NASCAR to award 1 point for Xfinity Fastest Lap in each Cup, Xfinity, Truck race in 2025

NASCAR will award the driver and team with the fastest lap in each Cup, Xfinity and Truck points race with a bonus point this season.

The award will be known as the Xfinity Fastest Lap award and go to the eligible driver and team in each race.

In a sport where one point can make the difference in making the playoffs or advancing in a round, the chance to grab an extra point could be valuable.

Had last weekend's Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium been a points race, winner Chase Elliott would have earned an additional point because he had the fastest lap in the race at 14.161 seconds on Lap 8.

This new award opens the possibility for a team, if it doesn't have a chance to win or gain many spots, to put on tires late in a race and go for the fastest lap and the bonus point.

In two of the last three Cup seasons, the difference between the last driver to make the playoffs and the first one out has been tight.

Last year, Martin Truex Jr. finished six points ahead of Chris Buescher for the final playoff spot. In 2022, Ryan Blaney beat Truex by three points for the final playoff spot.

This award also creates an interesting situation at drafting tracks such as for the upcoming Daytona 500. Will any teams seek to run toward the back and gain an aerodynamic advantage to post a fast lap early in the race?