30 drivers have earned stage points in Cup

The total number of Cup Series drivers who have earned stage points climbed to 30 Sunday after the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

Chris Buescher earned stage points for the first time in 2018 with his ninth-place finishes in Stages 1 and 2 at Sonoma Raceway.

The only drivers who have started every race this year but have yet to score stage points in 2018 are Matt DiBenedetto and Gray Gaulding.

After 16 races, Kyle Busch continues to lead the competition in stage points at 197. Brad Keselowski (176) is second and Kevin Harvick (161) is third.

Busch failed to earn a stage point at Sonoma, the first time since the Daytona 500 the driver failed to score a stage point in a Cup Series race.

PLAYOFF POINTS EARNED
If the postseason started today, Harvick would lead all drivers with playoff points earned solely through stage wins and race wins.

Harvick, the 2014 series champion, has earned 26 playoff points between his eight stage wins and five race victories.

Busch, who has won four races and five stages, has the second most playoff points at 25.

Rounding out the top five are Martin Truex Jr. (18), Clint Bowyer (10) and Joey Logano (7).

OVERALL
In total, 30 drivers have earned stage points, with 11 of them winning stages in 2018.

With the exception of the Coca-Cola 600 in May (four stages), every points awarding race in 2018 is broken up into three stages.

Each of the first two stages awards points to the top-10 finishing drivers. A first-place finish earns 10 points, second-place gets nine points, and so forth.

STAGE POINTS/STAGE WINS/PLAYOFF POINTS AFTER

SOURCES
Racing-Reference.info