Catchfence

No. 38 Great Clips Toyota Camry - Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR

O’Reilly Raceway Park

Kroger 200 benefiting Riley Hospital for Children

July 24, 2010

• Victory Lane at ORP a Familiar Place for Jason Leffler… In 2007, Leffler made history by giving Toyota its first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory at O’Reilly Raceway Park (ORP).

Leffler is SEVENTH among all-time victory leaders at ORP, tied with Parnelli Jones with a total of seven wins.

1 NASCAR Nationwide Series win

4 National Midget wins

2 Silver Crown Series wins

In 2000, Leffler set the track record in the Silver Crown division that still stands today.

Leffler cites Parnelli Jones as one of his personal mentors and friends.

• Leffler’s always a threat at ORP… In 7 NNS starts at ORP, Leffler has one win, one pole, three top-five and four top-10 finishes.  He has started inside the top-5 in three events and has never started outside the top-15.

• A return to his racing roots… On Thursday night, Leffler will compete in the USAC Midget and Silver Crown races.  A three-time Midget Nationals Champion, Leffler will drive a Silver Crown car owned by father-in-law, Bobby East.

• Crew chief, Eddie Pardue has had his fair share of success at ORP… Veteran crew chief, Eddie Pardue, has also seen previous experience at ORP over the last few years.  In fact, in the last four years, the drivers he has guided from the pit box have finished no worse than fourth.  In last year’s event he finished third (Matt Kenseth), in 2008 he came home second (Colin Braun) and in 2006 he saw his car finish fourth (Greg Biffle).  Ironically, in 2007, Pardue was calling the shots for Biffle who led for 94 laps before Leffler passed him with three to go for the win.

• Home Sweet Home… Indiana is home for a number of members of Braun Racing. Todd Braun is a native of Winamac, IN.  Todd’s father, Ralph Braun, founded and continues to oversee operations for Braun Corporation, which manufactures and sells wheel-chair accessible conversion vans. Braun Corp. employs over 700 people in the state of Indiana.

• First there were four…Tab Smith (South Bend, No. 38 mechanic), Mike McCoige (Plymouth, No. 32 Cup Series car chief), Chad Blount (Walkerton, first Braun Racing driver and current Parts Manager) and Billy Kolish (Winamac, No. 38 mechanic) came to North Carolina with Todd Braun in 2002 to help him form Braun Racing, which first competed in the ARCA Racing Series.  All four have watched the organization grow from a part-time ARCA team to a powerhouse in the Nationwide Series with four full-time teams.

• Get Fired Up with Great Clips… Great Clips is launching the second round of the Fire Me Up contest.  Customers can enter two ways:  either by texting “Fire” to Whale (94253) or by visiting www.greatclips.com and choosing the Fire Me Up Sweepstakes.  The code is: Fire.  The grand prize winner will receive a once in a lifetime trip for two to the Great Clips 300 in Atlanta.  In addition, the winner will be able to watch the race from the pits, have a meet and greet with Kasey Kahne and Jason Leffler, ride in the pace car and receive a personalized fire suit.  Registration starts on June 7^th and ends on August 7^th.

• Did you know?   Great Clips is the longest-running sponsor in the Nationwide Series…Minneapolis-based Great Clips, Inc. came onto the scene in 2001 as a primary sponsor of Akins Motorsports No. 38 entry, then driven by Christian Elder. Kasey Kahne drove the car from 2003-2005, before Leffler took over the wheel in 2006.

• Leffler on SIRIUS’ Morning Drive every Wednesday… Don’t forget to tune in to SIRIUS Radio’s “Morning Drive” with Mike Bagley and Pete Pistone every Wednesday at 10:30am to hear Leffler’s take on recent events in the Nationwide Series and what you can expect from the week’s upcoming race.

Follow the No. 38 Great Clips Team on Twitter! http://twitter.com/No38BraunRacing

Become a Braun Racing fan on Facebook! http://facebook.com/BraunRacingFans

Leffler on racing at O’Reilly Raceway Park

“Indy is like a second home for me so, of course, I always enjoy going there and seeing family and old friends.  I have had a long history at this race track and it has a lot of special memories for me.  I have experienced more success here in my career than anywhere. I’ve been fortunate to visit victory lane there on several occasions in my USAC racing days and in the Nationwide Series with Braun Racing in 2007, when we gave Toyota their first series win. I’m looking forward to making more memories this weekend, racing in the USCA midget and Silver Crown races on Thursday night and then the Nationwide Series race on Saturday night.  Eddie Pardue (crew chief) has had his own share of success here over the years, so I feel like we have a good shot to contend for the win and take Great Clips back to victory lane.”

Equipment Information

The No. 38 Great Clips team will hit the track with chassis #BR017 in this weekend’s event at ORP.  This is the same chassis Leffler drove to the win here at ORP to give Toyota its first NNS victory.  Additionally, he drove this chassis in almost every short track race last season, finishing in the top-10 six times.  This car was last on the track last weekend at Gateway Int’l Raceway.

- Braun Racing, Press Release