Jason Leffler, a star of the future

Remember this name. Former USAC sprinter, Jason Leffler, set a track record for his qualifying run at Texas Motor Speedway yesterday, just edging out Mark Martin for the pole.

From USAC sprints to NASCAR, Leffler is following the same career path as Jeff Gordon, Kenny Irwin and Tony Stewart. I think he will be another star in Winston Cup in the future. I don't think he will be as good as Gordon or Stewart but he will be close enough to be another star in the series. He will definately be better than Kenny Irwin.

I seen him race in the fall ARCA race at Atlanta last year and although he didn't dazzle me with his performance, he ran in the top five most of the day and kept his car out of the wall finishing fifth. Considering how fast and treacherous the high-banked Atlanta track is (especially on rookies), his performance was impressive since this was his first race there.

Jason Leffler is one of those young American open wheel talents that CART owners don't seem to pursue. And everyone wonders why CART has no young American stars to eventually replace Michael Andretti, Al Unser Jr and Jimmy Vasser.

[This message has been edited by Joe Fan (edited 01 April 2000).]

The really bad part about Lefler is, Penske wanted him. He drove a better test than Gonzalo Rodriguez. But Gonzo brought sponsorship with him and it sealed the deal. Why don't we ask Lefler's sponsor in WC why they would not sponsor him in CART? It's a shame because he is one of the best open wheel talents to come along in the last few years. I've seen him race midgets at the Chili Bowl and he is a rocket, gave Swindell all he wanted.

KC, Leffler's sponsor in BGN (MBNA) came with the ride. Tony Stewart is real good friends with Leffler and he basically convinced Joe Gibbs to give him his BGN ride.

What sponsor did Rodriguez bring? With Marlboro already on board, why would this change Penske's mind on who to hire?

I believe that Marlboro was paying his salary instead of Penske. I think he already had ties to the South American labels for Marlboro.