Jason Leffler News/Rumors

May 16, 2006:

McDowell Resort Destination to sponsor Leffler at Phoenix: Jason Leffler and Braun Racing are going NEXTEL Cup racing later this year at Phoenix International Raceway. Fort McDowell Resort Destination will step-up their motorsport’s program by becoming a primary sponsor in the NEXTEL Cup division for one race later this year. “It’s undisputed the coverage Fort McDowell will receive by stepping up to the next level at Phoenix later this year. Fort McDowell was very impressed by Jason’s performance in the Busch series race last month (at Phoenix) and this is a perfect opportunity to test the waters at a higher level,” explained Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation President Raphael Bear. “The combination of a great team and a great driver creates an exciting potential for the race and exposure of the Fort McDowell Resort Destination. Fort McDowell is definitely looking forward to the added and growing relationship within the NASCAR arena,” President Bear continued. In addition to their new commitment to Braun Racing at the Cup level, the Fort McDowell Resort Destination logo will be displayed as a major associate sponsor on Leffler’s No. 38 Great Clips Chevy at the California and Phoenix Busch races later this year. (Braun Racing PR)

Aug 8, 2005

J. Leffler Fired by Gibbs: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has released driver Jason Leffler from his driving duties with the #11 car in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Terry Labonte will compete in several of the upcoming Nextel Cup races in the #11, beginning this weekend at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. JGR will also turn to its NASCAR Busch Series drivers – J.J. Yeley and Denny Hamlin – to split driving duties in the #11 in the remaining Nextel Cup races where Terry Labonte is not scheduled to drive. “This was a difficult decision,” said J.D. Gibbs, president of JGR. “Everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing had high hopes for Jason and the #11 team, but our performance wasn’t meeting the expectations all of us set forth at the beginning of the year. “It hasn’t been for lack of effort, as Jason is a talented race car driver who worked incredibly hard and was terrific with our sponsor. “With an experienced veteran in Terry Labonte, the #11 will benefit from his 25 years of Nextel Cup racing, and ideally, climb higher in points. In looking toward next year, J.J. Yeley and Denny Hamlin will get some valuable seat time at the Nextel Cup level that will allow us to build the #11 into a race-winning contender for 2006 and beyond.” Terry Labonte’s addition to JGR is a natural, as Terry’s younger brother, Bobby, is a 10-year veteran of JGR, having piloted the #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet since 1995. The Labonte brothers are the only brothers in NASCAR history to win NASCAR Cup Series championships. Terry won the title in 1984 and 1996, while Bobby won in 2000. “We want to thank Hendrick Motorsports for allowing Terry to assist us with the #11 team,” said Gibbs, whose team now features three NASCAR Cup Series champions in Bobby, Terry and 2002 series champion Tony Stewart. “In planning the future of the #11 team, we looked around the Cup and Busch Series garages and decided that the two best talents were already driving for us. J.J. and Denny are exceptional race car drivers, and we felt it was important to give each of them a shot at Nextel Cup.” (JGR Racing PR)

Leffler a "Free Agent": Cary Agajanian, Leffler's attorney, would not confirm reports that car owner Joe Gibbs has offered to buy out the remaining 18 months of Leffler's contract for $5 million, but Agajanianwould not deny that such an offer could be on the table. "I can't comment on that ... but I'm not denying it either," Agajanian said. "There could be talks. We're not in the middle of everything that goes on. There could be talks. A car owner has the right to speak to his driver, and we encourage that. "Honestly there could be discussions between them. But we're not involved in them. That's a very personal thing between Jason and the Gibbs folks." If Leffler were free, Agajanian said he would be negotiating any contract with a new team. "Jason is such a good race driver ... but you need the right chemistry," Agajanian said. "It's difficult. I'm not critical of their organization, because Tony Stewart seems to be doing very good right now. (Salem-Journal)

July 26, 2005

Leffler in #32 WinFuel again at Gateway: The last time that Jason Leffler was behind the wheel of the #32 WINFUEL Chevrolet at New Hampshire International Raceway, he was in position to bring home a solid finish, but a late race incident on lap 195 put an end to the promising top-10 run and resulted in a disappointing 29th place finish. This weekend, Leffler and the Braun Racing team head to Gateway International Raceway with hopes of bringing home the strong finish that they are capable of producing. “This is an off weekend for the Nextel Cup Series, so this will be the first time that I will be able to spend the whole time concentrating on the Busch car. I know that Braun Racing ran well at Gateway last year with David Stremme, so hopefully we can put our experience and knowledge together to produce a win this weekend.” This weekend Jason Leffler and the Braun Racing team will be in St. Louis, Missouri trying to bring home a strong finish at Gateway International Raceway. Live coverage of the Wallace Family Tribute 250 presented by Shop ‘n Save begins this Saturday, July 30 at 8:00 p.m. ET on TNT. (Braun Racing PR)

July 1, 2005

Leffler two more races, more with #32? Nextel Cup driver Jason Leffler could end up driving most of the remaining Busch Series races this season for Braun Racing in its No. 32 Chevrolet. Leffler is scheduled to drive the car this weekend at Daytona and next weekend at Chicagoland. Shane Hmiel was the team's driver before he was suspended by NASCAR after failing a second substance-abuse test. "We talked about doing more, but we need to get through this week and next week and see how things go. I'm sure if it's going well, we'll keep going," said Leffler, who drives the No. 11 Chevys in Cup for Joe Gibbs Racing. (ThatsRacin)

June 28, 2005

Leffler in #32 WinFuel in Daytona: This Fourth of July weekend former NASCAR Busch Series winner, Jason Leffler, returns to Busch competition to drive the #32 WINFUEL Chevrolet for Braun Racing. Leffler, who is the driver of the #11 FedEx Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, captured his first career Busch Series victory last June at Nashville Superspeedway.  "We are really happy that we could work out a deal that allows Jason to drive the WINFUEL Chevy,” team owner Todd Braun said. “Jason has some good Busch Series success to build on and we think that he’s going to be a good match for our team. We were looking for a driver that will give us a chance to win races each time he competes, and we think Jason Leffler can do that.” (Auto Racing Daily)

June 14, 2005

Labonte in for Leffler: Joe Gibbs Racing has hired two-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Terry Labonte to pilot the #11 Fed-Ex Chevrolet during the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA. He replaces Jason Leffler, the #11 team's regular driver, for this one event. "Jason understands that our support of him continues, as he'll race this weekend at Michigan and return to the #11 at Daytona," said J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing. "A number of factors led to this decision. Where the #11 is in points, the typically high car count at Sonoma, the number of road course specialists other teams tend to enlist, the unique nature of road course racing - none favors a team outside the top-35 in points. With an experienced veteran in Terry, the #11 will benefit from his 25 years of Nextel Cup racing and his strong performances at road course venues." In addition to his championship-caliber talents, Labonte also brings road course success to the #11 team. Of his 22 career wins, two have come at a road course - the defunct Riverside (Calif.) Speedway in 1984 and 1985. And in his 54 career starts at road courses, Labonte has earned eight poles, 17 top-fives and 26 top-10s while leading a total of 411 laps. "I've always enjoyed road course racing, and while no road courses were planned for this year, it's hard to say no when you have the opportunity to drive for an organization that's just as professional as Hendrick Motorsports," said Labonte, who is running a limited Nextel Cup schedule for Hendrick Motorsports. "We want to thank Hendrick Motorsports for allowing Terry to assist us with the #11 team at Sonoma," said Gibbs. "Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports helped get Joe Gibbs Racing up and running when we formed this team back in 1991, and 14 years later, we're once again appreciative of their help." (True Speed Communications)

June 13, 2005

Terry Labonte in for Leffler at Sonoma?: Terry Labonte is expected to substitute for Jason Leffler in the #11 Fed-Ex Chevy in the June 26 race at Sonoma if Leffler fails to climb into the top 35 in points by then. Drivers in the top 35 are guaranteed starting spots. Labonte is the safety net for the team because he has a champion's provisional, which guarantees him a starting spot. Leffler says he has wrecked so many cars that "we're bringing cars back to the track that aren't in the best shape" because the fab shop hasn't had enough turnaround time. (Sporting News)

June 7 2005

Mike Ford named Crew Chief for Leffler: Joe Gibbs Racing has hired veteran crew chief Mike Ford to oversee the #11 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series team of driver Jason Leffler effective immediately. Dave Rogers, the #11 team's former crew chief and a member of Joe Gibbs Racing since 1998, will remain with the organization. "Despite extremely hard work by everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, the performance of the #11 team wasn't where it needed to be," said J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing. "The #11 team is still a new operation, and we believe that adding the experienced leadership of Mike Ford to an already exceptional crew will be invaluable as we shape the #11 into a winning race team. Dave Rogers has been and will continue to be a tremendous asset to Joe Gibbs Racing. He was an integral part of our championship seasons with Bobby Labonte in 2000 and Tony Stewart in 2002, and he put together an absolutely first class crew from scratch in his debut as a crew chief. Expanding our organization to three teams has been a massive undertaking, but one that will pay huge dividends in the near future. We believe that adding Mike's experience to a management structure that includes Jimmy Makar (senior vice president of racing), Greg Zipadelli (crew chief of the #20 team) and Steve Addington (crew chief of the #18 team) will help us to turn the #11 team around." A member of the motorsports community since the late 1980s, Ford's first crew chief position came with Bill Elliott in 2000. In four years together the duo logged four wins, including the prestigious Brickyard 400 in 2002. Ford moved to Robert Yates Racing in 2004, where he served as Dale Jarrett's crew chief through the first 11 races of this season. (JGR PR)

NASCAR Nation reports; Ford named Leffler's Crew Chief: Today, a source close to Joe Gibbs Racing told me (Ralph Sheheen)  that Mike Ford will be named the new crew chief for the No. 11 and that he will be sitting on top of the pit box when the team races this coming weekend in Pocono.'  I also spoke to team president J.D. Gibbs who told me the team wasn't ready to officially announce anything but did say they were talking to Ford. Leffler's current crew chief Dave Rogers will stay with the team but in a different capacity. (FOX Sports)

May 28 2005

Leffler is Safe: JGR President J.D. Gibbs said Leffler, who is ranked 36th in the points, isn't on the hot seat after missing his first race of the season.  "FedEx and the whole group has been supportive of Jason, and he knows that," Gibbs said. "Obviously, a driver is going to feel pressure in a situation like this. None of us like going through this stuff. You want to make [FedEx] proud of your race team. They've been supportive through all of this, but the bottom line is you have to run well. (Times Dispatch)

April 17, 2005

JGR Denies Leffler Rumor: Joe Gibbs Racing President J.D. Gibbs on Sunday denied published reports that Jason Leffler is on the way out of the No. 11 Chevrolet and Ward Burton is on the way in.  Leffler, driving the high-profile No. 11 Chevrolet, has started slowly, scoring no top-10 finishes in six starts. The team has been burned by bad luck all season. Leffler was caught up in a wreck in the season-opening Daytona 500, then an engine let go the next week at Fontana, putting Leffler 37th in the standings.  Gibbs called Leffler on Saturday night at Texas to give a vote of confidence.  "I called Jason and kind of laughed," Gibbs said. "We have a multi-year deal with Jason and with FedEx, so there is no truth to that.  A source close to Burton also denied the rumor. (NASCAR)

April 16, 2005

Leffler Out of Gibbs Car?  Motorsport.com has learned that the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Chevy team may be planning on replacing Jason Leffler with Ward Burton as soon as Darlington.  While denied by team officials, insiders Burton would fill the seat for the remainder of the season before a permanent driver was named to take over the ride. Burton stated that he has not been spoken to in regards to the No. 11 car but currently had several other offers in play. (Motorsport.com)

Feb. 17, 2005

Leffler and Fed Ex Donate to VJGC: The Victory Junction Gang Camp got off to a strong start at Daytona today, receiving a donation of $250,000 from NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Jason Leffler as well as a matching donation of $250,000 from Leffler's new sponsor, FedEx. "This is an incredibly generous show of support for Victory Junction by Jason and FedEx," said Victory Junction Gang Camp co-founder and NASCAR driver Kyle Petty. "Commitments like this allow us to expand the facilities at Victory Junction, to serve more children and offer more opportunity - for that, all of us thank Jason and FedEx and welcome them to the Victory Junction family." In addition to the donation, Leffler's No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet will carry a Victory Junction Gang Camp decal. The donations from Leffler and FedEx will be used to finance the construction of a new cabin at the camp and to help bring more children to the facility this year.  (Business Wire)

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