The 2025 NASCAR season will feature an extra element as drivers across all three national series chase a new abundance of points.
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According to a press release, NASCAR will introduce the "Xfinity Fastest Lap" during the 2025 season. This system will award the driver and team one point in each race for the single fastest lap. Only drivers racing for championship points in each series will be eligible for this bonus.
Adam Stern of the Sports Business Journal first reported the news.
Xfinity has recognized drivers in the past for having the fastest lap in each race, but this season marks the first time that drivers can earn points.
This system will add an interesting wrinkle to the regular season as drivers chase playoff spots. It will also increase the intensity of the playoffs.
A single point can often determine which driver advances to the next round of the playoffs and which one falls short. Martinsville Speedway has shown this over the past few seasons.
Ross Chastain needed to gain multiple positions — and points — during the 2022 Round of 8 elimination race, so he throttled up and rode the wall on the final lap. This advanced him to the Championship 4 and eliminated Denny Hamlin.
Last season, William Byron was above the cutline, but he was fading fast. He could not afford to lose any more positions or points, so Austin Dillon and Chastain formed a blockade behind him to prevent other drivers from making passes. NASCAR deemed this race manipulation and issued massive penalties.
Christopher Bell, however, needed to gain one spot and one point to take the final Championship 4 spot from Byron. He passed Bubba Wallace — who suddenly slowed on track — but then hit the wall and remained against it on the final lap. He initially gained the points he needed to advance but received a penalty for a "safety violation."
These are only two recent examples. Others have occurred at the Charlotte Roval and other tracks in the playoffs as drivers have chased those elusive points.
With NASCAR and Xfinity introducing this new point system, what will drivers do in 2025? Will they put on fresh tires late in a race and just try to turn in the fastest lap to gain an extra point? How will the fastest lap work at drafting tracks when drivers don't really have any control?
These questions will continue throughout the season as the Craftsman Truck Series, Xfinity Series, and Cup Series drivers serve as guinea pigs for this new system. Only time will tell if it is a success.
