Origins
Leffler was born in Long Beach, California, to Charles and Patricia Leffler. He resided in North Carolina with his live-in girlfriend, Julianna Patterson, and had a son, Charlie Dean, who was five years old at the time of his death.
Breakthrough
Leffler began his career racing midget cars in the USAC series. He won the Hut Hundred and Belleville Nationals in 1997, and the Turkey Night Grand Prix and Copper Classic in 1999. He won three consecutive midget championships from 1997 to 1999, becoming the third driver to achieve this feat. He also won the 1998 Silver Crown series championship.
Peak Seasons
Leffler’s success in USAC caught the attention of Joe Gibbs Racing, and he joined the team in 1999, making four starts in the Busch Series. He also started a race in the Indy Racing League at Walt Disney World Speedway, finishing last after an early crash. In 2000, Leffler made his only Indianapolis 500 start with Treadway Racing, qualifying seventeenth and finishing seventeenth. He then drove full-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Busch Series, finishing twentieth in the standings and earning three pole positions, finishing second at Phoenix.
In 2001, Leffler moved to the Winston Cup Series, driving the No. 01 Cingular Wireless Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing. He secured the inaugural pole position at Kansas Speedway, but struggled throughout the season, with only one top-ten finish and four failures to qualify, finishing 37th in the championship.
Leffler joined Ultra Motorsports in 2002 to drive the No. 2 Carquest/Team ASE Dodge Ram in the Craftsman Truck Series. He tied a single-season series record by scoring eight pole positions and finished fourth in the championship, earning six second-place finishes. He also won the Night Before the 500 midget race and drove Ultra’s No. 7 car in the final two races of the Cup Series season.
In 2003, Leffler scored his first career victory at Dover in the Truck Series. A situation arose when Haas CNC Racing, after firing Jack Sprague, approached Leffler to drive the No. 0 NetZero Pontiac Grand Prix at the Brickyard 400. Ultra Motorsports responded by firing Leffler for a contract violation. He then made ten starts in the No. 0, becoming the permanent driver after the Sirius Satellite Radio at the Glen.
Leffler moved to the No. 00 Haas Automation car in the Busch Series for the remainder of 2003, and won a Busch Series race at Nashville Superspeedway in 2004. He was involved in an incident at the Winn-Dixie 250, where crashes occurred involving Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Despite finishing twelfth in the championship, the team released him from his contract.
Later Career
Leffler’s move to Haas CNC Racing in 2003 was controversial, as his participation in the Brickyard 400 led to his dismissal from Ultra Motorsports. During the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, an incident with Elliott Sadler impacted Sadler’s championship standings. Leffler took responsibility for the incident.
Death
On June 12, 2013, Leffler was involved in a crash during a 410 sprint car heat race at Bridgeport Motorsports Park in New Jersey. His car suffered a front suspension failure, causing it to crash into a wall and flip several times. He lost consciousness and was transported to Crozer-Chester Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead thirty minutes after the accident. An autopsy determined the cause of death to be a severe blunt force neck and spine injury.
Beyond the Primary Series
Leffler continued to compete in midget car racing throughout his career, winning his second Turkey Night Grand Prix in 2005. He also returned to the Cup Series in 2012, driving for Robinson-Blakeney Racing at Watkins Glen International, and for Humphrey Smith Racing at Michigan International Speedway. He made a single Cup Series start in 2013, driving for Humphrey Smith Racing at Pocono Raceway.
Honours
Leffler was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2003, with nineteen USAC national championship midget car wins to his credit. He was inducted into the USAC Hall of Fame in 2018, adding to his six USAC Silver Crown wins. The Jason Leffler Memorial, a USAC midget championship event, was held in Illinois from 2014 to 2023, and resumed in California at Kern Raceway in 2025, with his son Charlie presenting the winner's trophy at the first event in his home state.
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