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
Brian Scott
Michael McDowell
Matt DiBenedetto
Danica Patrick
Chris Buescher
Aric Almirola
Casey Mears
This week’s predictions: Pennsylvania 400
Amy Henderson, Senior Editor: My pick this week is Martin Truex, Jr. Â He’s got the same car he dominated Charlotte with, so with a little luck, it should be a good day.
Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer: I don’t get many gut feelings, but I’m going with Jeff Gordon.
Dan Greene, Webmaster: Smoke. He runs well at Pocono usually and has a nice thank you sign at the tunnel exit.
Tony Lumbis, Financial Manager: Hamlin uses his old stomping ground to get his season back on track.
Mark Howell, Senior Writer: Paul Menard for a surprise win.
Jeff Meyer, Sorta-kinda Retired: Smoke for me please.Â
Huston Ladner, Senior Editor: Â KyBu.
Jeff Wolfe, Senior Writer: Truex, Jr., too. There; he’s done.
Bryan Gable, Contributor: Chase Elliott.
Clayton Caldwell, Contributor: With how close he came to winning here last time we were here? Chase Elliott.
Dustin Albino, Contributor: Carl Edwards.
Sean Fesko, Staff Writer: Matt Kenseth.
Michael Finley, Contributor:Â Jeff Gordon in his final start until his next.
Corey Brewer, Contributor: Carl Edwards.
Joseph Wolkin, Assistant Editor: Denny Hamlin.
Danny Peters, Senior Writer: Kurt Busch.
Combat Wounded Coalition 400
| Writer | Pick | Finishing Position | Points |
| Tony Lumbis | Kyle Busch | 1st | 5 |
| Zach Catanzareti | Matt Kenseth | 2nd | 3 |
| Amy Henderson | Jimmie Johnson | 3rd | 3 |
| Clayton Caldwell | Kevin Harvick | 6th | 1 |
| Dustin Albino | Kevin Harvick | 6th | 1 |
| Huston Ladner | Joey Logano | 7th | 1 |
| Corey Brewer | Joey Logano | 7th | 1 |
| Jeff Wolfe | Tony Stewart | 11th | 0 |
| Michael Finley | Tony Stewart | 11th | 0 |
| Joseph Wolkin | Jeff Gordon | 13th | 0 |
| Sean Fesko | Jeff Gordon | 13th | 0 |
| Mark Howell | Chase Elliott | 15th | 0 |
| Dan Greene | Kurt Busch | 16th | 0 |
| Vito Pugliese | Brad Keselowski | 17th | 0 |
| Bryan Gable | Carl Edwards | 35th | -2 |
Standings
| Â Writer | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
| Bryan Gable | 33 | — | 18 | 2 | 9 | 13 |
| Jeff Wolfe | 32 | -1 | 20 | 3 | 9 | 12 |
| Dustin Albino | 27 | -6 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 11 |
| Tony Lumbis | 27 | -6 | 19 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
| Clayton Caldwell | 26 | -7 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| Danny Peters | 24 | -9 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 11 |
| Jeff Meyer | 23 | -10 | 17 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| Vito Pugliese | 21 | -12 | 20 | 2 | 5 | 12 |
| Dan Greene | 21 | -12 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 12 |
| Jason Schultz | 16 | -17 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| Mark Howell | 12 | -21 | 18 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Huston Ladner | 13 | -21 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Amy Henderson | 11 | -22 | 20 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Zach Catanzareti | 11 | -22 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Corey Brewer | 9 | -24 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Aaron Bearden | 8 | -25 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Sean Fesko | 7 | -26 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Phil Allaway | 6 | -27 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Jerry Jordan | 4 | -29 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Mike Neff | 3 | -32 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Tom Bowles | 3 | -30 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Summer Bedgood | 1 | -32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Matt Stallknecht | -1 | -34 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Joseph Wolkin | -2 | -35 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Greg Davis | -2 | -35 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kevin Rutherford | -2 | -35 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Finley | -4 | -37 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |