Pick 'em: Michigan

Each week the staff at NASCAR.COM will pick a race winner, a dark horse for the checkers and the ain't-got-a-chance driver (no scrubs; someone with a Q score).

Our scoring system: Experts receive as many points as the "winner" pick gets in the race.

3M Performance 400

Writer Winner Here's why ... Dark Horse No Chance Points

Josh Pate Jimmie Johnson Remember how good Kyle Busch was at the start of the year? That's where Jimmie is now. In five of his past six Michigan races he's finished sixth or better. He's never won at MIS, so while Roush steals all the headlines, the 48 team will snag the trophy. Brian Vickers Clint Bowyer 3,187
Duane Cross Tony Stewart Conventional wisdom had me thinking Matt Kenseth, but now that his shop is in order I think we may begin to see Smoke emerge from the fog. Martin Truex Jr. Kurt Busch 3,171
Bill Kimm Carl Edwards Roush owns this track and I'm going to go with his hottest driver. Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle each have their two wins here, now it's time for Edwards to get his second. kasey Kahne Clint Bowyer 3,131
Joe Menzer Dale Earnhardt Jr. Last time he broke his long winless streak at Michigan by winning on fuel mileage. This time, he'll do it because he's got one of the best cars and he and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. are starting to take more aggressive chances. Juan Montoya Ryan Newman 3,045
Raygan Swan Carl Edwards Everyone knows that Roush Fenway Racing cars dominate in Michigan so Carl Edwards is the obvious pick this week and he's looking to cut into Busch's lead heading into the Chase. David Raygan Clint Bowyer 3,003
David Caraviello Matt Kenseth He's overdue, and he needs a strong run to solidify his place in the Chase. He'll get that and more Sunday at a track where Roush Fenway cars have traditionally dominated. Kurt Busch Jeff Gordon 2,988
Dave Rodman Jimmie Johnson He is getting into a zone that may result in his third consecutive Cup championship, but at the very least will result in a victory Sunday. Brian Vickers Clint Bowyer 2,882
Jarrod Breeze Carl Edwards Gotta go with arguably the second-best driver all year -- at least in terms of wins (four) and points (currently) -- whose track record at Michigan also is arguably second to none. He's good there because of Roush; but Roush is good there because of Edwards. Elliot Sadler Kasey Kahne 2,764
Mark Aumann Carl Edwards With seven top-10s in eight starts, has the best average finish of any active driver at Michigan. And he's hungry to find 10 more bonus points.