Race Weekend Central

2017 Frontstretch Cup: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Predictions

Welcome to our 10th 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 writer picks the drivers they they think will win the first two stages and the overall race.  We can’t pick the same driver two weeks in a row or more than four times in a season. The first two stages pay one bonus point, with three bonus points if someone can get all three winners correct.  Overall race points remain the same:

Prediction Scoring
+5 – Win
+3 – 2nd-5th
+1 – 6th-10th
0 – 11th-20th
-1 – 21st-30th
-2 – 31st-36th
-3 – 37th-40th

This week’s predictions: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500
Amy Henderson:
Stage 1: Joey Logano, Stage 2: Jimmie Johnson, Race Winner: Brad Keselowski
Corey Brewer: Stage 1: Kevin Harvick, Stage 2: Joey Logano, Race Winner: Kevin Harvick
Dan Greene:
Stage 1: Kevin Harvick, Stage 2: Martin Truex, Jr., Race Winner: Kevin Harvick
Mark Howell: Stage 1:  Kevin Harvick, Stage 2:  Brad Keselowski, Race Winner:  Clint Bowyer
Dustin Albino: Stage 1: Kevin Harvick, Stage 2: Joey Logano, Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
Clayton Caldwell: Stage 1: Kevin Harvick, Stage 2: Kevin Harvick, Race Winner: Brad Keselowski
Huston Ladner: Stage 1: Kevin Harvick, Stage 2: Ryan Blaney, Race Winner: Kyle Busch
Frank Velat: Stage 1: Kevin Harvick, Stage 2: Brad Keselowski, Race Winner: Kevin Harvick
Michael Massie:
Stage 1: Kevin Harvick, Stage 2: Joey Logano, Race Winner: Kyle Busch
Vito Pugliese: Stage 1: Kevin Harvick, Stage 2: Ryan Blaney, Race Winner: Brad Keselowski
John Douglas: Stage 1: Kyle Larson, Stage 2: Brad Keselowski, Winner: Kyle Larson
Greg Davis: Stage 1: Kevin Harvick, Stage 2: Kevin Harvick, Race Winner: Kevin Harvick (for the “cycle”!)
Jeff Wolfe:
Stage 1: Ryan Blaney, Stage 2: Joey Logano, Race Winner: Kyle Busch 
Davey Segal:
Stage 1: Kevin Harvick, Stage 2: Joey Logano, Race Winner: Brad Keselowski
Matteo Marcheschi:
Stage 1: Kevin Harvick, Stage 2: Kevin Harvick, Race Winner: Kyle Busch

Results: STP 500

Writer Stage 1 Stage 2 Race Winner Winner Pick Finish Points
Mark Howell Denny Hamlin Chase Elliott Kyle Busch 2nd 4
Corey Brewer Martin Truex, Jr. Kyle Busch Kyle Busch 2nd 4
Huston Ladner Joey Logano Denny Hamlin Kyle Busch 2nd 3
Frank Velat Joey Logano Martin Truex, Jr. Kyle Busch 2nd 3
Joseph Wolkin Joey Logano Chase Elliott Joey Logano 4th 4
Davey Segal Joey Logano Jimmie Johnson Joey Logano 4th 3
Dan Greene Denny Hamlin Kyle Busch Clint Bowyer 7th 1
Clayton Caldwell Brad Keselowski Denny Hamlin Clint Bowyer 7th 1
Dustin Albino Brad Keselowski Kyle Busch Jimmie Johnson 15th 0
Bryan Gable Martin Truex, Jr. Brad Keselowski Denny Hamlin 30th 0
Amy Henderson Chase Elliott Clint Bowyer Denny Hamlin 30th -1
Michael Massie Chase Elliott Brad Keselowski Denny Hamlin 30th -1
Jeff Wolfe Denny Hamlin Denny Hamlin Denny Hamlin 30th -1
Greg Davis Chase Elliott Kurt Busch Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 34th -2

 

Standings

 Writer Points Behind Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10
Mark Howell 16 6 0 5 5
Clayton Caldwell 15 -1 6 1 2 4
Dustin Albino 13 -4 6 1 3 4
Amy Henderson 12 -4 6 0 4 4
Corey Brewer 12 -4 6 0 2 5
Jeff Wolfe 11 -5 6 2 3 3
Michael Massie 10 -6 6 0 2 4
Frank Velat 9 -7 6 1 2 3
Davey Segal 9 -7 6 1 3 4
John Douglas 8 -8 4 0 2 2
Huston Ladner 8 -8 6 1 2 3
Bryan Gable 7 -9 6 0 1 4
Vito Pugliese 6 -10 5 1 1 1
Michael Finley 4 -12 2 0 1 1
Dan Greene 2 -14 4 0 1 2
Greg Davis 1 -15 4 0 1 2
Joseph Wolkin 1 -15 4 0 1 1
Phil Allaway 0 -16 1 0 0 0
Tom Bowles 0 -16 1 0 0 0
Zach Catanzareti -1 -17 1 0 0 0
Danny Peters -3 -19 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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