They don’t give points away for dominating Stages, points are only awarded for winning Stages. Pole sitter Daniel Suarez led a Stage-high 50 laps, but it was Kurt Busch who utilized pit strategy to work his way to the front of the field in the latter laps of Stage 1.
Busch would lead 28 laps and win Stage 1.
Joey Logano ended the Stage in second, Kyle Busch was third, Denny Hamlin came out fourth and Aric Almirola, who started on the outside of row one, rounded out the top-five in Stage 1.
Kevin Harvick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Daniel Hemric and Paul Menard also racked up Stage points as top-10 finishers.
Can Kurt Busch hang on to the lead for the remainder of the event to get his first win of the year? Or will Suarez find his way back to the front? Or will someone else steal the show?
We will know more at the conclusion of Stage 2.
