NASCAR adds major wrinkle in national series for Xfinity’s final season

NASCAR is introducing a new way for drivers across its three national series to earn points during the 2025 season.

First reported by Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, NASCAR announced “Xfinity Fastest Lap,” which awards one point to the team and driver with the fastest single recorded lap each race, across all three national series. The driver in each series who ends the season with the most fastest laps will also receive a donation to the charity/community-related cause of their choosing. The payouts are as follows: $30,000 for the Cup Series driver, $20,000 for Xfinity and $10,000 for Truck.

If two drivers finish with the fastest recorded lap of the race, the tie is broken by finishing position, per details relayed by NASCAR.com. Drivers disqualified from the race are not eligible to win. Championship 4 drivers will not be rewarded with a bonus point if they post the fastest lap in the championship race at Phoenix.

Kyle Larson ran the fastest lap in five races last season, most among Cup drivers. Those five points would have been huge for Larson, who lost the Regular Season Championship by one point to Tyler Reddick.

Xfinity ending title sponsorship of NASCAR second-tier series

The “Xfinity Fastest Lap” is part of Xfinity’s new Premier Partnership with NASCAR. The Premier Partnership renewal is for multiple years while the title sponsorship has been extended for one year. But in 2026, the Xfinity Series will have a new title sponsor, ending a 10-year run.

With NASCAR inking a new media rights deal in which Nexstar Media Group’s The CW will air every Xfinity race from 2025-2031, Xfinity extended its title sponsorship through this season to allow NASCAR time to find a replacement for the 2026 season. NASCAR will hit the corporate market starting Tuesday in search of a new title sponsor.

“11 years of being an entitlement partner and having the run that we’ve had has been amazing, and now I think it’s time for someone else to take that mantle and continue to grow the series to heights that we can’t even consider at this point,” Comcast VP/Branded Partnerships & Activation Matt Lederer said.

“… I will forever for the rest of my career be really proud of what we’ve been able to do collectively in the way we’ve taken this series to a new level and therefore our brand to a new level.”