Jason Leffler, his candle burned out long before his legend ever will

NASCAR, and auto-sports community mourned the loss of a great man on Wednesday. A lot of people were in attendance at Grace Convenent Church in Cornelius, NC to bid a final farewell to Jason Leffler, a 37 year-old who lost his life a week earlier in a crash during a sprint race on the dirt track in New Jersey.

Photo taken at
Rockingham Speedway 2012
Genevieve

Death.
We're all going to die one day.
We're all going to lose someone we love sometime in our life.

A race car drivers risk of death is high and that didn't stop Leffler, who was nicknamed "Left Turn" by his peers.
The risk of death doesn't stop anyone who straps himself, or herself  in a car for a living.
Some call it crazy, or insane. Others call it passion.

Passion.
It makes us do crazy things doesn't it? Passion takes over us and consumes our minds, and our hearts. We're not really happy if we're not living a life filled with passion, are we?

Leffler was not famous, rich or a household name, but he was highly respected by many in the community. His determination, and commitment to racing was an inspiration to others. He was an aggressive driver, and wasn't afraid to race hard against his competition. From the stories I've heard, it doesn't sound like Leffler was one to be complacent either.
It was his passion to the sport that got him ahead in his career, and earned him respect. It's what he will be remembered for. As will his feisty behavior.

Feisty.
The true meaning of the word is to be filled with courage, and energy. Sometimes, it's to be ill-tempered. But that's what happens when we have a desire to succeed at a career, a hobby,  relationships and life. To strap yourself in a race car a few times a week not knowing the consequences means you have courage. Leffler was not 'just' a NASCAR driver, he raced in many series such as Midgets, Sprints, Izod Indy cars - and just about anything else.

Feisty, passionate, aggressive, all great qualities to have to succeed in the competitive field of racing. More importantly, and certainly not least, he was a dad.

Fatherhood
Leffler is survived by his five-year old son Charlie Dean. There are a lot of pictures of the two, and the love between them shines bright in their smiles, eyes and faces.
Friends talked about how much he loved his little boy, and Jeff Dickerson, a long time friend of Lefflers, asked those who knew 'Left Turn' to always remind the young Leffler how much his dad loved him. Fatherhood fit Leffler well, everything he did was for his son. Because that's what feisty passionate people do- they invest themselves fully in their children, family, friendships, hobbies, health, and careers.

We never know how long we have to live. We never know when we'll say goodbye to someone we love. It's especially hard when we don't have the chance to say goodbye. So if Leffler taught us anything, it is to love your life, children, family, friends, and work with feisty, aggressive passion.

I didn't know Leffler, I wasn't sure if I should attend the service, but I've had many friends, and relatives whom have passed without warning. Some by choice, others by accident. I remembered that a funeral is to say goodbye, but it's also to pay respects to those who mourn the loss. To hear the stories friends spoke of Leffler, I can say I would've liked to have known him more than I did as some writer/photographer following his career.

I may have passed him by at Rockingham Speedway and at the dirt track and, nodded hello to him. I may have even seen him at a favorite hot-spot in Birkdale Village. I'm glad I got a chance to watch him from the outside. Every person you meet comes into your life for a reason. Some stay for a short season, and leave footprints on your heart for a lifetime.

I guess that's why I write about people. To get to know them, to hear their stories and share with the world who they are, and were. It's not about me, it's about the person I write about. Because there are a lot of hearts stamped with Leffler's footprint. There are far too many wonderful stories about this man, so many that couldn't be shared in an hour service- or at church anyway.

He made a lasting impression on a lot of people in the racing community, and has influenced thousands of fans.

 Jason Leffler was fit to be fast. His candle burned out long before his legend ever will.

Kasey Kahne has made baseball hats available for sale at www.kaseykahne.com. All proceeds raised will go to benefit Charlie Dean Leffler. 

To make a donation to Charlie Dean Leffler Discretionary Trust, please send to c/o SunTrust Bank, 232 Williamson Road, Mooresville, NC 28117. 

Kyle Larson wins at the Rock

Kyle Larson in Victory Lane
Photo Credit: Genevieve

Kyle Larson dominated the second annual North Carolina Education Lottery Camping World Truck race at Rockingham Speedway. This was Larson’s first win in the national series, and it was in a truck for Turner Scott Motorsports.  He won NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series East title in November 2012.

  

 Larson started the race in third position, quickly took the lead, and held it for a total of 187 laps. The other leaders were James Buescher for 17 laps, and Johnny Sauter for one lap. The race was extended by five laps because of the green-white-checkered finish.

The 20 year-old California native is a Drive for Diversity graduate, and admits to not doing well with re-starts. In the final laps, he knew Joey Logano was coming from behind with fresher tires. He admitted to being nervous because “I’m not normally the best on re-starts.”

Many NASCAR fans, and writers have expressed their opinion on Sprint Cup drivers racing alongside rookies, and the younger class of drivers- Larson expressed his approval by telling press in a post race conference that he is “thankful to beat a guy like Logano, (for) my first win.”

Logano finished second, Brendon Gaughan finished third.

Post race interview
Photo Credit: Genevieve

Pole sitter Jeb Burton didn't get a chance to lead a lap, he fell back and maintained a top ten position until the checkered flag-  he crossed the finish line in seventh position. Burton was the highest finishing rookie.

In 2008, Logano won the Arca Series race from the pole at Rockingham, today was his first truck race at “The Rock.”  His Penske teammate Brad Keselowski asked him at the ‘last minute’ to race in a truck for Brad Keselowski Racing-  Logano is always willing to get into anything to race, and agreed to pilot the No. 19 Carbon Forged Reese Towpower Ford.

Logano fell as far back as 18^th , but quickly moved up to second in the final ten laps.  Tension built as Larson held on to the lead but Logano came up behind him like jaws underwater... and then caution! With three laps left, three accidents took place at the same time.

First, Tyler Young slaps the wall in turn three. 

Second, Timothy Peters and Ryan Sieg collide, damaging Peter's truck.

Third, Ron Hornaday taps Darrell Wallace Jr. In the rear and puts him hard into the wall, and Wallace's truck was severely damaged.  Hornaday was sent to the rear of the field for aggressive driving – but managed a 15^th place finish.

On the final re-start, Larson took control of the lead as soon as the green flag dropped. He held a four car length between his-self and Logano, but in the final backstretch, Logano caught up and stayed close to the No. 20 Chevy. It was a close finish, but Larson crossed the finish line first. 

Johnny Sauter finished fourth, and now leads the series points standings by 16 points over Jeb Burton- whom started on the pole and finished seventh, and is the highest finishing rookie of the day.

Larson in the lead
Photo Credit: Genevieve

NASCAR Truck Series returns to 'The Rock'

Photo Credit: Genevieve Cadorette

NASCAR's Camping World Truck series will be returning to the famous Rockingham Speedway track for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200, presented by Cheerwine, this April 13th, 2013. Last year, Kasey Kahne won the opening race at the track, and the tradition to have your name engraved in 'The Rock' continued.

The second event at the Speedway is planned to be bigger and more exciting. President of the track, Andy Hillenburg has been planning for this year's race since last April. 
The City of Rockingham has been supportive and will be hosting 'Thunderfest,'  a street festival hosted by the City of Rockingham, and Rockingham Speedway. The events starts at 11 a.m. and runs until 10 p.m. on Friday, April 12.  and will feature race-themed attractions, vendors, a kids zone sponsored by Richmond County, a mechanical bull and local band. 

On Saturday,  a three band concert will be held for free for fans who have a ticket to Saturday and Sunday's race.

The lineup is scheduled as follows:

Kernersville, N.C.-based Chris Lane Band will take the stage at 6 p.m. following the UARA and Frank Kimmel Street Stock Nationals races. Ty Brown will follow at approximately 7:40 p.m. Headliner Hoss Howard Band will perform at approximately 9:15 p.m.

Practice will be held on Saturday, and qualifying for the event is scheduled for early Sunday morning. Tickets are now available at www.rockinghamspeedway.com, or by calling 910-205-8800.  General admission if bought in advance for Saturday are $15, and $20 at the gate. Sunday's tickets start at $20. 

Kasey Kahne with winners trophy
Photo taken by Genevieve 

Kahne makes dream a reality: A win at Bristol

Kasey Kahne's dream to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway has finally come true. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Geoff Burk/Getty Images
NASCAR Media Group

Kahne can add the Food City 500 trophy from Thunder Valley to his collection of trophy's at his shop, Kasey Kahne Racing, in Mooresville, North Carolina. The 32 year old Washington native now has 15 (career) Cup victories.

"This is a big race for me," Kahne said at the post race press conference. "I just feel like when you’re racing in the Sprint Cup Series, Bristol’s one of those tracks that as a driver you really feel like you need to win at, you want to win at. There’s so many things that are thrown at you when you come to this place."

The one mile oval is not so easy to figure out- Kahne has worked hard for years to win and admits (it has been), "Such a tough track over the years. My first time here in 2002 was just something I couldn't believe the way that you drove, as hard as you drove here, the way things happen so quickly. To win a Sprint Cup race here feels really good."

It is the tenth time Kahne has won a Cup race from the front row. He started in second, and was able to hold on to a top five spot for the majority of the race.
Last week, the No. 5 team walked away from Las Vegas with a second place finish. All in all, Kahne was happy with the results.

"We've gained a lot of spots here in the last two weeks," said Kahne who is now seventh in point standings, "and feel really good about where we're at, where our team's at.  There was a lot that went on during the off-season to get a little bit better.  I felt like each one of us needed to get a touch better.  So far it's all paying off.  The guys are doing an awesome job."

Winning a race is a team effort, and the work the pit crew has done over the wall is much appreciated by Kahne. "The pit stops have been really good," Kahne said."The guys are just nailing it on pit road.  It's fun to come to pit road and break even or gain spots."

The race had a few altercations on the track. Wrecks are inevitable on Bristol's high banked, and gritty grooved track. One in the headlines is the altercation between Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin. The second crash was much worse. Jeff Gordon was in the lead, a tire went flat, he lost some control of the car, hit the wall hard and leaving Matt Kenseth nowhere else to go but directly in the rear-end of the Chevy SS. Both cars were totaled beyond repair, and ended the day for the two. Luckily, both drivers walked away visibly unharmed from the wreck.

The wreck gave Kahne an advantage however, at the time he was in third, but after the re-start he took the lead and control of the final laps.

Repeat winners Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch were right behind Kahne fighting for second place. Keselowski's restart wasn't very helpful however, he later told press, "I haven't seen the replay.  I just know my rear tires were off the ground before I got to the restart zone.  Eventually I got hit so hard it pushed my foot in the gas pedal.  Made myself look like an ass.  That was the deal.  Never had another chance."

Would he have been able to catch up to Kahne for the win?  "I don't think I had anything for Kasey, I don't know if anyone did.  He was good through the middle, really everywhere.  In a league of his own.  I'd be damned if it was going to keep me from trying."

The battle seemed a little more complicated than Keselowski made it out. The 2012 had a back and fourth battle for the lead that made for an intense ending.
Kahne told the media his side of the story:
 "Brad got out to the lead there and it took my car a few laps to get going.  I reeled him in.  Just trying to make the pass.  He was driving into the corner so hard I couldn't really do anything on the bottom or try any type of somewhat of a slide job or anything like that.  It was just trying to get momentum off the corner and make something happen on exit.

It took a while to do it.  I bumped him a few times.  He was sideways trying to hold us back.  I got the lead, then gave it right back in lap traffic two laps later.

Definitely I was mad at myself at that point in time.  About spun out off of two a few laps after that.  Had to calm down, get things going again.  Felt like we got a good restart that final restart, got to the lead.  From there it was just momentum and try to drive away."

 Busch had hoped to sweep the weekend after winning the Nationwide Race on Saturday. The No. 18 M&M's Toyota started the Cup race on the pole. Unfortunately Busch was thrown to rear of the field after a speeding penalty on pit-road. He finished the race in second place.

"Yeah, it was a good run for us battling back from our pit road penalty which we need to stop," said Busch. " If we didn't have so many of those, we'd be a lot better off.  Being able to work on our car further up front, there's a difference when you run back in traffic. All in all we battled back.," Busch continued to tell press. "Crew chief made some good calls.  Pit crew did a good job on pit road.  You got to hustle it and drive hard out on the racetrack, especially after restarts, get what you can get."


NASCAR heads west for next weeks Sprint Cup race at Fontana, California. Be sure to tune in to FOX at 3 PM Eastern time. 

Fit'n Fast Driver of the week: Denny Hamlin

"Photo used with permission: Debbie Ross/Skirts and Scuffs"

Denny Hamlin has been in the spotlight for two weeks now- with the $25,000 fine that NASCAR issued after comments he made about the Gen 6 car after the Subway Fresh Fit 500 in Phoenix, Arizona. Hamlin's immediate reaction was that he wouldn't pay the fine, and after careful consideration, Hamlin tweeted that he would not appeal the fine, but to stand by his original decision.

NASCAR issued a statement immediately,

" The $25,000 fine assessed to driver Denny Hamlin on March 7 will be settled per Section 12-3 of the 2013 NASCAR rule book after being informed by Hamlin that he will not appeal the penalty."

So the matter is now closed. I do have an opinion about this, yet, I've kept it to myself. Not in fear of people disagreeing, but more so because I don't have all the fine details surrounding the situation. I have a lot of respect for Hamlin, and raise my glass to him for standing his ground on such a hot topic.

On to racing: Hamlin started the Food City 500 race in Bristol in third spot. The No. 11 FedEx Toyota was a fast car- holding strong in the lead for the majority of the race. An incident between he and former teammate Joey Lagano changed the outcome of the race. While Logano tried to maintain a lead position, he drove the highline in front of Hamlin. There was room between them, but not enough. Hamlin 'tapped' the left rear bumper of the No. 22 Ford, and Logano spun out of control, hit the wall and damaged the rear of the car. Though Logano was able to finish the race in 17th position, and Hamlin finished in 23rd, Logano had some unresolved anger left after the race. After climbing out of his car, Logano approached Hamlin's car, was able to get close but he was held off by Hamlin's team. A fight started between crew members, but it was broken up before it turned into a UFC match of its own.
A reporter asked Logano what he said to Hamlin, but the 22 year old declined to comment, saying instead, "that's for me to know, and him to know." However, he sent some comments to Hamlin via twitter. Their accounts are: @dennyhamlin and @joeylogano.

It's Bristol. It's a short track with high banking- and it's very common that there's a lot of beating and banging between drivers. A fight is inevitable -and it's fair to say Logano and Hamlin are rivals. How long it lasts between the two is the question, and I'm sure fans will pay close attention.

J.D. Gibbs, Hamlin, Darian Grubb
at Bristol Motor Speedway August 2012
Photo taken by: Genevieve

Hamlin has yet to join Kasey Kahne, or  Jimmie Johnson in 5Ks, half-marathons, or triathlons but that doesn't make him any less of an athlete. The new-father has played basketball, baseball, and golf; and has
 is quiet about his choice of exercise as of a late. It's safe to assume the back injury he had last summer has kept him on the sidelines for awhile now. He tweets often about racing karts at the Moorseville Karting track with other drivers in the NASCAR series.

NASCAR drivers to appear on cartoon comedy: The Cleveland Show

Be sure to tune on Sunday night (March 17) at 7:30 PM ET to watch 'The Cleveland Show' on FOX at 7:30 PM. Your favorite NASCAR drivers will make a cameo appearance as a voice over on the show.

'Donna' is running for the schoolboard and tries to keep Cleveland out of the campaign- but that doesn't work when the clever Cleveland keeps her out drinking all hours of the night; she recruits Kahne, Earnhardt Jr. and Stewart to rush her back to 'Stoolbend' in time for the final debate.



Tony Stewart

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Kasey Kahne










** PHOTO CREDIT for all three pictures: NASCAR Media Group**

Fit'n Fast Driver of the week: Jimmie Johnson

NASCAR's five time Champion is not slowing down anytime soon. Jimmie Johnson has set a goal to win eight championships before the end of his career. At 37 years of age, there's plenty of time for the California native to reach that goal.

Jimmie Johnson surfing in Huntington Beach
Photo Credit: Auto Club Speedway/NASCAR Media Group

The most championships won in a drivers career is a tie between the King of racing, Richard Petty; and the Intimadator of racing Dale Earnhardt, both accomplished seven.

Living athletic has always been a lifestyle for Johnson. Growing up, the Lowe's driver has always raced cars, dirt bikes, and was on his high schools swim team.




Nowadays, Johnson finds the time to workout in the mornings. In the last two years, Johnson has run several 5K's, triathlons, mud runs, a half-  marathon and he recently set a goal to compete in an "Iron Man."

The morning after the Sprint Unlimited race in Daytona, Johnson completed a 13 mile run in one hour and 29 minutes for the Daytona Beach Half-Marathon.

A week later, he won the Daytona 500 for the second time in his career. Following the win, he spent four days visiting five different states meeting media obligations such as ESPN, Good Morning America, The Late Show, as well as other shows in local and major news networks. He finally settled down in time for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 in Phoenix, Arizona where he finished second in that race.

Last Monday, Johnson spent the day engaged in a few different 'extreme sports' for the Auto Club Speedway's Victory tour to promote the March 24th Sprint Cup race in Fontana, CA. Starting the day was a surfing trip with pro surfer Ian Walsh at Huntington Beach..They moved on for a fun  race at Auto Club Speedway, and the day ended with a ski trip on Mammoth Mountain. Other professional athletes in attendance were champion snowboarder Eddie Wall; ski racer Chris Benchetlet; and stand-up paddler Dave Kalama (all are accounted for in the picture below.)

Photo Credit: Auto Club Speedway
NASCAR Media Group

This weekend, NASCAR is at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the third race of the season, the Kobolt Tools 400. Johnson has four wins, five top fives and six top 10's in 11 starts. Unfortunately, due to rain the practice and qualifying sessions were cancelled. NASCAR's rules that if there is a qualifying cancellation for the first three races, the race line-up is set according to last season's point standings. Johnson will start in third place.

Though drivers didn't get to practice, they got to test the Gen6 on the 1.5 mile Superspeedway on Thursday, and Johnson told reporters he feels good about the car. The rain shouldn't "undo" much of what they did in testing.

The race is on Sunday March 10th, at 3 PM (eastern time), and can be seen on FOX TV, and you can hear it live on PRN radio.

My 2013 season predictions

It's that time of year again when many people in the NASCAR community pick a Championship winner for the end of the season. My first reaction to this is, "That's ridiculous! It's too early!" However, it's always fun to see how your first pick plays out throughout the year.

I've decided to pre-write articles two weeks ahead of the race schedule this year, in other words, my mind is on the Daytona 500 - not the Championship finale. Yet, I know it's smarter to post my Championship pick before the first race of the season - the Sprint Unlimited.

It's anyone's guess, I could be wrong, but I could be right. In the last three years I picked Kevin Harvick, and obviously, he never won. When NASCAR made it to the 2012 Chase season, I re-evaluated my options and decided to pick Kasey Kahne to win more races, including the Cup title. With that being said, I've decided to stick with Kahne to win the 2013 Cup. He ended the season strong- and finished fourth in points.  Now, he is ready to get back into his seat to race. Amazing things are in store for the 32 year old Washington native. He's yet to win the Great American race, the Southern 500, and the Brickyard- and there's no doubt that he can win all three -someday. (Side note, I did pick him to win all three of these races this year- so don't be surprised to see  my pre-race reports about Kahne when we visit those tracks!)

I'm not putting pressure on Kahne, he's capable of exceeding expectations he sets for his-self, as well as the ones his boss, team, and fans do.

Kahne had more luck winning poles in 2012 than he did winning races. His first season with the powerful Hendrick Motorsports team started with a few disappointments, but ended in celebrating what is Kahne's best season finish, fourth in points. He locked in four poles: Las Vegas, Martinsville, Talladega, and Kansas and scored two wins: one at his best track, Charlotte, with the second win, his first at New Hampshire. At the spring break, Kahne was sitting uncomfortably in 31st point- the turnaround he made when he returned to racing in Texas was phenomenal, he finished in the top 10 seven consecutive weeks- by the last race in November, he had 19 top tens, and 12 top fives.

For 2013, Kahne is settled and comfortable at Hendrick Motorsports. He also looks forward to racing for a new team in the Nationwide series. Long time sponsor Great Clips, and long time World of Outlaws driver for Kasey Kahne Racing Brad Sweet will share a seat for 27 races. Kahne will kick the season off in JR Motorsports No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet with the newest paint scheme, at Daytona on Saturday February 23rd, at 1:15 PM.

My second pick for the Championship title would be Kahne's teammate (and new boss) Dale Earnhardt Jr., but history proves that every time Earnhardt has a leg-up to winning, he falls short. Last season was his best season since he chose to race at Hendrick. With the new Gen 6 car that Earnhardt Jr. loves this could be the year Earnhardt wipes the slate clean, and move toward more success and races his way to the Championship title. The one race I'd like to see him win is at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He's strong there, but a win at the Magic Mile has yet to happen. 

At this time last year, no one predicted that Brad Keselowski would win the title. That leads me to say that the driver I believe has potential to surprise the NASCAR community with an over-all first place finish would be Aric Almirola. Going in to his second season in the No. 43 Smithfield Field Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports, Almirola has talent that's about to shine. He'll debut in his first shoot-out in Saturday's Sprint Unlimited after winning the pole for the Coca-Cola 600, and finishing the race in 16th position. Almirola and teammate Marcos Ambrose made some big moves in racing last season, and they are the next team to push forward and finish surprisingly strong - much like Michael Waltrip Racing success last season.

In conclusion, I believe Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will be named Rookie of the year in the Cup series. Sitting comfortably in the No. 17 Ford for Roush-Fenway, Stenhouse Jr. may surprise us with top ten and top finishes, and maybe a win.