Xfinity Fastest Lap: McDowell Makes History, Clements Earns Award at Talladega

Michael McDowell made history on Sunday in the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

McDowell earned the Xfinity Fastest Lap Award during Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series event at Talladega, with a lap time of 47.896 seconds. That lap nearly eclipsed the 200 mph average speed mark, at 199.933 mph. The fast lap, which came on lap 120 of Sunday's 188-lap contest, set a record for the fastest lap in the Next Gen era for the NASCAR Cup Series.

McDowell finished 11th in Sunday's race, leading 10 laps in the race. This was his third time earning the Xfinity Fastest Lap award and the bonus point in the championship standings that accompanies it this season, after previously winning the award at Daytona and Phoenix.

In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Jeremy Clements earned the Xfinity Fastest Lap award for the second time this season. Clements turned a fast lap of 49.640 seconds, an average speed of 192.909 mph.

Clements finished 26th in Saturday's Ag-Pro 300 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

All three NASCAR National Series will be in action this weekend in the Lone Star State at Texas Motor Speedway. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races on Friday, May 2, while the NASCAR Xfinity Series takes the track on Saturday, May 3. The weekend concludes with the Würth 400 for the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday, May 4.

-Photo credit: Josh Calloni, Racing America