Jason Leffler | |||||||
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![]() Leffler at the circuitAutódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in 2008 | |||||||
Born | Jason Charles Leffler (1975-09-16)September 16, 1975 Long Beach, California, U.S. | ||||||
Died | June 12, 2013(2013-06-12) (aged 37) Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||
Cause of death | Blunt force neck injury from racing accident | ||||||
Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) | ||||||
Weight | 130 lb (59 kg) | ||||||
Achievements | 1997, 1998, 1999USAC National Midget Series Champion 1998USAC Silver Crown Series Champion 2002Hoosier Hundred Winner 1999, 2005Turkey Night Grand Prix Winner 1997 Belleville Midget Nationals Winner | ||||||
Awards | National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame inductee (2003) West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame (2015) USAC Hall of Fame inductee (2018) | ||||||
NASCARCup Series career | |||||||
73 races run over 9 years | |||||||
2013 position | 52nd | ||||||
Best finish | 37th (2001) | ||||||
First race | 2001Daytona 500 (Daytona) | ||||||
Last race | 2013Party in the Poconos 400 (Pocono) | ||||||
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NASCARXfinity Series career | |||||||
294 races run over 12 years | |||||||
Best finish | 3rd (2007) | ||||||
First race | 1999Kroger 200 (IRP) | ||||||
Last race | 2012Great Clips 200 (Phoenix) | ||||||
First win | 2004Federated Auto Parts 300 (Nashville) | ||||||
Last win | 2007Kroger 200 (IRP) | ||||||
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NASCARCraftsman Truck Series career | |||||||
56 races run over 7 years | |||||||
Best finish | 4th (2002) | ||||||
First race | 2000Power Stroke 200 (IRP) | ||||||
Last race | 2012Ford EcoBoost 200 (Homestead) | ||||||
First win | 2003MBNA Armed Forces Family 200 (Dover) | ||||||
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IndyCar Series career | |||||||
3 races run over 2 years | |||||||
Best finish | 30th (2000) | ||||||
First race | 1999Transworld Diversified Services 200 (Disney) | ||||||
Last race | 2000 Indianapolis 500 (Indy) | ||||||
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Jason Charles Leffler (September 16, 1975 – June 12, 2013) was an American professionalopen-wheel andstock car racing driver. Leffler began racing in the open-wheel ranks, competing in the2000 Indianapolis 500 before moving to primarilyNASCAR competition. He died from injuries sustained in a410 sprint car race atBridgeport Speedway inBridgeport, New Jersey.
Leffler began his career racingmidget cars in theUSAC series, where he won three 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.[1] He won theHut Hundred and Belleville Nationals in 1997, and theTurkey Night Grand Prix and Copper Classic in 1999.[1] 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 ofJoe Gibbs Racing, a team which had previously signedTony Stewart from the USAC ranks. Leffler joined the team in 1999 and made four starts in theBusch Series during the season with moderate success. At the same time, he also started a race in theIndy Racing League atWalt Disney World Speedway in the No. 5Treadway Racing machine, but finished last after crashing early in the race.
Leffler made his first, and only, start in theIndianapolis 500 in 2000. This effort was put forth by Treadway Racing with backing fromRoger Penske's United Auto group. Leffler qualified in the 17th position, which was also where he finished.
During the 2000 season, Leffler drove full-time for the No. 18MBNA sponsored Joe Gibbs Racing team in the Busch Series. He finished twentieth in the final standings, earned three pole positions during the year, and finished second atPhoenix. He also made two IRL starts, among them a start for Treadway in theIndianapolis 500 where he started and finished seventeenth. After that season he moved up to the Winston Cup Series to become the driver of the #01 Cingular Wireless Dodge forChip Ganassi Racing as the permanent replacement forKenny Irwin Jr., who was killed in a practice crash while driving for the same team at New Hampshire in 2000. Leffler's car retained sponsorship fromBellSouth through itsCingular Wireless property, and with Ganassi's purchase of a stake inFelix Sabates' former team came a switch in manufacturer as Leffler became one of several drivers to driveDodge Intrepids in the brand's return to NASCAR. It was a controversial decision, as Leffler performed poorly the season prior in excellent Joe Gibbs equipment in the Busch series. During his inaugural Cup season, he had only one top 10 finish and four failures to qualify. He was, however, the inaugural pole setter at Kansas Speedway. After his 37th-place finish in the 2001 championship, Ganassi replaced him withJimmy Spencer for the 2002 season and remade Leffler's former car into the #41 Target Dodge.
Leffler joinedUltra Motorsports in 2002 to drive the #2Carquest/Team ASEDodge Ram in place of the departedScott Riggs and had great success early on with the team. In his first year, he tied a single seasonCraftsman Truck Series record by scoring eight pole positions, and qualified no worse than eighth at any race during the season. Despite not winning a race, he had six second-place finishes and a fourth-place finish in the championship. He also won theNight Before the 500 midget race and got to drive Ultra's #7 car in the final two races of the Cup Series season after the team firedCasey Atwood. Leffler finally broke through in2003 when he scored his first career victory atDover.
Despite the success, Leffler ended up losing his ride at Ultra in a controversial fashion.Haas CNC Racing, which was fielding its first full-time Cup Series team, had fired its driverJack Sprague after theTropicana 400. Team owner Gene Haas namedJohn Andretti as his replacement, but he was unavailable for theBrickyard 400 due to a prior commitment withDale Earnhardt, Inc. Haas approached Leffler to drive the #0NetZeroPontiac Grand Prix in the race and he agreed to do so. Ultra, which had warned Leffler that such a move would be in violation of his contract, responded by firing him.
Leffler made ten starts in the #0, becoming the permanent driver after theSirius Satellite Radio at the Glen. The team then signedWard Burton away fromBill Davis Racing to take over the car, and he joined the team before the season was over to get a head start. Leffler was moved to the #00Haas Automation car in the Busch Series for the remainder of 2003, with the idea that he would remain there for 2004. AtNashville Superspeedway in 2004, Leffler scored his first careerBusch Series victory. He also was involved in a controversial finish at the Winn-Dixie 250; he was penalized by NASCAR for "over-aggressive driving" on the final lap, that sawMichael Waltrip get spun, and thenDale Earnhardt Jr. get wrecked, both by Leffler. He was running third in the points when the team released him from his contract. He ended up finishing twelfth in the championship despite missing the last seven races.
Shortly after his dismissal, Leffler signed a deal to re-join Joe Gibbs Racing for 2005, taking over a newly created Cup team sponsored byFedEx. The No. 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 theCoca-Cola 600 because of it. He was replaced byTerry Labonte for the two road-course races and, eventually, was fired from JGR after nineteen starts in which he failed to record a top ten finish. He was replaced by a mix of Labonte and JGR developmental driversJ. J. Yeley andDenny 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 had scored four top ten finishes with Braun in nine starts for the team.
For the 2006 season, Leffler was signed to return toBraun Racing to drive the No. 32 Chevrolet. The team carried sponsorships fromLucas Oil,Fraternal Order of Eagles, andABF U-Pack Moving. The No. 32 team became the No. 38 team with sponsorship from Great Clips after it merged withAkins Motorsports. Jason also attempted to qualify for the second to last race of the chase atPhoenix in the No. 71 forBraun Racing but failed to qualify. He also owned the 2006 USAC Silver Crown championship team.[2]
During the 2007 season, Leffler won the pole for theWinn-Dixie 250 atDaytona International Speedway. He finished ninth. Leffler would makeNASCAR history on July 28, 2007, as he passedGreg Biffle with two laps remaining to win the Busch SeriesKroger 200 atO'Reilly Raceway Park. The win marked the first race victory for aToyota Camry in Busch Series competition, and the first win for a foreign manufacturer in a top-tierNASCAR series sinceAl Keller won in a Jaguar in 1954. The win also marked Leffler's second careerBusch Series win and first win since the 2004 season. Leffler would finish the 2007 season 3rd in the points standings, the highest of the Busch regulars. Leffler returned to Sprint Cup in 2008 for a few races in the No. 70 Haas CNC Chevy while driving full-time for Braun Racing's No. 38 Toyota Camry in the Nationwide Series.
In 2009 at the July Daytona race weekend, it was announced that the No. 38Toyota car would be shared withKasey Kahne for the2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series season. Leffler still drove full-time, as he would pilot the No. 10 Toyota in races Kahne was in the No. 38. On September 25, 2010, Braun Racing's Nationwide operations were acquired by Turner Motorsports. Leffler continued driving full-time in the Great Clips No. 38 for TMS in 2010 and 2011 with select races in the No. 10 and 30. In late 2011 he was informed that he was free to pursue other opportunities for the 2012 season. During the second-to-last race of the2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series season atPhoenix International Raceway, Leffler was racing withElliott Sadler, who was 17 points back of first place in the standings coming into the race, andAric Almirola for 10th when Leffler bumped into the rear bumper of Sadler in turn 3 turning Sadler around and collecting himself, Almirola,Jeremy Clements, andMorgan Shepherd. The wreck ended up costing Sadler the championship as Sadler lost the championship by 45 points toRicky Stenhouse Jr. Leffler in his interview took full responsibility for what happened between him and Sadler saying that it was his own fault.[3]
On January 9, 2012,Kyle Busch Motorsports announced that Leffler would drive the No. 18 truck for fourteen races with sponsorship fromDollar General.[4] However, strings of bad luck and poor finishes plagued the team, and Leffler was released on August 14.[5]
Leffler also returned to the Cup Series in 2012, driving forRobinson-Blakeney Racing atWatkins Glen International,[6] and forHumphrey Smith Racing atMichigan International Speedway.[7]
Leffler made a single Cup Series start in 2013, driving Humphrey Smith Racing's No. 19Toyota Camry atPocono Raceway in early June, three days before his death; hestarted and parked, finishing 43rd in the event.[8]
On June 12, 2013, at 8:30 PM, Leffler was involved in a crash during a 410sprint carheat race at the5⁄8-mile (1.0 km)Bridgeport Speedway inLogan Township, New Jersey.[9] Running second with a few laps left, his car suffered a front suspension failure, causing it to crash into a wall and flip several times.[10]
Leffler instantly lost consciousness in the accident. When it was found that Leffler was not breathing, the rest of the race was cancelled and victory lane ceremonies did not take place. He was transported by ambulance toCrozer-Chester Medical Center in Chester, Pennsylvania,[11] where he was pronounced dead at 9:00 PMEDT, 30 minutes after the accident.[12] An autopsy report stated that the cause of death was a severeblunt force neck and spine injury.[13]
After his death, many drivers and racing associations such asNASCAR andIndyCar made statements on the death and gave their condolences. NASCAR drivers competing in the2013 Quicken Loans 400 had special stickers placed on their cars in honor of Leffler. Denny Hamlin, who replaced Leffler in theNo. 11 FedEx Chevrolet in late 2005 had his car repainted to resemble Leffler's livery.[14]
Leffler was the son of Charles and Patricia Leffler. Leffler had a son with Alison East, Charlie Dean, who was five years old at the time of his father's death. He was a native ofLong Beach,California.[15][16] He shared his life with live-in girlfriend Julianna Patterson; they resided inNorth Carolina and were engaged at the time of his death.[citation needed]
Leffler was inducted into theNational Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2003.[1] He had 19 USAC national championship midget car wins at that time.[2] He was inducted in the USAC Hall of Fame in 2018.[2] He also had six USAC Silver Crown wins.[2]
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
IndyCar Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Year | Team | Chassis | No. | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Rank | Points | Ref | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1999 | Treadway Racing | G-Force | 5 | Oldsmobile | WDW 28 | PHX | CLT | INDY | TXS | PPIR | ATL | DOV | PP2 | LVS | TX2 | 48th | 2 | [17] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2000 | 55 | WDW | PHX | LVS 15 | 30th | 28 | [18] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
50 | INDY 17 | TXS | PPIR | ATL | KTY | TX2 |
Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
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2000 | G-Force | Oldsmobile | 17 | 17 | Treadway Racing |
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Year | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|
2001 | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 15 | 34 |
2005 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 40 | 36 |
NASCARCamping World Truck Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | NCWTC | Pts | Ref | |||||||||||||
2000 | Ultra Motorsports | 5 | Ford | DAY | HOM | PHO | MMR | MAR | PIR | GTY | MEM | PPR | EVG | TEX | KEN | GLN | MLW | NHA | NZH | MCH | IRP 29 | NSV | CIC | RCH | DOV | TEX | CAL | 103rd | 76 | [41] | ||||||||||||||
2002 | Ultra Motorsports | 2 | Dodge | DAY 11 | DAR 30 | MAR 6 | GTY 2 | PIR 2* | DOV 9 | TEX 27 | MEM 4 | MLW 2 | KAN 4 | KEN 5 | NHA 27 | MCH 2 | IRP 2 | NSH 28 | RCH 12* | TEX 8 | SBO 9 | LVS 5 | CAL 2 | PHO 16 | HOM 3 | 4th | 3156 | [42] | ||||||||||||||||
2003 | DAY 30 | DAR 6 | MMR 7 | MAR 11 | CLT 21 | DOV 1 | TEX 27 | MEM 6 | MLW 2 | KAN 7 | KEN 5 | GTW 2 | MCH 4 | IRP 15 | NSH 24 | BRI 9 | RCH | NHA | CAL | LVS | SBO | TEX | MAR | PHO | HOM | 16th | 2209 | [43] | ||||||||||||||||
2004 | Morgan-Dollar Motorsports | 47 | Chevy | DAY | ATL | MAR | MFD | CLT | DOV | TEX | MEM | MLW | KAN | KEN | GTW | MCH | IRP | NSH | BRI | RCH | NHA | LVS | CAL | TEX | MAR | PHO | DAR 24 | HOM | 95th | 91 | [44] | |||||||||||||
2007 | Red Horse Racing | 1 | Toyota | DAY | CAL | ATL | MAR | KAN | CLT | MFD | DOV | TEX | MCH | MLW | MEM | KEN | IRP | NSH | BRI | GTW | NHA | LVS | TAL 4 | MAR 23 | ATL | TEX 9 | PHO 4 | HOM 5 | 41st | 707 | [45] | |||||||||||||
2009 | Stringer Motorsports | 90 | Toyota | DAY | CAL | ATL | MAR | KAN | CLT | DOV | TEX | MCH | MLW 29 | MEM | KEN | IRP | NSH | BRI | CHI | IOW | GTW | NHA | LVS | MAR | TAL | TEX | PHO | HOM | 99th | 76 | [46] | |||||||||||||
2012 | Kyle Busch Motorsports | 18 | Toyota | DAY 36 | MAR 8 | CAR 34 | KAN 18 | CLT 4 | DOV | TEX 6 | KEN 8 | IOW 6 | CHI 8 | POC | MCH | BRI | ATL | IOW | KEN | LVS | TAL | MAR | TEX | PHO | 23rd | 294 | [47] | |||||||||||||||||
Hillman Racing | 27 | Chevy | HOM 19 |
1 Ineligible for series points
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | ABMSC | Pts | Ref | |||||||||||||||||
1999 | Joe Gibbs Racing | 18 | Pontiac | DAY | ATL | SLM | AND | CLT | MCH | POC | TOL | SBS | BLN | POC | KIL | FRS | FLM | ISF | WIN | DSF | SLM | CLT | TAL | ATL 5 | 87th | 205 | [48] | |||||||||||||||||
2000 | DAY | SLM | AND | CLT | KIL | FRS | MCH | POC | TOL | KEN | BLN | POC | WIN | ISF | KEN | DSF | SLM | CLT 31 | TAL | ATL | 124th | 100 | [49] |