Jason Leffler
Encyclopedia
Jason Leffler is a NASCAR
driver from Long Beach, California
. Leffler began racing in the open-wheel ranks before moving to NASCAR's three major series. Leffler currently drives the #30 AccuDoc Solutions and the #38 Great Clips
Chevrolet Impala for Turner Motorsports
in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
in the USAC
series, where he won 3 consecutive Midget championships from 1997 and 1999, as well as the Silver Crown series championship in 1998. He was the third driver to win three consecutive midget car championships. He won the Hut 100 and Belleville Nationals in 1997, and the Turkey Night Grand Prix
and Copper Classic in 1999. He won his second Turkey Night Grand Prix in 2005.
Roger Penske
met Leffler at the 1998 Hut 100. Leffler's success also caught the attention of Joe Gibbs Racing
, a team who had previous signed Tony Stewart
from the USAC ranks. Leffler joined the team in 1999 and made 4 starts in the Busch Series
during the season with moderate success. At the same time, he also started a race in the Indy Racing League at Walt Disney World Speedway
in the #5 Treadway Racing
machine, but finished last after wrecking early in the race.
Leffler made his first, and only, start in the Indianapolis 500
in 2000. This effort was put forth by Treadway Racing with backing from Roger Penske's
United Auto group. Leffler qualified in the 17th position, which is also where he finished; 3 laps behind race winner Juan Montoya.
sponsored Busch team. He finished 20th in the championship and earned three pole positions during the year and finished second at Phoenix
. He also made two IRL starts, among them a start for Treadway in the Indianapolis 500
where he started and finished 17th. After that season, he moved up to the Winston Cup Series to drive the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing
Dodge Intrepid in Winston Cup, which was sponsored by Cingular Wireless
. During his inaugural Cup season, he won the pole at the inaugural race at Kansas Speedway
, but had only one top 10 finish and 4 failures to qualify. After his 37th-place finish in the championship, Ganassi replaced him with Jimmy Spencer
for the 2002 season.
Leffler joined Ultra Motorsports
in 2002 and had great success early on with the team. In his first year, he tied a single season Craftsman Truck Series
record by scoring 8 pole positions, and qualified no worse than 8th at any race during the season. Despite not winning a race, six second-place finishes and a fourth-place finish in the championship. Leffler finally broke through in 2003 when he scored his first career victory at Dover
. Despite being in the top 10 in points, however, he was fired from Ultra Motorsports ride after taking over in the Haas CNC Racing
#0 NetZero
Pontiac, which breached his contract with the Dodge
-funded truck team. He won the 2002 Night before the 500 midget car race.
Leffler made 10 starts in Cup with Haas before Ward Burton
took over. Haas then moved Leffler to the Haas Automation
#00 car in Busch for the remainder of 2003, and later all of 2004. At Nashville Superspeedway
in 2004, Leffler scored his first career Busch Series victory. He was running third in the points when the team released him from his contract. He ended up finishing 12th in the championship despite missing the last seven races.
Shortly after being replaced at Haas
, Leffler signed a deal to re-join Joe Gibbs Racing for 2005, taking over in a newly created Cup team sponsored by FedEx
. The #11 Chevrolet was regularly outside of the top 35 in points, meaning that it was not guaranteed a starting spot for all races; Leffler was unable to qualify for the Coca-Cola 600
because of it. He was replaced by Terry Labonte
for the two road-course races and, eventually, was fired from JGR after 19 starts in which he failed to record a top ten finish. He was replaced by a mix of Labonte and JGR developmental drivers J.J. Yeley and Denny Hamlin
, the latter of whom took over the car full-time the following season.
While racing with Gibbs, Leffler briefly raced with Braun Racing in the Busch Series, a team that had lost their regular driver, Shane Hmiel
, to a drug suspension. After leaving Gibbs, Leffler joined Braun Racing on a full-time basis for the remainder of the season. Leffler has scored four top 10 finishes with Braun in 9 starts for the team.
For the 2006 season, Leffler was signed to return to Braun Racing
to drive the #32 Chevrolet. The team carried sponsorship from Lucas Oil
, Fraternal Order of Eagles
, and ABF U-Pack Moving. The #32 team became the #38 team with sponsorship from Great Clips after it merged with Akins Motorsports
. Jason also attempted to qualify for the second last race of the chase at Phoenix
in the #71 for Braun Racing
but failed to qualify.
During the 2007 season, Leffler won the pole for the Winn-Dixie 250 at Daytona International Speedway
. He finished 9th. Leffler would make NASCAR
history July 28, 2007 as he passed Greg Biffle
with two laps remaining to win the Nascar Busch Series Kroger 200
at O'Reilly Raceway Park. The win marked the first race victory for a Toyota Camry
in Busch Series competition, and the first win for a foreign manufacturer in a top-tier NASCAR
series since Al Keller won in a Jaguar in 1954. The win also marked Leffler's second career Busch Series
win and first win since the 2004 season. Leffer returned to Sprint Cup in 2008 for a few races in the #70 Haas CNC Chevy while driving full time for Braun Racing's #38 Toyota Camry.
In 2009 at the July Daytona
race weekend it was announced that the #38 Toyota car would be shared with Kasey Kahne
for the 2010 Nationwide season.
in 2003. He had 18 national championship midget car wins at that time.
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
driver from Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
. Leffler began racing in the open-wheel ranks before moving to NASCAR's three major series. Leffler currently drives the #30 AccuDoc Solutions and the #38 Great Clips
Great Clips
Great Clips is a hair salon franchise in the United States and Canada with over 5,000 locations across the United States and Canada. It is headquartered in Edina, a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota...
Chevrolet Impala for Turner Motorsports
Turner Motorsports (NASCAR)
Turner Motorsports, LLC is a NASCAR racing team based in Mooresville, North Carolina. The team currently fields cars in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series...
in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Open wheel career
Leffler began his career racing midget carsMidget car racing
Midget cars, also Speedcars in Australia, are very small race cars with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four-cylinder engines.-Cars:Typically, these cars have 300 to 400 horsepower and weigh...
in the USAC
United States Automobile Club
The United States Auto Club is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, the USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500...
series, where he won 3 consecutive Midget championships from 1997 and 1999, as well as the Silver Crown series championship in 1998. He was the third driver to win three consecutive midget car championships. He won the Hut 100 and Belleville Nationals in 1997, and the Turkey Night Grand Prix
Turkey Night Grand Prix
The Turkey Night Grand Prix is an annual race of midget cars. It has been held on Thanksgiving night most years since 1934. It is currently held in Irwindale, California.-Drivers:The event is considered a major event in the midget cars series...
and Copper Classic in 1999. He won his second Turkey Night Grand Prix in 2005.
Roger Penske
Roger Penske
Roger S. Penske is the owner of the automobile racing team Penske Racing, the Penske Corporation, and other automotive related businesses. A winning racer in the late 1950s, Penske was named 1961's Sports Car Club of America Driver of the Year by Sports Illustrated...
met Leffler at the 1998 Hut 100. Leffler's success also caught the attention of Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing is a group of NASCAR racing teams owned and operated by former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, who first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991, and J. D. Gibbs, his son...
, a team who had previous signed Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart is an American auto racing driver and owner. Throughout his racing career, Stewart has won titles in Indy cars and stock cars as well as midget, sprint and USAC Silver Crown cars, giving him the recognition of "one of the finest racers of his generation."Stewart...
from the USAC ranks. Leffler joined the team in 1999 and made 4 starts in the Busch Series
Busch Series
The NASCAR Nationwide Series is a stock car racing series owned and operated by the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing. It is promoted as NASCAR's "minor league" circuit, and is a proving ground for drivers who wish to step up to the organization's "big leagues"; the Sprint Cup circuit...
during the season with moderate success. At the same time, he also started a race in the Indy Racing League at Walt Disney World Speedway
Walt Disney World Speedway
Walt Disney World Speedway is a racing facility located on the grounds of the Walt Disney World resort near Orlando, Florida.It was built in 1995 by IMS Events, Inc., a subsidiary of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, and was designed primarily as a venue for the Indy 200 at Walt Disney...
in the #5 Treadway Racing
Treadway Racing
Treadway Racing is a former auto racing team that competed in the early seasons of the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series. The team was owned by Indianapolis business man Fred Treadway. Prior to the IRL's inaugural season in 1996, Treadway was able to sign former Indianapolis 500 Champion Arie...
machine, but finished last after wrecking early in the race.
Leffler made his first, and only, start in the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
in 2000. This effort was put forth by Treadway Racing with backing from Roger Penske's
Roger Penske
Roger S. Penske is the owner of the automobile racing team Penske Racing, the Penske Corporation, and other automotive related businesses. A winning racer in the late 1950s, Penske was named 1961's Sports Car Club of America Driver of the Year by Sports Illustrated...
United Auto group. Leffler qualified in the 17th position, which is also where he finished; 3 laps behind race winner Juan Montoya.
NASCAR career
During the 2000 season, Leffler drove full time for the #18 MBNAMBNA
MBNA Corporation was a bank holding company and parent company of wholly owned subsidiary MBNA America Bank, N.A., headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, prior to being acquired by Bank of America in 2006...
sponsored Busch team. He finished 20th in the championship and earned three pole positions during the year and finished second at Phoenix
Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix International Raceway, also known as PIR, is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. The track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the Indycar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series...
. He also made two IRL starts, among them a start for Treadway in the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
where he started and finished 17th. After that season, he moved up to the Winston Cup Series to drive the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series. It is owned by businessmen Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. They have won 4 Champ Car, 3 Indy Racing League and 1 Grand-Am championships...
Dodge Intrepid in Winston Cup, which was sponsored by Cingular Wireless
Cingular Wireless
AT&T Mobility LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T that provides wireless services to 100.7 million subscribers in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands...
. During his inaugural Cup season, he won the pole at the inaugural race at Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in Kansas City, Kansas. The speedway was built in 2001 and currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also raced at the speedway until 2011...
, but had only one top 10 finish and 4 failures to qualify. After his 37th-place finish in the championship, Ganassi replaced him with Jimmy Spencer
Jimmy Spencer
Jimmy Spencer is a current television commentator, and a former NASCAR driver. He formerly hosted the NASCAR inspired talk show, “What’s the Deal?”, on SPEED. He is the former co-host, with John Roberts and Kenny Wallace, of the SPEED's pre-race and post-race NASCAR shows NASCAR RaceDay and...
for the 2002 season.
Leffler joined Ultra Motorsports
Ultra Motorsports
Ultra Motorsports was a NASCAR Winston Cup & Craftsman Truck Series racing team. Jim Smith helped start the team and the Craftsman Truck Series. It ran full time in the Craftsman Truck Series from 1994 to 2005, earning many wins and a 2005 championship with Ted Musgrave...
in 2002 and had great success early on with the team. In his first year, he tied a single season Craftsman Truck Series
Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing...
record by scoring 8 pole positions, and qualified no worse than 8th at any race during the season. Despite not winning a race, six second-place finishes and a fourth-place finish in the championship. Leffler finally broke through in 2003 when he scored his first career victory at Dover
Dover International Speedway
Dover International Speedway is a NASCAR-sanctioned race track located in Dover, Delaware, owned by, and serving as the corporate headquarters of, Dover Motorsports, Inc. It is co-located with a harness racing track, Dover Downs, and shares the complex with Dover Downs Hotel & Casino...
. Despite being in the top 10 in points, however, he was fired from Ultra Motorsports ride after taking over in the Haas CNC Racing
Haas CNC Racing
Stewart-Haas Racing, formerly known as Haas CNC Racing, is a NASCAR racing team based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, which runs Chevrolet Impalas. The team is owned by Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, and runs the #14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala driven by Stewart and the #39 United States...
#0 NetZero
NetZero
NetZero is an Internet service provider based in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. It is a subsidiary of United Online, owner of Juno Online Services and BlueLight Internet Services. The current chairman, president, and CEO of United Online is Mark Goldston.- History :NetZero launched in...
Pontiac, which breached his contract with the Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
-funded truck team. He won the 2002 Night before the 500 midget car race.
Ward Burton
John Edward Burton III is an American NASCAR auto racer, who has a total of five career Sprint Cup wins. He last drove the #4 State Water Heaters Chevrolet Impala SS for Morgan-McClure Motorsports in 2007. He is the older brother of fellow NASCAR driver Jeff Burton, against whom he first...
took over. Haas then moved Leffler to the Haas Automation
Haas Automation
Founded in 1983 by Gene Haas, Haas Automation is a CNC machine tool manufacturer based in Oxnard, California. Haas Automation manufactures CNC vertical and horizontal machining centers, CNC lathes, rotary tables and 5C indexers. Sales outlets, referred to as Haas Factory Outlets are located all...
#00 car in Busch for the remainder of 2003, and later all of 2004. At Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville Superspeedway is a motor racing complex located in Gladeville, Tennessee , United States, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville. On August 2, 2011, it was announced that Nashville Superspeedway will not host any NASCAR events in 2012. It is a concrete oval track 1 1/3 miles in...
in 2004, Leffler scored his first career Busch Series victory. He was running third in the points when the team released him from his contract. He ended up finishing 12th in the championship despite missing the last seven races.
Shortly after being replaced at Haas
Haas
Haas can refer to:* Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley* Haas Automation, a machine tool company* Haas effect, a psychoacoustic effect* Haas Pavilion at the University of California, Berkeley...
, Leffler signed a deal to re-join Joe Gibbs Racing for 2005, taking over in a newly created Cup team sponsored by FedEx
FedEx
FedEx Corporation , originally known as FDX Corporation, is a logistics services company, based in the United States with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee...
. The #11 Chevrolet was regularly outside of the top 35 in points, meaning that it was not guaranteed a starting spot for all races; Leffler was unable to qualify for the Coca-Cola 600
Coca-Cola 600
The Coca-Cola 600, formerly known as the World 600, is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held each year at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina on Memorial Day weekend...
because of it. He was replaced by Terry Labonte
Terry Labonte
Terrance Lee Labonte is a semi-retired NASCAR driver who occasionally drives in the Sprint Cup Series when called upon and is a two-time Winston Cup and IROC champion. He currently drives the #32 U.S. Chrome Ford for FAS Lane Racing. Labonte was introduced to the sport through his father, who had...
for the two road-course races and, eventually, was fired from JGR after 19 starts in which he failed to record a top ten finish. He was replaced by a mix of Labonte and JGR developmental drivers J.J. Yeley and Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin
James Dennis Alan "Denny" Hamlin is an American race car driver. Though originally born in Tampa, Florida, Hamlin was raised for most of his life in Chesterfield, Virginia. After racing in go-karts for a number of years, he worked his way up to Late Models by 2004 and signed a development contract...
, the latter of whom took over the car full-time the following season.
While racing with Gibbs, Leffler briefly raced with Braun Racing in the Busch Series, a team that had lost their regular driver, Shane Hmiel
Shane Hmiel
Shane Hmiel is a former American racecar driver. He was paralyzed in a near fatal racing accident on October 9, 2010...
, to a drug suspension. After leaving Gibbs, Leffler joined Braun Racing on a full-time basis for the remainder of the season. Leffler has scored four top 10 finishes with Braun in 9 starts for the team.
For the 2006 season, Leffler was signed to return to Braun Racing
Braun Racing
Braun Racing was a NASCAR racing team based in Mooresville, North Carolina. The team was sold to Steve Turner in September 2010. The Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series teams remain active under Turner Motorsports. Following the announcement of the purchase, Turner Motorsports announced that they had...
to drive the #32 Chevrolet. The team carried sponsorship from Lucas Oil
Lucas Oil
Lucas Oil Products is a manufacturer and distributor of automotive oil, additives, and lubricants. It was founded by trucker Forrest Lucas and his wife Charlotte in 1989....
, Fraternal Order of Eagles
Fraternal Order of Eagles
Fraternal Order of Eagles International is a fraternal organization that was founded on February 6, 1898, in Seattle, Washington by a group of six theater owners including John Cort , brothers John W. and Tim J. Considine, Harry Leavitt , Mose Goldsmith and Arthur Williams...
, and ABF U-Pack Moving. The #32 team became the #38 team with sponsorship from Great Clips after it merged with Akins Motorsports
Akins Motorsports
Akins Motorsports was a NASCAR team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, which is near Charlotte. The team was formed in 1993 by at the time owned by Brad Akins and Bob Sutton. At the time the team was sold to Braun Racing it was owned by Doug Stringer....
. Jason also attempted to qualify for the second last race of the chase at Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
in the #71 for Braun Racing
Braun Racing
Braun Racing was a NASCAR racing team based in Mooresville, North Carolina. The team was sold to Steve Turner in September 2010. The Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series teams remain active under Turner Motorsports. Following the announcement of the purchase, Turner Motorsports announced that they had...
but failed to qualify.
During the 2007 season, Leffler won the pole for the Winn-Dixie 250 at Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...
. He finished 9th. Leffler would make NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
history July 28, 2007 as he passed Greg Biffle
Greg Biffle
Gregory Jack "Greg" Biffle is a NASCAR driver who drives the #16 3M Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. After racing in the NASCAR Winter Heat Series in the mid-90s, he was recommended to Jack Roush by former announcer Benny Parsons...
with two laps remaining to win the Nascar Busch Series Kroger 200
Kroger 200
Kroger 200 can mean:*The Kroger 200 , a NASCAR Nationwide Series race held at O'Reily Raceway Park*The Kroger 200 , a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race held at Martinsville Speedway...
at O'Reilly Raceway Park. The win marked the first race victory for a Toyota Camry
Toyota Camry
The Toyota Camry is a series of mid-size automobiles manufactured by Toyota since 1982, and sold in the majority of automotive markets throughout the world...
in Busch Series competition, and the first win for a foreign manufacturer in a top-tier NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
series since Al Keller won in a Jaguar in 1954. The win also marked Leffler's second career Busch Series
Busch Series
The NASCAR Nationwide Series is a stock car racing series owned and operated by the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing. It is promoted as NASCAR's "minor league" circuit, and is a proving ground for drivers who wish to step up to the organization's "big leagues"; the Sprint Cup circuit...
win and first win since the 2004 season. Leffer returned to Sprint Cup in 2008 for a few races in the #70 Haas CNC Chevy while driving full time for Braun Racing's #38 Toyota Camry.
In 2009 at the July Daytona
Daytona
Daytona may refer to:* Daytona Beach, Florida* Daytona Beach Shores, Florida* South Daytona, Florida-Motor racing:* Daytona Beach Road Course* Daytona International Speedway, a NASCAR speedway, which hosts:** the Daytona 500 NASCAR race...
race weekend it was announced that the #38 Toyota car would be shared with Kasey Kahne
Kasey Kahne
Kasey Kenneth Kahne is a NASCAR driver. He drives the #5 Farmers Insurance Group Chevrolet Impala for Hendrick Motorsports in the Sprint Cup Series....
for the 2010 Nationwide season.
Career awards
He was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of FameNational Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame and museum for midget cars. The Hall of Fame is located at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and can be accessed during weekly Sunday races during the summer.-A-C:...
in 2003. He had 18 national championship midget car wins at that time.