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: Tales of the Turtles 400
| Writer | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Race Winner |
| Amy Henderson | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. | Chase Elliott |
| Corey Brewer | Kyle Busch | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. |
| Mark Howell | Jamie McMurray | Kyle Larson | Jimmie Johnson |
| Dustin Albino | Kyle Busch | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch |
| Clayton Caldwell | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. |
| Davey Segal | Kyle Busch | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. |
| Bryan Gable | Kyle Busch | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. |
| Jeff Wolfe | Kyle Larson | Kevin Harvick | Brad Keselowski |
| Michael Massie | Kyle Busch | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. |
| Samarth Kanal | Kyle Busch | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. |
| Dan Greene | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Larson | Jimmie Johnson |
| Christian Koelle | Kyle Busch | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kevin Harvick |
| Huston Ladner | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch | Denny Hamlin |
| John Haverlin | Kyle Busch | Martin Truex, Jr. | Denny Hamlin |
| Frank Velat | Martin Truex, Jr. | Erik Jones | Kyle Busch |
| Vito Pugliese | Kyle Busch | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch |
Results: Federated Auto Parts 400
| Writer | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Race Winner | Winner Pick Finish | Total Points |
| Amy Henderson | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch | 9th | 2 |
| Corey Brewer | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. | Matt Kenseth | 38th | -2 |
| Mark Howell | Kyle Busch | Martin Truex, Jr. | — | — | 2 |
| Dustin Albino | Matt Kenseth | Brad Keselowski | Joey Logano | 2nd | 3 |
| Clayton Caldwell | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. | Denny Hamlin | 5th | 4 |
| Davey Segal | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch | Kyle Busch | 9th | 1 |
| Bryan Gable | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch | Kyle Busch | 9th | 1 |
| Jeff Wolfe | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch | Erik Jones | 6th | 1 |
| Michael Massie | Matt Kenseth | Brad Keselowski | Joey Logano | 2nd | 3 |
| Samarth Kanal | Martin Truex, Jr. | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch | 9th | 2 |
| Dan Greene | Matt Kenseth | Clint Bowyer | Joey Logano | 2nd | 3 |
| Christian Koelle | Martin Truex, Jr. | Brad Keselowski | Clint Bowyer | 24th | -1 |
| Huston Ladner | Kyle Busch | Kevin Harvick | Martin Truex, Jr. | 20th | 1 |
| John Haverlin | Matt Kenseth | Martin Truex, Jr. | Denny Hamlin | 5th | 4 |
| Joseph Wolkin | Martin Truex, Jr. | Kyle Busch | Joey Logano | 2nd | 3 |
Standings
| Writer | Points | Behind | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
| Corey Brewer | 45 | — | 26 | 2 | 9 | 15 |
| Amy Henderson | 44 | -1 | 26 | 2 | 11 | 17 |
| Davey Segal | 42 | -3 | 26 | 4 | 10 | 15 |
| Dustin Albino | 40 | -5 | 26 | 2 | 11 | 15 |
| Mark Howell | 37 | -8 | 26 | 0 | 11 | 15 |
| Huston Ladner | 36 | -9 | 25 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| Clayton Caldwell | 36 | -9 | 26 | 1 | 8 | 13 |
| Michael Massie | 35 | -10 | 24 | 3 | 7 | 11 |
| Bryan Gable | 34 | -11 | 23 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| Joseph Wolkin | 33 | -12 | 21 | 1 | 9 | 13 |
| Dan Greene | 32 | -13 | 21 | 1 | 9 | 12 |
| Jeff Wolfe | 27 | -18 | 24 | 2 | 7 | 11 |
| Frank Velat | 25 | -20 | 18 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Vito Pugliese | 24 | -21 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| John Douglas | 17 | -28 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Matteo Marcheschi | 12 | -33 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Greg Davis | 10 | -35 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| John Haverlin | 10 | -35 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Michael Finley | 3 | -42 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Christian Koelle | 2 | -43 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Samarth Kanal | 2 | -43 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Phil Allaway | 0 | -45 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zach Catanzareti | -1 | -46 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Bowles | -2 | -47 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Peters | -3 | -48 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
