This certainly hasn’t started out as the season Jason Leffler thought it would be.
A pre-season favorite to challenge for the NASCAR Nationwide Series title, Leffler fell into a funk right off the bat with a 33rd-place finish at Daytona International Speedway.
Two more disappointing finishes followed before he collected a 10th-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway
Things really began to unravel at Nashville Superspeedway where he was parked by NASCAR for aggressive driving, and also was hit with a three-race probation. He finished 41st at Talladega Superspeedway, giving him three DNFs (did not finish) on the year — he had two last season. Last week, his Braun Racing team announced a crew chief change. Trip Bruce now is serving on an interim basis, replacing Scott Zipadelli.
But perhaps through all of the turmoil, Leffler’s getting his groove back. He finished fifth at Darlington, his first top five of the year and first in 13 races. The result catapulted him into the top 10 in the points standings for the first time this year. He’s currently ninth.
“This season has been bumpier than I had expected,” he said. “But after a strong run last weekend I can feel things turning around.
“This is such a great group of hard-working guys and it’s been tough on us all. Change is never easy but sometimes it’s necessary to get things turned in a more positive direction.
“Everyone within the Braun Racing organization has really stepped in to help this team get back on track and I think we proved something last weekend with a top-five finish.”
Now it’s on to Dover, site of Leffler’s first NASCAR national series victory. In 2003 he won in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
“The Monster Mile” has been a good track for Leffler over the years. He’s got seven top 10s in his 13 career races, including three top-five finishes. He’s on a streak of three top-10 finishes there, dating back to the fall 2008 race, and was eighth in this race last year.
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NASCAR Nationwide Series: News And Notes – Dover International Speedway
CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR 1 Ryan Newman Chevrolet Phoenix Racing 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet J Davis Motorsports.com 5 Willie Allen Chevrolet 31-W Insulation 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.* Ford CitiFinancial 7 Landon Cassill Chevrolet GoDaddy.com 9 Chad McCumbee Ford RAB Racing 10 Jason Leffler Toyota ABF Freight 11 Brian Scott* Toyota Braun Racing 12 Justin Allgaier Dodge Verizon Wireless 15 Michael Annett Toyota Germain.com 16 Colin Braun* Ford Con-way Freight 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Combos 20 Denny Hamlin Toyota Food Lion 21 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Zaxby's 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge Ruby Tuesday 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Chevrolet R3 Motorsports 24 Eric McClure Ford Hefty Odorblock 26 Brian Keselowski Dodge K-Automotive Motorsports 27 Greg Biffle Ford Red Man Moist Snuff 28 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet Jay Robinson Inc. 31 Donnie Neuenberger Chevrolet Plan B Technologies / E-Z Slider 32 Reed Sorenson Toyota Dollar General 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Ollie's Bargain Outlet 34 Tony Raines Chevrolet Continental Fire & Safety 35 Jason Keller Chevrolet TriStar Motorsports 38 Kasey Kahne Toyota Great Clips 40 Mike Bliss Chevrolet Key Motorsports 43 Scott Lagasse Jr. Ford Baker Curb Racing 52 Kevin Hamlin Chevrolet IHOP 60 Carl Edwards Ford Fastenal 61 Josh Wise Ford Specialty Racing 62 Brendan Gaughan Toyota South Point Hotel & Casino 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 5-Hour Energy 70 Mark Green Chevrolet ML Motorsports 73 Derrike Cope Dodge Stratus Racing Group 81 Michael McDowell Dodge Mobile-Shop 87 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet FrontRowJoe.com 88 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet K'Nex 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet Racing With Jesus 90 Chase Miller Chevrolet D'Hondt Humphrey Motorsports 91 David Gilliland Chevrolet D'Hondt Humphrey Motorsports 92 Dennis Setzer Dodge K-Automotive Motorsports 96 Johnny Chapman Dodge K-Automotive Motorsports 98 Paul Menard Ford Richmond Water Heaters / Menards 99 Trevor Bayne Toyota Diamond Waltrip Racing 139 Danny O'Quinn Jr. Ford Blow Bros. 156 Kevin Lepage Chevrolet Mac Hill Motorsports
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