Leffler Gives Toyota First Busch Series Win

Leffler started the race in 5th place and quietly bided his time until the second half of the race.

Photo courtesy: NASCAR.com

CLERMONT, Ind. - The final night of Kroger SpeedFest came to a stunning close as Jason Leffler, an O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis regular, won the Kroger 200 in stunning fashion giving Toyota its first victory in the Busch Series.

Leffler started the race in 5th place and quietly bided his time until the second half of the race.

Leffler was able to start the charge through the field on lap 166 when then leader Greg Biffle, the second place car of Carl Edwards and third place holder David Reutimann began a battle that at times was three wide.

When that battle shook out it was Leffler sitting in third behind Reutimann and Biffle.

On lap 185 Leffler used his newer tires to battle with Reutimann.

After close quarter battles he was able to clear him and set sail for Biffle when a caution came that bunched the field.

When the green flag dropped, Leffler was able to squeeze below Biffle on the low side with only two laps remaining and held on to capture his second win in the Busch Series.

“What a great way to win a race like this and to battle Reutimann and Biffle like that for it,” said Leffler in victory lane. “This is a great win; if you can win here you can win anywhere.”

Leffler is no stranger to victory lane at ORP as he has four USAC Midget wins and two victories in the USAC Silver Crown Series. “This felt a lot like winning back in the day in a Midget sliding all around the track,” he stated. “If I didn’t have to fly back to Charlotte tonight, I’m sure we would be celebrating at Kelly’s Pub.”

On Thursday Bobby East won the J. D. Byrider 100, presented by TourHendricksCounty.com, USAC Silver Crown race and on Friday, Ron Hornaday Jr. won the Power Stroke Diesel 200, presented by Ford and International, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.

Kroger 200 Results:

FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS

1. 5 38 Jason Leffler Toyota Great Clips 190/5 200 Running

2. 10 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M 180/10 200 Running

3. 6 99 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine 165/0 200 Running

4. 8 60 Carl Edwards Ford Dish Network / Weather Channel 165/5 200 Running

5. 3 77 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet Dollar General 160/5 200 Running

6. 1 20 Aric Almirola Chevrolet Rockwell Automation 155/5 200 Running

7. 16 29 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet Holiday Inn 146/0 200 Running

8. 30 42 Kevin Hamlin Dodge Texaco / Havoline 142/0 200 Running

9. 22 10 Mike Bliss Toyota Fan1st.com 138/0 200 Running

10. 15 88 Brad Keselowski * Chevrolet U.S. Navy 134/0 200 Running

11. 13 27 Jason Keller Ford Marsh / Huggies 130/0 200 Running

12. 17 21 Tim McCreadie Chevrolet Camping World

/ RVs.com 127/0 200 Running

13. 28 35 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Ford Eckrich / Kroger 124/0 200 Running

14. 18 33 Cale Gale Chevrolet Camping World

/ RVs.com 121/0 200 Running

15. 27 25 Richard Johns Ford FreeCreditRep

ort.com 118/0 200 Running

16. 14 1 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts 115/0 200 Running

17. 25 66 Steve Wallace Dodge HomeLife Communities 112/0 200 Running

18. 2 6 David Ragan * Ford Discount Tire 109/0 200 Running

19. 29 22 Josh Wise Dodge Family Dollar 106/0 200 Running

20. 19 7 Mike Wallace Chevrolet GEICO 103/0 200 Running

21. 32 14 Kyle Krisiloff * Ford Lilly / Walgreens 100/0 200 Running

22. 31 230 Danny O'Quinn Jr. Chevrolet Brandeis 97/0 200 Running

23. 26 249 Brian Keselowski Dodge Holloway / Dusty's Collision 94/0 200 Running

24. 7 90 Stephen Leicht Ford CitiFinancial 91/0 200 Running

25. 34 72 D.J. Kennington Dodge HotJackets.com / Northern Provincial 88/0 199 Running

26. 43 08 Jason White Dodge Gunbroker.com PE 197 Running

27. 40 28 Robert Richardson, II * Chevrolet U.S. Border Patrol 82/0 196 Running

28. 36 156 Frank Kreyer Chevrolet Culver's Restaurants 79/0 195 Running

29. 35 0 Eric McClure Chevrolet Hefty 76/0 193 Running

30. 23 24 Landon Cassill Chevrolet Nat'l Guard / 33rd Infantry Brig. 73/0 192 Running

31. 9 18 Brad Coleman * Chevrolet Carino's Italian Grill 70/0 190 Running

32. 24 59 Marcos Ambrose * Ford Kingsford / Aussie Vineyards 67/0 174 Running

33. 21 36 Brent Sherman Chevrolet Big Lots 64/0 170 Running

34. 12 41 Scott Lagasse Jr. Dodge Wrigley's Juicy Fruit 61/0 160 Running

35. 42 9 Deac McCaskill Dodge Puryear Tank Lines 63/5 153 Accident

36. 11 01 Shelby Howard Chevrolet Black's Tire 55/0 143 Susp.

37. 38 105 Brett Rowe Chevrolet FMI Fireplaces / 31-W Insulation 52/0 94 Susp.

38. 4 47 Kelly Bires Ford Armor All 54/5 82 Engine

39. 20 37 Bobby East Ford Cub Cadet / Kleenex 51/5 74 Accident

40. 33 189 Morgan Shepherd Dodge Victory In Jesus 43/0 34 Engine

41. 37 149 Derrike Cope Chevrolet Checkers / Rally's 40/0 30 Overheating

42. 39 252 Brad Teague Ford Means Racing 37/0 23 Transmission

43. 41 244 Mike Harmon Chevrolet Grand Victoria / Omni Hotel 34/0 6 Brakes

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