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When the site loaded, the top story read something to the effect of: 'Leffler seriously injured in crash'. I was extremely shocked. My mind began to race and I thought about the Pocono race just three days before. Leffler ran for Humphrey-Smith Racing, which is a start-and-park team, but he was still the happy Jason Leffler who wanted to go out and race even knowing he couldn't go the whole distance. I finally mustered enough strength to click on the link and face the article. I speed read through the article and the key points were that Leffler was involved in a serious sprint car accident at Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey and the results of that incident were unknown for the moment. My mouth stayed open in shock as I realized the magnitude of the crash. Details were sure to come out quickly and I decided to click on the track's Facebook page to find out up to the minute information. The page loaded and track officials posted a short update saying that action for the rest of the night had been canceled due to Leffler's crash. I scrolled down a little to the comments on the update and those comments will forever be ingrained in my mind.
Comments from two minutes before I clicked onto the update read 'RIP' and 'We will miss you Jason'. All I could say was no repeatedly. Tears began to well up slightly in my eyes as I quickly began to search google for more news on 'Lefturn', as we NASCAR fans liked to call him. The only article saying Leffler was gone was an article from a local news station. No major media outlets reported anything about his death and I was hoping for the best. Within ten minutes, my fears were becoming a reality. The Associated Press, USA Today, and many other reputable news outlets began to report the death of Jason Leffler. I broke down. Tears flowed down my face as I realized my favorite regular in NASCAR's lower series was gone. I wrote an article for my website discussing Leffler and I felt like he was with me as I typed. I finished it, posted it, and decided to head to sleep after a traumatizing night. Flash forward to today or June 12th, 2014 as it turns out to be. I am still greatly affected by Jason Leffler's death. Today, I don't want to discuss the night Leffler died and how it happened, but I want to discuss what he meant to me and how he affected my life. All the moments I remember about him affect how I will forever remember Lefturn and I feel like sharing them on the one year anniversary of his passing. Today, let us remember one of the most charismatic drivers to strap on a helmet in NASCAR: Jason Leffler.
Jason Leffler's racing life did not begin on asphalt, but somewhere completely different: dirt. Leffler was great on dirt in winning four USAC midget championships and catching the eyes of a good many NASCAR and IndyCar owners. One of those owners was Joe Gibbs. Gibbs was impressed by Leffler's abilities as a racer and he handed him a NASCAR Busch Series opportunity at his team. Jason made four Busch Series starts in 1999 while running a single IndyCar race. Leffler returned to the Busch Series in 2000 by running the full schedule for Gibbs. Leffler ran well with two top fives and three poles in a decent opening year on asphalt. Leffler caught the eyes of Chip Ganassi and Ganassi signed him to run full time for his team in the Winston Cup Series in 2001. Leffler ran decently with a pole and a top ten to his credit, but he was quickly out of the ride. Leffler slid down the NASCAR ranks into the Craftsman Truck Series with a full time ride behind the wheel of a truck for Jim Smith in the year 2002. Leffler ran his best season in NASCAR at the time with eleven top fives, fifteen top tens, and eight poles in a fourth place finishing effort in the championship. Leffler looked like he had finally arrived in NASCAR and he was given another opportunity in the Jim Smith owned truck, but the opportunity ended short in the season in 2003. Nonetheless, Leffler took a well earned victory at Dover and he was finally a winner in NASCAR. Around this time, Leffler began to make his way back up the NASCAR ladder. Also around this time, I began to pick up memories from Leffler's time on track. He began to become one of my favorites as he looked to improve his talents on asphalt.
In 2004, Leffler's new found position began to take place. He ran the first twenty seven races of the Busch Series season with Gene Haas's team and Leffler found his place. He won his first Busch race at Nashville and his numbers began to pick up, but he didn't finish the season. In 2005, Leffler found himself back in the Cup Series and this time it was with Joe Gibbs Racing. Leffler didn't run as well as the team expected and he was out after nineteen races, but Leffler was quickly picked up by Todd Braun for his Busch effort. This turned out to be the move of Jason's career. He finished 2005 for Braun and in 2006, he returned to the team. Leffler ran the first nine races behind the wheel of the number 32 for Braun, but after Kasey Kahne left the team for Ray Evernham's Busch team ending 2005, Braun decided Leffler needed to pilot the number 38 Great Clips machine. This is when my memories of Jason really began and he moved into the role of my favorite Busch regular. Because he jumped behind the wheel of a car I liked, he quickly became my favorite in 2006. At first, it was just about the car, but it soon became about his great personality as a driver.
Leffler finished off 2006 and was looking forward to a full season behind the wheel of the Great Clips machine. Leffler didn't disappoint as he finished third in the championship and grabbed eleven top tens in 2007. The key moment for Leffler was at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 2007. I remember the race well. Jason ran the wheels off of the car for the entire night and he took Toyota's first win in NASCAR. I felt that was extremely historic because of the caliber of drivers racing Toyotas. It meant a lot to Leffler and it meant a lot to me as a fan of his. I put that moment in the memory bank as Leffler returned in 2008 to the same Todd Braun team. Leffler put up thirteen top tens, but he only mustered a ninth place finish in the points battle. Still, Leffler's abilities brought him back to the same Great Clips machine in 2009. Jason put up an extremely impressive twenty top tens and finished fourth in the points. One of my fondest memories of Jason occurred in 2009.
It was 2009 and the Nationwide Series was at Darlington Raceway. Since 2004, I had been at the race and this night was the same. The green waved and I cheered on Leffler for the entire night. The laps clicked by and he remained near the front as the final laps approached. In the late laps, a caution waved and Leffler was in second next to Matt Kenseth for the only attempt at a green-white-checkered. Jason looked good and I was hoping he pulled out the win. The race went green for the final time and Leffler took off. I was cheering him on, but before he could make the move, Morgan Shepherd crashed behind the leaders. This brought the race to an end and Matt Kenseth ended up winning. I was very disappointed because I felt Leffler could have won the race. I held that moment in my mind as one where he should have won and I hoped he would win another to redeem this lost victory. 2010 brought his next opportunity to do this as he returned to the Braun team. He ran well while switching from the number 10 to the number 38, which were both Braun rides. By the end of the season, Steve Turner took over for Braun and Leffler remained in the 38 heading into 2011. Leffler ran decently in 2011 like he had always done, but he ended up out of a ride with Steve Turner at the end of 2011. Luckily, he found himself back behind the wheel.
To start the 2012 season, Kyle Busch hired Leffler to drive his number 18 truck for the full season. I was ecstatic he was getting this opportunity and I was looking for him to make the most of it. He struggled slightly to start with, but it looked like he would pick it up as the season progressed. He quickly began to rattle off top tens, but he found himself out of the ride after only nine races. It was disappointing for me, but I was hoping he found another ride. Jason ran a few races throughout the year with a few different teams, but he began to return to his roots: dirt. Leffler began to run a lot of the big sprint car races around the country and it seemed like he was enjoying himself. 2013 came and Leffler was without an opportunity, but he was still behind the wheel of sprint cars around the country. After a long hiatus from NASCAR, he was behind the wheel of a Cup car for Humphrey-Smith Racing at the first Pocono race. It looked like he would find some more opportunities, but three days later, he was gone. With a huge crash at Bridgeport Speedway on June 12th, 2013, we lost a great driver and friend. Jason Leffler was still really in the prime of his career with other opportunities still waiting, but he left us too early.
I think Jason Leffler is an unsung hero of auto racing. Most drivers would be upset if they had to sink down the NASCAR ladder because of the lack of opportunities, but you couldn't wipe the smile off his face. He would jump in any race car and he would drive the wheels off of it with a smile written all along his face. I think that is a testament to Jason Leffler and his ability to drive a race car. When I think back to his career, I just think about all the opportunities he should have gotten. I don't doubt he could drive a race car, but he just didn't find the right ride. I think if he was still here today, he would be behind the wheel of a great car or truck in NASCAR. I have no doubt about that. Sadly, Lefturn left us at the young age of thirty seven. Every time a driver passes in a fatal crash, the same thing is said every time: he had a smile on his face out on track. I have no doubt this was the case for Leffler. Today, all I can think about is Leffler's young son, Charlie Dean. He is six now and without a great father like Jason. One thing about Jason is that he was a great driver and a great person, but he was an even better father. His son looked up to him and it is sad that he doesn't have Jason, but I'm sure he is good hands. Last year, Kasey Kahne and a group of others sold Lefturn hats to raise money for Charlie and they raised a good amount of money. I am proud to say I own one of those hats and supported Charlie in his future. It was a great move by Kahne and one that I admire greatly. To end this remembrance article, I want to discuss one thing. I end every edition of my thoughts with the words “until we meet again”. Well, Jason Leffler, I will always remember you and I hope your great legacy continues to teach and show others how a NASCAR driver should be even when the outcome of a situation looks grim. Rest In Peace Jason “Lefturn” Leffler and until we meet again.
Credits:
-Statistics:
http://racing-reference.info/driver/Jason_Leffler
-Image:
http://www.mrn.com/~/media/DC8DE2B05FAB4B4CAEB1FBF75D9E5AE4.ashx?w=602&h=345
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