The contrast between F1 and NASCAR continues in 2025, now with the fastest lap rule. While F1 has abolished the system of giving a bonus point to the driver setting the fastest lap of the Grand Prix, NASCAR has brought such a rule across the pond for the new season.
With NASCAR having extended its deal with Xfinity, aka Comcast, the American stock car series has introduced an ‘Xfinity Fastest Lap’ bonus point. The key difference is that NASCAR won’t have a condition like F1, where a driver must finish in the top 10 to score the bonus point.
Inherently, all finishers in NASCAR score points, even if it’s just one, like a P10 finisher in F1. Motorsport journalist Jenna Fryer confirmed the new NASCAR fastest lap rule on X (formerly Twitter) while highlighting the contrast with IndyCar, which will also award points for fastest laps, unlike F1.
But why is F1 stopping it?
#NASCAR will now award one point to the fastest lap by a driver in each of its three national series called the “Xfinity Fastest Lap”
IndyCar awards a fastest lap point. F1 did but ended that ahead of this season.
— Jenna Fryer (@JennaFryer) February 4, 2025
The reason behind the abolishment of the fastest lap bonus in the pinnacle of motorsport is that teams have often misused the rule for their own benefit in the world championship. A classic example was Red Bull’s sister team, RB, pitting Daniel Ricciardo at the Singapore GP last year to allegedly take the fastest lap point off McLaren’s Lando Norris.
As Norris was leading the race ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, Ricciardo taking away the fastest lap bonus helped the Dutchman’s championship cause, as Norris scored one point less.
With every point crucial in a close title battle, this has often been the case in F1, with teams manipulating the fastest lap bonus, even if they themselves wouldn’t score the extra point outside the top 10.
Will the fastest lap point cause F1-like chaos in NASCAR?
The dynamics of race strategy in NASCAR are quite different from F1. As things stand, it doesn’t seem like NASCAR teams will have the chance to pit a teammate late in the race to secure the fastest lap and take the point away from a main rival.
However, this fastest lap bonus could prove crucial in the Play-off stages of the NASCAR season. With every point vital for advancement, timing the fastest lap at the right moment could make a significant difference in which drivers and teams move forward.
Getting a draft on the speedway oval tracks in the penultimate lap could secure the fastest lap point between the main championship contenders. As seen in F1, a two-point swing in this battle for the bonus point could even decide the race winner or the series champion in some cases.
