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—Indianapolis
Josh Wise
Landon Cassill
Patrick Carpentier
Michael McDowell
Reed Sorenson
Chris Buescher
Cole Whitt
This week’s predictions: New Hampshire 301
Amy Henderson, Senior Editor: My pick is Jimmie Johnson; I haven’t jinxed…er, picked him in a while.
Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer: Matt Da Brat Kenseth.
Dan Greene, Webmaster: Kurt Busch. But only because I can’t pick Jeff Gordon or Smoke.
Tony Lumbis, Financial Manager: Kyle Busch starts a new JGR streak.
Mark Howell, Senior Writer: Chase Elliott for his first Cup win. The future begins now.
Vito Pugliese, Senior Writer: Brad Keselowski keeps it rolling at Indy.
Huston Ladner, Senior Editor: Joey Logano.
Jeff Wolfe, Senior Writer: Smoke!
Bryan Gable, Contributor: Carl Edwards, he’s overdue for a good run at the Brickyard.
Clayton Caldwell, Contributor: I’ll take Kevin Harvick please.
Dustin Albino, Contributor: Kevin Harvick.
Sean Fesko, Staff Writer: Jeff Gordon!
Michael Finley, Contributor: Tony Stewart. With just how much momentum he has, his last start at Indy should be one to remember.
Corey Brewer, Contributor: Joey Logano was the runner up in this race a year ago, but he will finally kiss the bricks for Team Penske on Sunday.
Joseph Wolkin, Assistant Editor: Jeff Gordon—why not?
New Hampshire 301
| Writer | Pick | Finishing Position | Points |
| Bryan Gable | Matt Kenseth | 1st | 5 |
| Corey Brewer | Matt Kenseth | 1st | 5 |
| Dan Greene | Tony Stewart | 2nd | 3 |
| Amy Henderson | Joey Logano | 3rd | 3 |
| Jeff Wolfe | Joey Logano | 3rd | 3 |
| Jeff Meyer | Kevin Harvick | 4th | 3 |
| Vito Pugliese | Denny Hamlin | 9th | 1 |
| Danny Peters | Denny Hamlin | 9th | 1 |
| Tony Lumbis | Danica Patrick | 14th | 0 |
| Zach Catanzareti | Danica Patrick | 14th | 0 |
| Mark Howell | Brad Keselowski | 15th | 0 |
| Sean Fesko | Carl Edwards | 20th | 0 |
| Michael Finley | Alex Bowman | 26th | -1 |
| Clayton Caldwell | David Ragan | 30th | -1 |
| Joseph Wolkin | Matt DiBenedetto | 31st | -2 |
Standings
| Writer | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
| Bryan Gable | 35 | — | 17 | 2 | 9 | 13 |
| Jeff Wolfe | 32 | -3 | 19 | 3 | 9 | 12 |
| Dustin Albino | 26 | -9 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| Clayton Caldwell | 25 | -10 | 18 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| Danny Peters | 24 | -11 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 11 |
| Jeff Meyer | 23 | -12 | 17 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| Tony Lumbis | 22 | -13 | 18 | 1 | 6 | 9 |
| Vito Pugliese | 21 | -14 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 12 |
| Dan Greene | 21 | -14 | 19 | 1 | 5 | 12 |
| Jason Schultz | 16 | -19 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| Mark Howell | 12 | -23 | 17 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Huston Ladner | 12 | -23 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| Amy Henderson | 8 | -27 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Aaron Bearden | 8 | -27 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Zach Catanzareti | 8 | -27 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Corey Brewer | 8 | -27 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Sean Fesko | 7 | -28 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Phil Allaway | 6 | -29 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Jerry Jordan | 4 | -31 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Mike Neff | 3 | -32 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Tom Bowles | 3 | -32 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Summer Bedgood | 1 | -34 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Matt Stallknecht | -1 | -36 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Joseph Wolkin | -2 | -37 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Greg Davis | -2 | -37 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kevin Rutherford | -2 | -37 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Finley | -4 | -39 | 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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