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—Texas II
Ryan Blaney
Alex Bowman
Landon Cassill
Regan Smith
Chris Buescher
David Ragan
Trevor Bayne
This week’s predictions: AAA Texas 500
Amy Henderson, Senior Editor:Â I’m going with Jimmie Johnson because, A) It’s fall, and it’s Texas, and B) He’s the only driver locked in at Homestead-Miami Speedway, so if I jinx him, it’s not that big of a deal.
Dan Greene, Webmaster: Martin Truex, Jr., because it sounds like a good name for an Old West sheriff.
Tony Lumbis, Financial Manager: I know it’s not Phoenix International Raceway, but his back is against the wall and I say Kevin Harvick answers the pressure with a win again.
Jeff Wolfe, Senior Writer: Brad Keselowski crashes the chase party.
Clayton Caldwell, Contributor:Â Ryan Blaney, please!
Sean Fesko, Staff Writer: Carl Edwards.
Danny Peters, Senior Writer: Jimmie Johnson, please!
Huston Ladner, Senior Editor: Joey Logano.
Jeff Meyer, Retiree: Tony Stewart, please.
Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer: Alex Bowman.
Mark Howell, Senior Writer: Kyle Busch to hoot ‘n’ holler in Victory Lane.
Bryan Gable, Staff Writer: Kevin Harvick is below the Chase cutoff and heading to an intermediate track. I smell another win in the works.
Dustin Albino, Contributor: Kyle Busch, marching on to defend his throne at Homestead.
Joseph Wolkin, Assistant Editor: Â Kyle Larson.
Vito Pugliese, Senior Writer: Give me a Toyota… saaaaay, Martin Truex, Jr.
Corey Brewer, Contributor: Matt Kenseth, please.
Goody’s Fast Relief 500
| Writer | Pick | Finishing Position | Points |
| Jeff Wolfe | Jimmie Johnson | 1st | 5 |
| Vito Pugliese | Jimmie Johnson | 1st | 5 |
| Amy Henderson | Denny Hamlin | 3rd | 3 |
| Bryan Gable | Matt Kenseth | 4th | 3 |
| Tony Lumbis | Kyle Busch | 5th | 3 |
| Huston Ladner | Kyle Busch | 5th | 3 |
| Sean Fesko | Jeff Gordon | 6th | 1 |
| Aaron Bearden | Jeff Gordon | 6th | 1 |
| Phil Allaway | Jamie McMurray | 8th | 1 |
| Dustin Albino | Joey Logano | 9th | 1 |
| Clayton Caldwell | Joey Logano | 9th | 1 |
| Danny Peters | AJ Allmendinger | 10th | 1 |
| Michael Finley | Kyle Larson* | 14th | 0 |
| Corey Brewer | Kyle Larson* | 14th | 0 |
| Dan Greene | Kevin Harvick | 20th | 0 |
| Jeff Meyer | Carl Edwards | 36th | -2 |
| Zach Catanzareti | David Ragan | 37th | -3 |
Standings
| Â Writer | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
| Bryan Gable | 51 | — | 28 | 4 | 15 | 21 |
| Jeff Wolfe | 47 | -4 | 33 | 6 | 15 | 20 |
| Tony Lumbis | 43 | -8 | 32 | 3 | 13 | 17 |
| Clayton Caldwell | 42 | -9 | 32 | 5 | 10 | 19 |
| Jeff Meyer | 40 | -11 | 30 | 1 | 13 | 18 |
| Vito Pugliese | 38 | -13 | 32 | 4 | 9 | 20 |
| Dustin Albino | 34 | -17 | 28 | 4 | 9 | 17 |
| Huston Ladner | 33 | -18 | 29 | 1 | 9 | 16 |
| Danny Peters | 32 | -19 | 29 | 3 | 11 | 18 |
| Dan Greene | 24 | -27 | 33 | 1 | 8 | 17 |
| Sean Fesko | 22 | -29 | 32 | 2 | 8 | 14 |
| Corey Brewer | 21 | -30 | 19 | 1 | 8 | 12 |
| Mark Howell | 21 | -30 | 27 | 2 | 10 | 12 |
| Amy Henderson | 19 | -32 | 33 | 3 | 9 | 17 |
| Jason Schultz | 16 | -35 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| John Douglas | 14 | -37 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Aaron Bearden | 13 | -38 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 13 |
| Zach Catanzareti | 9 | -42 | 30 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| Mike Neff | 8 | -43 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Phil Allaway | 5 | -46 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Jerry Jordan | 4 | -47 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Tom Bowles | 3 | -48 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Summer Bedgood | 1 | -50 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Matt Stallknecht | -1 | -52 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Kevin Rutherford | -2 | -53 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joseph Wolkin | -3 | -54 | 32 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| Greg Davis | -5 | -56 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Michael Finley | -8 | -59 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Give me Cousin Carl, please. I think he’s worth to have a shot at the title.