Home Is Where Redemption Is For Leffler
Going back home usually is something to look forward to.
In Jason Leffler’s (No. 38 Great Clips Toyota) case, even though the season is but one race old, he’s not just looking forward to heading home to California. Actually, this trip to familiar surroundings couldn’t come at a better time.
The Long Beach native is one of the series-only regulars predicted to be a major player in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship this year. His season-opening weekend at Daytona International Speedway began well enough — he started fourth.
But it got rough after that. He was penalized five laps for aggressive driving after triggering an incident on Lap 72 that took out Steve Wallace (No. 66 US Feidelis Chevrolet) and Scott Lagasse Jr. (No. 11 America’s Incredible Pizza Co. Toyota). Leffler finished 33rd, his worst result in 11 series races there.
But home — Auto Club Speedway — beckons and with it, perhaps a better outcome for the 33-year-old to help rid him of his Daytona blues.
The track hasn’t been one where Leffler has had consistently good outings, but he did put together one of his better races at ACS one year ago when he finished 11th. That was his best finish since 2005 when he was seventh, his top series finish at the track. He also won the pole for this race in 2004.
Couple those positives with the opportunity to make stops at his favorite fast food joint — In ‘N Out Burger — and maybe the black cloud is starting to dissipate.
“For obvious reasons we’re looking to put last week behind us,” he said. “The real season starts at California because your performance there will be a pretty good indicator of where you stand in comparison with everyone else and what areas you need to work on for the first part of the season.
“There’d be nothing better than to win there,” he said. “It’s a place that we’ve never run well at but we’re always striving to. I’ve got a lot of family and friends out there. I think we’re going to have all that in our favor this year.”
Keller Eyes Repeat Of Daytona Breakthrough At Auto Club
Jason Keller (No. 27 Cottonelle Ford) isn’t much of a talker. His quiet demeanor has been a direct contrast to his solid NASCAR Nationwide Series career.
The series’ “Iron Man” is the all-time leader in starts with 458 heading to Auto Club Speedway. He’s posted 10 wins and 11 poles, and is third all-time in top fives and 11th in career top 10s.
But it’s his latest top-10 finish that has opened a few eyes.
Keller was ninth at Daytona last Saturday, his best finish in the season-opener since 2004 when he was also ninth.
With much of the pre-season talk surrounding the championship chances of Brad Keselowski (No. 88 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet), Mike Bliss (No. 1 Miccosukee Resort Chevrolet) and Jason Leffler, it was Keller who was the lone series-only regular in the top 10 at Daytona.
In 2006, Keller was on the cusp of tying two-time series champion Jack Ingram’s mark of eight consecutive seasons finishing in the top 10 in the standings. But after eight races with Phoenix Racing, he was released and his opportunity to match that impressive streak was over.
It took two years but Keller finally resurfaced in the series full-time, having run 28 races for CJM Racing last year before finishing the season with Baker Curb Racing, his current organization. He was 12th in the 2008 driver standings, falling 118 points shy of 10th place.
He’s had an average finish of 15.4 at ACS with one top five and four top-10 finishes and was 14th in this race last year driving for CJM. He hasn’t been in the top 10 there since a sixth-place finish in the 2005 fall race, but it had been nearly as long in between his top-10 finishes at Daytona as well.
Collecting First KHI Win At ACS Would Make For “Happy” Homecoming
Kevin Harvick (No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet), a two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion, is second on the all-time win list with 32.
Each of those victories came with Richard Childress Racing. However, none have come at Auto Club Speedway, one of only seven active tracks on the NASCAR Nationwide circuit where the Bakersfield, Calif., native hasn’t won.
Harvick is in his second season exclusively driving his own Kevin Harvick Inc. equipment. He’ll be making his 42nd start as a team owner/driver. Securing his first win in his own equipment at this track certainly would be a career highlight.
Five of his 12 career series starts at ACS have been in his own cars. He’s registered one top-five and four top-10 finishes in those races, including a third-place finish in this race last year.
He’s never finished below 11th in his own car at the California track.
Harvick had a good start to his season last week at Daytona where he won the pole, his second in his own car. He finished 11th in the season-opener.
Harvick’s team has three wins — two by Tony Stewart and one by 1991 series champion Bobby Labonte.
His 2009 edition could be the best yet with a driver lineup consisting of himself, Ryan Newman, Ron Hornaday Jr. — who won the 2007 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title for KHI — Stewart (for one race) and young Cale Gale, who won his first series pole last year in a KHI car.
KHI is one of at least seven teams that will seriously contend for the series owner championship. In 2003, Harvick, along with Johnny Sauter, combined to give RCR the owner title, the first shared championship in series history. Brian Vickers (No. 32 Dollar General Toyota) won the driver title that year.
Is The End Near? Biffle On 75-Race Winless Streak; Last Victory Came At Auto Club Speedway
The good news is Greg Biffle (No. 16 CitiFinancial Ford) is the leader in wins at Auto Club Speedway (three) among the 47 drivers entered for Saturday’s race.
The bad news? His 2006 victory at the track was the most recent for the 2002 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion. He’s gone 75 races without a win, the longest drought of his series career.
ACS is one of Biffle’s best tracks. In 10 starts, he’s accumulated five top-fives and seven top- 10 finishes.
His Roush Fenway team is also strong there, leading NASCAR Nationwide teams with six wins. But a Roush Fenway car hasn’t been to Victory Lane at ACS since Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth (who leads all series drivers with four wins at the track) won this race in 2007.
Mark Martin and Carl Edwards (No. 60 Scotts Ford) swept the events at Auto Club Speedway for Roush Fenway in 2005.
In The Loop: Strength In Numbers At California For Joe Gibbs Racing’s Logano, Busch
It’s a safe bet that Joey Logano (No. 20 GameStop Toyota) has an awful taste in his mouth right now.
The highs of becoming the youngest driver ever to start the Daytona 500 were soon matched – and surpassed – by the lows of an accident and last-place finish in that same race.
In other words: This weekend can’t come soon enough for Logano.
Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race is his first shot to redeem himself since the tough Daytona 500. If the race is anything like his first trip to Fontana, he’ll forget all about his Daytona troubles.
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