William Byron continues to lead Cup Series in stage points

HAMPTON, Ga. — For the second consecutive week, William Byron leads the NASCAR Cup Series in stage points earned across the season’s first five races.

Byron — who won the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway — earned the Stage 1 victory, capturing a total of 12 points in the race. Cumulatively, Byron leads the competition with 55 points.

“I think these fans saw one heck of a race,” Byron said. “It was certainly long from my seat. It was mentally taxing. Just thanks to all the fans for coming out.”

Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson — Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates — have the second and third-most points with 42 and 41 points respectively.

Tyler Reddick (35 points), Joey Logano (34 points) and Ryan Blaney (34 points) have the next-most stage points.

Daniel Suarez earned his first stage points of 2022, earning 13 points in the Atlanta Cup race.

Overall, 26 drivers have earned one stage point in each of the first three races.

The stage point totals in this report do not include points earned during the Daytona qualifying races.

STAGE POINTS THROUGH ATLANTA

William Byron – 55
Chase Elliott – 42
Kyle Larson – 41
Tyler Reddick – 35
Joey Logano – 34
Ryan Blaney – 34
Chase Briscoe – 30
Martin Truex Jr. – 29
Erik Jones – 27
Alex Bowman – 25
Ross Chastain – 23
Brad Keselowski – 22
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 21
Denny Hamlin – 19
Kevin Harvick – 17
Daniel Suarez – 13
Bubba Wallace – 12
Austin Cindric – 11
Aric Almirola – 10
Kurt Busch – 9
Todd Gilliland – 9
Austin Dillon – 8
Kyle Busch – 8
Christopher Bell – 7
Cole Custer – 5
Chris Buescher – 4

STAGE WINS
Six total drivers have won a stage in 2022.

Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Tyler Reddick and Martin Truex Jr. lead the field with two stage wins apiece, while Alex Bowman and Ross Chastain have won one stage each.

PLAYOFF POINTS

Nine drivers have picked up at least one playoff point this season. William Byron leads the way with 7 points, followed by Alex Bowman with 6 points. Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe are next with 5 points apiece.

Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr. and Tyler Reddick have each earned two points. Ross Chastain has earned 1 point.

STAGE POINTS EXPLAINED

NASCAR awards the Top-10 finishers of Stages 1 and 2 in points-awarding races, with the exception of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May (three stages award points there). 

A stage winner earns 10 points, which is added to the points they earn for their finishing position. Second place in a stage earns nine points, third place earns eight and so forth.

OUTLOOK
The next race for the Cup Series is scheduled for Saturday, March 27 at Circuit of the Americas road course in Austin, Texas.

SOURCES
Racing-Reference.info
Team Chevrolet