Harvick nets 500th career stage point

SPARTA, Ky.—Kevin Harvick became the fourth driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to earn 500 stage points with his top-10 result in Stage 1 of the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart.

Harvick finished the first stage in second during the race Saturday night, netting nine points. The 2014 series champion entered the race with 497 career stage points and left the race with 513, the fourth-most all time.

Harvick said “it’s meaningless” to a group of reporters in reference to hitting the mark. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver said he hit the wall with 15 laps to go, ending “everything we had.” The driver crossed the finish line to end the race in fifth place.

Martin Truex leads all drivers with 592 career stage points. Kyle Busch has earned the second most at 583 and Kyle Larson has the third most at 528.

The next driver closest to the 500-point mark is Brad Keselowski at 481.

PLAYOFF POINTS EARNED
Fifteen drivers have acquired playoff points through 17 races.

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

Busch, the 2015 series champion, has earned 30 playoff points between his five stage wins and five race victories.

Harvick, who has won five races and nine stages, has the second most playoff points at 27.

Rounding out the top five are Martin Truex Jr. (25), Clint Bowyer (10) and Joey Logano (7).

OVERALL
In total, 30 drivers have earned stage points, with 13 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 KENTUCKY

SOURCES
Racing-Reference.info