One of the biggest complaints the NASCAR fans have with the Next Gen era racing is that it’s boring and uneventful. While the stage racing for many has further added to the woes, the superspeedway racing has turned into a snooze fest. Thanks to fuel-saving strategy and pack racing, there’s not much the drivers can do on the drafting tracks.

After all, the only incentive NASCAR is giving drivers is to hunt for the almighty points during the race. The stage racing that was once supposed to resolve this issue; rather, it’s only added to the woes. Now sudden changes in the points structuring aren’t something NASCAR is open to, which is why they have tried to add a bit of action on the racetrack. And that change is the Xfinity Fastest Lap, which will reward the drivers with an additional point across all three national series. And, there’s much more to this new initiative, which Dale Earnhardt Jr. and friends explained on the Dale Jr. Download.

Expect the unexpected in 2025

Comcast’s Xfinity is one of the premier partners for NASCAR. Despite relinquishing their duties as title sponsors beyond 2025, Xfinity has partnered to bring about a new change to on-track racing. Given that NASCAR already rewards with the playoff bonus points for winning stages, isn’t this new rule like a drop in the ocean?

Well, Dale Earnhardt Jr. disagrees; rather, he took a stroll back in memory lane to highlight similar brand collaborations that stoked the competitive spirit among the teams. “So, I love this; this is perfect. You know, in the 1998 and 1999 Xfinity Series seasons, MCI, I think, is the brand or the company. There was a company that had a $10,000 bonus for whoever won the fastest lap in the race. You had to be leading the race for this lap to count… I have all of those MCI fastest lap awards hanging in my garage at home right now. It might not be significant today because it’s a very small award, and it didn’t give points toward the season total.” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said this on his podcast.

We all know how ugly and sketchy the penultimate playoff race at Martinsville turned out to be. OEM and drivers were in sync, trying their very best to get their respective cars in the final 4. With the sample size of the points structure now expanded to an additional 36 points that can be earned through the season, it can lead to new strategies.

Talk about how big of a difference one point makes; Kyle Larson lost out on the regular season title and the bonus points that come with it by a virtue of single point, as Tyler Reddick got the better of him.

So you can only imagine the seismic impact that this single fastest lap can bring to actual racing on the racetrack. “So this is a point that’s out there for these guys to try to strive to accumulate, and you could win multiple of these, right? That could really make a difference in seeding for the playoffs or making the playoffs.” Dale Jr. added this while also suggesting a major tweak that could make this rule change a logical one rewarding the driver on merit.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a special demand for “Lead Cars”

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There is a possibility that a driver sitting deep in the field or even at the rear of the field could twist this rule. The team or the driver could head into the pits, put on the slick Goodyear rubber, and milk out the best laps without being contested. That’s an easy point the drivers and the teams can add to their total. This can also act as a contingency plan at the superspeedway with drivers and teams trying to avoid the big one and salvage their day.

Although NASCAR hasn’t revealed the fine details of the new rule, Dale Jr. feels that they should only time the best lap of the drivers leading the race. “So for Talladega, Dayton, Atlanta, and some of those tracks, I almost feel like this only should matter to the car that is leading the race. This bonus point for the fastest lap should be tracked by the lead car. If you’re fifth and run the fastest lap, sorry. Great, but you have to be leading the race to acquire this award.” The veteran driver opined.

It will be interesting to see if NASCAR releases details about the criteria for winning this fastest-lap bonus point.