Braun Racing's Jason Leffler takes pride in 2009 Nationwide consistency
Braun Racing's Jason Leffler says that consistency paid off for his team, netting a fourth-place finish in the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series standings. // David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
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A little past the halfway point of the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series season, Braun Racing’s Jason Leffler found himself in an interesting niche.
He was fourth in the Nationwide standings, but he was far behind the top three of Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski. But he was also far ahead of what turned out to be a torrid battle for fifth place.
Fourth place was kind of a no-other-man’s land for Leffler, and that was where he ended up. Still, it was a solid season for Leffler, the second-highest non-Sprint Cup driver behind Keselowski and the highest finisher with a non-Cup team.
Leffler didn’t win, but his performance improved over 2008 with the addition of crew chief Scott Zipadelli.
In ’08, Leffler had three top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. In ’09, he had eight top-fives and 20 top-10s.
“We’re proud of our consistency this year, the finishes we had,” Leffler said. “Obviously, we want to win some races. Everything’s in place next season with [sponsor] Great Clips. Scott Zipadelli and all my guys are going to work over the offseason [to] improve on what Scott and the guys built this year. I’m pretty happy to be working with him. I’m really excited about next year, and I think we can win some races.”
Leffler will drive two cars next year, his regular No. 38 Toyota, as well as a handful of races in the No. 10 entry. That’s because Cup driver Kasey Kahne will be in the No. 38 for several races, with Great Clips sponsorship.
Still, Leffler said Zipadelli and his entire crew will remain with him whenever he drives the No. 10. That should help maintain consistency.
Driver: Jason Leffler
Age: 34
Team: Braun Racing
Finishing position: Fourth
2009 stats: 35 starts, 8 top-fives, 20 top-10s
Years in Nationwide: Nine
Career stats: 223 starts, 2 wins, 34 top-fives, 80 top-10s, 8 poles
