Welcome to our 10th year of staff predictions! Each week, our experts attempt to tell you who the winner of each Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 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: First Data 500
| Writer | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Race Winner |
| Amy Henderson | Kurt Busch | Martin Truex, Jr. | Denny Hamlin |
| Corey Brewer | Denny Hamlin | Martin Truex, Jr. | Chase Elliott |
| Mark Howell | Ryan Blaney | Ryan Blaney | Chase Elliott |
| Dustin Albino | Kurt Busch | Kevin Harvick | Jimmie Johnson |
| Dan Greene | Ryan Blaney | Martin Truex, Jr. | Chase Elliott |
| Davey Segal | Kevin Harvick | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. |
| Bryan Gable | Kevin Harvick | Kyle Busch | Kyle Busch |
| Michael Massie | Denny Hamlin | Kyle Busch | Denny Hamlin |
| Christian Koelle | Kurt Busch | Ryan Blaney | Ryan Blaney |
| Jeff Wolfe | Kurt Busch | Kevin Harvick | Denny Hamlin |
| Clayton Caldwell | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kevin Harvick | Martin Truex, Jr. |
| Huston Ladner | Kyle Busch | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kevin Harvick |
| John Haverlin | Denny Hamlin | Kevin Harvick | Martin Truex, Jr. |
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Results: Hollywood Casino 400
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| Writer | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Race Winner | Winner Pick Finish | Total Points |
| Amy Henderson | Kyle Busch | Denny Hamlin | Jimmie Johnson | 12th | 0 |
| Corey Brewer | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. | Denny Hamlin | 7th | 1 |
| Mark Howell | Kyle Larson | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 11th | 0 |
| Dustin Albino | Kyle Busch | Brad Keselowski | Jimmie Johnson | 12th | 1 |
| Dan Greene | Chase Elliott | Kyle Larson | Denny Hamlin | 7th | 1 |
| Davey Segal | Kyle Busch | Kyle Larson | Kyle Larson | 37th | -3 |
| Bryan Gable | Denny Hamlin | Kyle Busch | Jimmie Johnson | 12th | 0 |
| Michael Massie | Kyle Busch | Denny Hamlin | Chase Elliott | 27th | -1 |
| Christian Koelle | Martin Truex, Jr. | Brad Keselowski | Brad Keselowski | 4th | 4 |
| Jeff Wolfe | Kyle Larson | Chase Elliott | Jimmie Johnson | 12th | 0 |
| Frank Velat | Brad Keselowski | Kyle Busch | Chase Elliott | 27th | 0 |
| Clayton Caldwell | Kyle Busch | Martin Truex, Jr. | Jimmie Johnson | 12th | 0 |
| Huston Ladner | Kyle Busch | Matt Kenseth | Jimmie Johnson | 12th | 0 |
Standings
| Â Writer | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
| Corey Brewer | 71 | — | 33 | 5 | 14 | 22 |
| Amy Henderson | 68 | -3 | 33 | 5 | 16 | 23 |
| Davey Segal | 61 | -10 | 33 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
| Bryan Gable | 57 | -14 | 30 | 6 | 11 | 19 |
| Dustin Albino | 57 | -14 | 33 | 4 | 15 | 19 |
| Michael Massie | 51 | -20 | 31 | 6 | 10 | 15 |
| Mark Howell | 48 | -23 | 33 | 0 | 13 | 20 |
| Dan Greene | 48 | -23 | 27 | 2 | 13 | 18 |
| Clayton Caldwell | 46 | -15 | 32 | 2 | 11 | 17 |
| Huston Ladner | 41 | -30 | 29 | 2 | 10 | 12 |
| Jeff Wolfe | 40 | -31 | 30 | 4 | 9 | 15 |
| Vito Pugliese | 35 | -36 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 11 |
| Joseph Wolkin | 33 | -38 | 21 | 1 | 9 | 13 |
| Frank Velat | 28 | -43 | 22 | 2 | 8 | 11 |
| John Haverlin | 18 | -53 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| John Douglas | 17 | -54 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Samarth Kanal | 13 | -58 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Matteo Marcheschi | 12 | -59 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Greg Davis | 10 | -61 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| Christian Koelle | 5 | -66 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Michael Finley | 3 | -68 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Phil Allaway | 0 | -71 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zach Catanzareti | -1 | -72 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Bowles | -2 | -73 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Peters | -3 | -74 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |