters | Kurt Busch | 10th | 1 |
| Jeff Meyer | Kyle Larson | 12th | 0 |
| Jason Schultz | Jimmie Johnson | 13th | 0 |
| Sean Fesko | AJ Allmendinger | 14th | 0 |
| Bryan Gable | AJ Allmendinger | 14th | 0 |
| Clayton Caldwell | Jamie McMurray | 17th | 0 |
| Amy Henderson | Chase Elliott | 21st | -1 |
| Jeff Wolfe | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | 26th | -1 |
| Joseph Wolkin | Clint Bowyer | 40th | -3 |
Standings
| Writer | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
| Jeff Wolfe | 29 | — | 16 | 3 | 8 | 10 |
| Bryan Gable | 29 | — | 14 | 1 | 8 | 11 |
| Dustin Albino | 23 | -6 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| Tony Lumbis | 21 | -8 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 8 |
| Jeff Meyer | 20 | -9 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 8 |
| Danny Peters | 20 | -9 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Vito Pugliese | 20 | -9 | 16 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| Clayton Caldwell | 19 | -10 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Dan Greene | 18 | -11 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| Jason Schultz | 16 | -13 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| Huston Ladner | 14 | -15 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| Aaron Bearden | 12 | -17 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Mark Howell | 12 | -17 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Sean Fesko | 8 | -21 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Zach Catanzareti | 6 | -23 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Amy Henderson | 6 | -23 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Phil Allaway | 6 | -23 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Joseph Wolkin | 5 | -24 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Jerry Jordan | 4 | -25 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Corey Brewer | 4 | -25 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Mike Neff | 3 | -26 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Tom Bowles | 3 | -26 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Summer Bedgood | 1 | -28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Greg Davis | 0 | -29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Matt Stallknecht | -1 | -30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Kevin Rutherford | -2 | -31 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Finley | -2 | -31 | 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.