MYSTERIOUS LACK OF POWER CONTINUES FOR JASON LEFFLER IN RESPECTABLE BUT FRUSTRATING 12TH PLACE VEGAS FINISH

For the second consecutive week of NASCAR Nationwide Series competition, Jason Leffler and his Great Clips/Northeastern Supply race team from Braun Racing remains puzzled by a mysterious lack of power under the hood of their #38 Toyota Camry.

The end result was a respectable but frustrating, 12th place finish in Saturday afternoon’s Sam’s Town 300 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“This is the first time that I can remember that our Toyota just couldn’t keep up with the lead cars,” Leffler said after the race. “The car handled great, but when I wanted to make a pass or come back after being overtaken by another car, I just could not find the power to do so,” he added. The same thing happened last week for Jason in California en route to an uncharacteristic 14th place finish for last year’s 4th place finishing driver in the Driver Championship battle who scored 20 top ten and eight top 5 finishes in a very competitive season.

“We’re better than what we have showed so far, and it’s far too early in the season to panic, but I would be lying to you if I said that I wasn’t concerned. We just need to find the solution so we can get back to racing the way we have over the last four years,” Leffler explained.

Despite qualifying a dismal 31st in Saturday morning’s qualifying session, Leffler began passing cars from the drop of the green flag that took place nearly an hour after the original starting time due to an early-afternoon rain shower that required time to dry the fast, 1.5-mile racing surface of LMS.

Once the race started, the #38 began passing car, taking just 21 laps to crack the top 20. Leffler’s car was sitting 17th at the time when the race was re-started following the second caution period.

Leffler did fall back to as far as 20th during the portion of the race from lap 55 to 75 when all the cars made their first green flag pit stops for fuel, fresh tires and adjustments. The #38 did find itself a lap down at one stage as one by one other drivers made their first visits to pit road, but after everyone had made their pit stops, the #38 had forged into 11th place when the third caution flag flew. That came when the cars driven by female driving sensation Danica Patrick and Michael McDowell got together in turn 2 and hit spun into the outside wall to end their days.

A brief rain shower did slow the cars again during a yellow flag period on lap 104, but Leffler was able to maintain his position solidly within the top 15. He eventually cracked the top 10 when he found himself 10th on lap 118 when the fifth yellow flag flew after rookie Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. spun and hit the fourth turn wall.

All the lead lap cars except three elected to make pit stops on lap 120. Even though he exited the pits after a 2-tire change eighth amongst the race’s best cars, Leffler re-started the race on lap 123 in the 11th position with the cars driven by Brendan Gaughan, Joe Nemechek and John Wes Townley at the front after they remained on the track and did not pit.

Leffler ran between the 11th and 15th spots over the remaining 77 laps and took advantage of some late-race mistakes by drivers Kyle Busch and Braun Racing teammate Brian Scott to earn the 12th finish amongst the 18 cars that finished on the lead lap.

Veteran Kevin Harvick, who despite leading a race-high 88 laps found himself racing from behind due to poor pit stops by his KHI contingent, rallied to win the race. He beat back the efforts of Denny Hamlin, consistent Carl Edwards, Dodge driver Brad Keselowski and Leffler’s Braun Racing teammate Brian Vickers who rounded out the top five finishers.

Not everything went wrong for Leffler in Las Vegas, however. Jason’s 12th place finish enabled him to improve his position in the 2010 Driver Point’s standing by seven as he climbed into 14th and trails leader Edwards by just 193 points.

“We have a lot of races left to become contenders again and I know we have the people, engineering and desire to get this power issue solved,” said Leffler, who has been behind the wheel of the #38 Great Clips/Northeastern Supply car in the last two races and will do so 23 more times over the remaining 32 races.

Braun Racing will certainly have the time to make corrections to the #38 Toyota since the Nationwide Series now takes a 3-week hiatus and will not resume competition until Saturday, March 20. That will take place at the Bristol (TN) Motor Speedway for the running of the Scott Turf Builder 300 in the first short track event on the 35-race Nationwide Series schedule.

The battle on Bristol’s high-banked, half-mile bull ring is set to start at 2 p.m. EST with the race to be televised nationally by ABC network TV.