Kyle Busch collects 100th points-awarding stage
CONCORD, N.C.—Kyle Busch claimed victory in the 100th points-paying stage since NASCAR implemented stage racing in the Cup Series in 2017.
Busch swept the first three stages of the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday, bringing the driver’s total to five stage wins in 2018 and 19 overall.
In total, 15 drivers have won at least one stage since 2017. Martin Truex Jr. has won the most stages all-time (21), and Busch is second overall.
Rounding out the top five on that list are Kevin Harvick (12), Brad Keselowski (12) and Kyle Larson (9).
CHARLOTTE
Four drivers earned points in all stages in the Coke 600: Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones and Martin Truex Jr.
Jamie McMurray and Kasey Kahne both more than doubled their season totals with their top-10 finishes in various stages in NASCAR’s longest mileage race.
OVERALL
In total, 29 drivers have earned stage points, with 10 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/WINS THROUGH CHARLOTTE
| RANK | DRIVER | POINTS | WINS |
| 1 | Kyle Busch | 173 | 5 |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | 146 | 4 |
| 3 | Kevin Harvick | 125 | 6 |
| 4 | Joey Logano | 117 | 2 |
| 5 | Kurt Busch | 108 | 2 |
| 6 | Martin Truex Jr. | 96 | 2 |
| 7 | Ryan Blaney | 95 | 3 |
| 8 | Kyle Larson | 90 | 1 |
| 9 | Clint Bowyer | 89 | |
| 10 | Denny Hamlin | 72 | 1 |
| 11 | Aric Almirola | 57 | |
| 12 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | |
| 13 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 38 | |
| 14 | Erik Jones | 36 | |
| 15 | Chase Elliott | 35 | |
| 16 | Paul Menard | 29 | 1 |
| 17 | Michael McDowell | 17 | |
| 18 | Ryan Newman | 16 | |
| 19 | William Byron | 16 | |
| 20 | A.J. Allmendinger | 14 | |
| 21 | Alex Bowman | 13 | |
| 22 | Daniel Suarez | 13 | |
| 23 | Jamie McMurray | 10 | |
| 24 | Austin Dillon | 7 | |
| 25 | Kasey Kahne | 6 | |
| 26 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | 5 | |
| 27 | David Ragan | 5 | |
| 28 | Ty Dillon | 5 | |
| 29 | Trevor Bayne | 4 |
SOURCES
Racing-Reference.info
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Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.