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: Federated Auto Parts 400
| Writer | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Race Winner |
| Amy Henderson | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch |
| Corey Brewer | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. | Matt Kenseth |
| Mark Howell | Kyle Busch | Martin Truex, Jr. | — |
| Dustin Albino | Matt Kenseth | Brad Keselowski | Joey Logano |
| Clayton Caldwell | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. | Denny Hamlin |
| Davey Segal | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch | Kyle Busch |
| Bryan Gable | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch | Kyle Busch |
| Jeff Wolfe | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch | Erik Jones |
| Michael Massie | Matt Kenseth | Brad Keselowski | Joey Logano |
| Samarth Kanal | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch |
| Dan Greene | Matt Kenseth | Clint Bowyer | Joey Logano |
| Christian Koelle | Martin Truex, Jr. | Brad Keselowski | Clint Bowyer |
| Huston Ladner | Kyle Busch | Kevin Harvick | Martin Truex, Jr. |
| John Haverlin | Matt Kenseth | Martin Truex, Jr. | Denny Hamlin |
| Joseph Wolkin | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch | Joey Logano |
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Results: Bojangles’ Southern 500
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| Writer | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Race Winner | Winner Pick Finish | Total Points |
| Amy Henderson | Kevin Harvick | Kyle Busch | Kevin Harvick | 9th | 1 |
| Corey Brewer | Kevin Harvick | Martin Truex, Jr. | Denny Hamlin | 1st | 6 |
| Mark Howell | Denny Hamlin | Matt Kenseth | Danica Patrick | 26th | -1 |
| Dustin Albino | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch | Denny Hamlin | 1st | 6 |
| Clayton Caldwell | Kyle Larson | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch | 2nd | 4 |
| Davey Segal | Kevin Harvick | Martin Truex, Jr | Matt Kenseth | 6th | 2 |
| Bryan Gable | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch | Denny Hamlin | 1st | 6 |
| Jeff Wolfe | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch | Kyle Larson | 14th | 1 |
| Michael Massie | Kevin Harvick | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kevin Harvick | 9th | 2 |
| Samarth Kanal | Kevin Harvick | Kyle Busch | Joey Logano | 18th | 0 |
| Dan Greene | Martin Truex, Jr. | Clint Bowyer | Kyle Larson | 14th | 1 |
| Christian Koelle | Kyle Larson | Clint Bowyer | Erik Jones | 5th | 3 |
| Huston Ladner | Martin Truex, Jr. | Chase Elliott | Kyle Larson | 14th | 1 |
| John Haverlin | Matt Kenseth | Denny Hamlin | Kevin Harvick | 9th | 1 |
| Frank Velat | Kevin Harvick | Kevin Harvick | Ryan Blaney | 31st | -2 |
Standings
| Â Writer | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
| Corey Brewer | 47 | — | 25 | 2 | 9 | 15 |
| Amy Henderson | 42 | -5 | 25 | 2 | 11 | 16 |
| Davey Segal | 41 | -6 | 25 | 4 | 10 | 14 |
| Mark Howell | 35 | -12 | 25 | 0 | 11 | 15 |
| Huston Ladner | 35 | -12 | 24 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| Dustin Albino | 37 | -10 | 25 | 2 | 10 | 14 |
| Bryan Gable | 33 | -14 | 22 | 3 | 6 | 13 |
| Joseph Wolkin | 32 | -15 | 20 | 1 | 8 | 12 |
| Michael Massie | 32 | -15 | 23 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| Clayton Caldwell | 32 | -15 | 25 | 1 | 7 | 12 |
| Dan Greene | 29 | -18 | 20 | 1 | 8 | 11 |
| Jeff Wolfe | 26 | -21 | 23 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
| Frank Velat | 25 | -22 | 18 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Vito Pugliese | 24 | -23 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| John Douglas | 17 | -30 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Matteo Marcheschi | 12 | -35 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Greg Davis | 10 | -37 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| John Haverlin | 6 | -41 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Christian Koelle | 3 | -44 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Michael Finley | 3 | -44 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Samarth Kanal | 0 | -47 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Phil Allaway | 0 | -47 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zach Catanzareti | -1 | -48 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Bowles | -2 | -49 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Peters | -3 | -50 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Danica out qualified Johnson AGAIN! She has to have a chance. Johnson isn’t a good enough qualifier to be in the conversation as best ever, no matter what he thinks.