Beyond the Flag
Fansided

Ten NASCAR Drivers Who Had Their Careers Cut Short

By Brian Thornsburg

Feb 17, 2016; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; Team spotters watch the action during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 17, 2016; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; Team spotters watch the action during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 11
Next

Jason Leffler

There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Jason Leffler was an immensely talented racecar driver. Not only did he prove this during his USAC series career by winning multiple races and eventually capturing the coveted Silver Crown, but also by competing against the world’s best drivers on paved tracks in NASCAR.

While admittedly his NASCAR career was nowhere near as successful as what he was able to accomplish during his time in the USASC Series, he was still able to bring home multiple wins in both The Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck series. Not only that, he also was the man that handed Toyota their very first manufacturer victory in The Xfinity Series, which happened at  O’Reily Speedway park in 2008.

Despite Leffler having some success in The Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series, it was never enough to guarantee him a ride for the next season. Often times Leffler would give a team a great performance throughout the year, only to be tossed aside in favor of the next big thing. This ultimately hurt Leffler most during his career, especially since high profile teams would very seldom take a chance on him.

Unfortunately for Leffler, tragedy struck one night during a 410 Sprint car race at Bridgeport Speedway when Leffler’s car had a front suspension failure that caused his car to viciously slam head first into the wall of the track. Leffler was knocked unconscious during impact and was later pronounced dead as a result of blunt force trauma to his neck and backbone.  Jason was survived by his eight year own son Charlie Dean, who considered his dad his hero.

Sure, it’s impossible to really speculate what would have become of Leffler career if he had survived this incident back in 2013, but one would have to argue that he could have at least pulled out a Camping World Truck Series title or even Xfinity Series title if he were still alive today. Heck, maybe a win in the Sprint Cup Series could have happened if he was backed by the right team.

Next: The future that almost was

Home/NASCAR