Kevin Harvick holds stage points lead after Phoenix

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Kevin Harvick continues to lead the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition in stage points four races into the 2019 season.

Harvick netted nine stage points between his top-10 finishes in Stages 1 and 2 in the TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway Sunday, bringing his season total to 53.

“With how important track position is, I mean, it’s going to be extremely important,” Harvick said to The Racing Experts. “We’ve seen the cars extremely difficult to handle in traffic, through the first three races, so you better score all the points you can because it’s going to come down to track position.”

Joey Logano, who remains second in the standings, has earned 47 stage points.

Ryan Blaney (38), Kyle Busch (37), and Denny Hamlin/Martin Truex Jr. (33) round out the top-five competitors.

The total does not include points acquired during the Gander Outdoors Duels from Daytona in February.

OVERALL
21 drivers have earned stage points in 2019.

Five drivers have won stages in 2019. Harvick, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney are the only drivers to win multiple stages with two. Kyle Larson and Joey Logano have each won one stage.

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.

The next race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is next Sunday at Auto Club Speedway for the Auto Club 400.