Leffler died of blunt neck force injury

Race car driver Jason Leffler's death was came from a blunt neck force injury, a spokesperson for the Delaware (Pa.) County Medical Examiner's office said Thursday night.

Leffler was killed Wednesday when his 410 sprint car crashed coming out of Turn 4 at a dirt track race heat at the Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey. -- David Scott

NASCAR driver Jason Leffler killed in sprint car race

    NASCAR veteran Jason Leffler, who made his first start in the Sprint Cup Series last weekend at Pocono Raceway, was killed after a crash in a winged sprint car race in New Jersey on Wednesday night, New Jersey State Police officials confirmed.  

   Leffler was racing at Bridgeport Speedway in Swedesboro, N.J., a 5/8-mile, high-banked dirt oval.

   The NJSP have launched an investigation into the accident, which is required by state law. The only information available on the accident itself was that it involved “a malfunction of the car,” police said.

   Leffler was extracted from his winged sprint car and airlifted to Crozer Chester Hospital in Chester, Pa., where he was pronounced dead at 9:02 p.m. ET.

   Leffler, 37, ran eight laps in last Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. It was his first start of the season in any of NASCAR three national series.

   “NASCAR extends its thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies to the family of Jason Leffler who passed away earlier this evening,” said a statement from NASCAR released Wednesday night.

   “For more than a decade, Jason was a fierce competitor in our sport and he will be missed.”

   From 1990 to 2010 at least 382 drivers have died while racing, according to an Observer analysis of track deaths. Those include 196 deaths on small ovals and 95 deaths on drag strips.

   At least seven drivers have died on New Jersey tracks since 1999, including two on small ovals, data show.

   According to the Observer’s records, the most recent small oval death in New Jersey took place in 2002 at Wall Township Speedway in Wall Township, N.J.

   Leffler spent most of his decade-plus career in the Nationwide Series, running full schedules from 2006 to 2011. He had two wins, 42 top-five and 107 top-10 finishes.

   His biggest break in NASCAR came in 2005, when Joe Gibbs Racing hired him to drive fulltime in the Cup series with a newly-created team. Leffler, however, struggled from the start and was released after 19 starts.

   Leffler began his career racing midget cars and was just the third driver to win three consecutive midget car championships.

   Leffler made his first, and only, start in the Indianapolis 500 in 2000 with Treadway Racing with backing from Roger Penske’s United Auto group. Leffler qualified  and finished 17th.

  

NASCAR battles expectations of what's possible with what's expected

   Less than 24 hours after the third-largest blowout in NBA Finals history and there is nary a peep from any fan demanding changes to the way professional basketball is played.

   There shouldn’t be, of course.

   But I promise you this, if Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race had ended with Jimmie Johnson winning by the third largest margin in series history, a large contingent of the motorsports media, as well as the fans, would be clamoring for rules changes.

   Why is that? Everyone is at least a little bit to blame.

   The biggest problem appears to be that what is possible each week in a NASCAR event – a down-to-the-wire finish complete with lots of side-by-side racing in the process – has become expected rather than appreciated when it just happens to occur.

   Fewer people will not tune in to watch the next game in the NBA Finals because they fear another blowout. In fact, some may tune in just in hopes of seeing one (San Antonio fans for instance).

   A down-to-the-wire, last-second game-winning shot outcome is possible in each NBA Finals game but fans don’t come to expect it.

   NASCAR fans – at least the vocal ones – have come to expect such nonstop action and believe something needs to be “fixed” when it doesn’t happen on a regular basis. There is a contingent of media who follow the same path.

   It is, of course, an unreasonable expectation and most fans probably understand that not every race can be a barn-burner.

   Whether fans today want to hear it or not, NASCAR racing is far more competitive than 10 years ago and enormously more competitive than back “in the good old days” (whenever they were).

   NASCAR, the tracks and even the TV networks – and probably the media, too – share in the blame of some fans’ unreasonable expectations.

   If all of your advertising – whether it’s from NASCAR, networks or tracks – focus on big wrecks, photo finishes and pit road fights, you can’t be surprised when fans leave disappointed when they see none of the above.

   The fight in the 1979 Daytona 500 may be a defining moment in the sport’s history but it cannot define the sport and how it’s portrayed in perpetuity.

   If it does, everyone will leave disappointed.

 

   A little more appreciation of good racing, rather than just "good drama" by all involved would help balance expectations.

Man killed in in Caldwell County shootout once was NASCAR driver

 

   John Settlemyre, 67, who died in the shootout with Caldwell County (N.C.) sheriff's deputies, was a former race car driver with some notable achievements to his name.

    Settlemyre was a five-time winner of Late Model Sportsman races at Hickory Motor Speedway, from 1977-81. In 1982, that race series became NASCAR's Nationwide Series, and Settlemyre won the Winston 200 at Hickory; he ran just six Nationwide races that year (five at Hickory) but had four top-10 finishes.
   Read the rest of the story from the Lenoir (N.C.) News-Topic here.

Austin Dillon can set a NASCAR record at Michigan

   What do Sam Ard, Trevor Bayne, Austin Dillon, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip have in common?

All six drivers have won three consecutive poles in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, a record in the series. 

Only one of them, however, has an opportunity to break the six-way tie with a fourth consecutive pole this Saturday for the Alliance Truck Parts 250 at Michigan International Speedway. 

Dillon, who is fourth in the standings behind leader Regan Smith, arrives in Michigan with a streak of three consecutive poles (Charlotte, Dover, Iowa). Unfortunately, the strong starts have not resulted in trips to Victory Lane. He did although turn his pole at Iowa last Sunday into a runner-up finish. 

His three poles in 2013 already match Dillon’s career high from a year ago. His first pole in the series came last year at Michigan. He went on to finish the race fifth. Dillon was able to capitalize on his other two poles last season by posting a win in both races at Kentucky.

Hendrick 'very close' on sponsorship deal for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

   NASCAR’s most popular driver should have his car fully adorned with sponsorship decals the rest of the year.

   In January, Hendrick Motorsports said there remained 13 unsold races on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 Chevrolet for the 2013 season. The races lacking sponsorship were pushed to the second half of the season.

   Team owner Rick Hendrick on Monday said HMS was “very close” to a new multi-year sponsorship deal for Earnhardt’s ride in the Sprint Cup Series.

   “I’ve not been worried about it because we could sell it if we wanted to piecemeal it. We’ve been looking for the future,” Hendrick told the Charlotte Observer.

   “We don’t want to get into (sponsor relationships) where you see somebody one time and you don’t seem them anymore after that.

   “I am very confident that in the next couple of weeks we should have not only this year (covered) but we should have a lot done for next year, too.”

   Hendrick said in January he has had companies interested in sponsoring Earnhardt for the entire season but that would conflict with the organization’s current sponsor contracts.

   The majority of the No. 88's season is currently sponsored by the National Guard, Diet Mountain Dew and AMP Energy.

You can buy cheap gas Tuesday from this NASCAR driver

   Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, will make a special pit stop at the Shell station at 223 Medical Park Rd in Mooresville on Tuesday, June 11 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. to celebrate the Shell WINsdays promotion leading up to the Michigan race on Sunday.

 

   With WINsdays, Shell Saver Cardholders can save 22 cents per gallon every time Logano wins a points race this season when they purchase high quality Shell Nitrogen Enriched Gasoline or Shell Diesel.

 

   During Logano’s appearance, Shell is extending the WINsday savings of 22 cents per gallon to all Mooresville area fans who attend the event, as well as providing an opportunity for attendees to take pictures with Logano and receive an autograph.

   For more information on the Shell Saver Card and the WINsday program, visit www.shell.us/winsday.