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MECHANICAL FAILURE SHORTENS LEFFLER'S DAY AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY
Though not for lack of trying, Jason Leffler and the FedEx team had a rough day in the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway. Having battled a temperamental race car leading up to the start of the race, Leffler and team continued to experience the same issues from the drop of the green flag. No matter what adjustments they made to the chassis, nothing seemed to correct the handling enough for Leffler to make a serious charge to the front.
As the race drew to a close, Leffler commented that the car was driving the best it had all day, and it appeared as though he would be able to bring the FedEx Chevy home in the top 30. Unfortunately on lap 215 of 250, the engine of the #11 Chevy blew, bringing Leffler's day on the track to a close and placing the team 37th. Starting the race 39th, Leffler quickly charged up to 32nd at the completion of the first circuit. Soon thereafter he began to fade, and by lap 11, he was running in 40th place. His communication with Crew Chief Dave Rogers detailed to the problems Leffler was facing. "The car is tight on entry and really loose exiting the corners," said Leffler. "The car is just on top of the track, and I've got no grip at all. Let's try some air pressure and track bar adjustments with the first stop." That is just what the FedEx team did when Leffler pitted during the first caution on lap 24. Because they were toward the back of the pack, the team took their time during the stop and made substantial changes to the car. Crew Chief Dave Rogers called for four tires, fuel, track bar and air-pressure adjustments. In addition, the crew lowered the front valence to increase the front-end downforce. Leffler took the next green flag on lap 30 in 37th, and when the second caution came out on lap 59, he had raced up to 35th. "The car needs to rotate better in the center of the corner," said Leffler. "We're headed in the right direction with those last changes, but I still need more. It feels like the right front is too stiff because the car won't travel and I'm too tight off. I have to use too much brake to get the car to turn, and it's killing our momentum." "All right Jason, bring her in for four tires, and we'll make some air pressure and wedge adjustments," replied Rogers. Leffler brought the car onto pit road running in 35th, and after a fast stop by the FedEx over-the-wall crew, he exited in 31st. Racing resumed on lap 66 and conditions remained green for a number of laps. Leffler immediately radioed in that the car was still tight exiting the corner, but later in the run he said it had gotten much better. Still, he wasn't able to run the lap times he needed to maintain position, and he slide back to 34th by lap 90 and then went one lap down to the leader on lap 98. He continued to ride it out until pitting under green on lap 103 for four tires, fuel and more adjustments. While leaving pit road, Leffler was caught for speeding and NASCAR gave him the black flag, signaling that he had to make another pass through pit road at the required speed. To add to the situation the third caution came out while Leffler was serving the penalty, trapping the team two laps down. In an effort to help the handling, he pitted again for tires and adjustments during the caution and returned to the track in 38th. The field was unleashed once again on lap 114. Still not able to overcome the tight condition in the corners, Leffler was forced to do the best he could until taking the fourth caution flag on lap 143. "Are any of the changes helping?" radioed Rogers. "Yeah, it's getting better, but it's still too tight for me to do anything," replied Leffler. He brought the car down pit road for four tires and fuel, along with the removal of a spring rubber from the left rear. Even with the tricky adjustment, the crew was able to click of a 14.08 sec. stop and send Leffler out in 34th. "Great stop guys," said Leffler. "Hopefully these changes will work and we'll be able to make our way up through the field. To no avail, the FedEx Chevy was still shoving the nose in the corners, so during the fifth caution on lap 159 Leffler brought the car onto pit road for the team to pull the two remaining spring rubbers from the left rear. He exited in 35th and took the next green flag on lap 164. Finally the changes made to the chassis began to make a difference, especially on a longer run. While running in 34th on lap 185, Leffler commented that the car was the best it had been all day, and he was able to pick up one more position before the sixth caution on lap 202. Leffler pitted for what would be his last stop of the day for tires, fuel and a few more adjustments to hopefully allow him to make a final charge in the closing laps. Unfortunately, he didn't get the opportunity, as the team was struck a race-ending blow on lap 215. The FedEx team currently sits 37th in the overall standings, and they are only 54 points out of 30th and 77 out of 25th. The Nextel Cup Series teams get a much-needed weekend off before heading to Las Vegas on March 13 for the UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400. The race is scheduled to air at 2 p.m. ET on FOX. Leffler's Quotes: "We had a tough weekend from the word go. The car was tight when we unloaded, and it pretty much stayed that way all weekend. Despite our best efforts, nothing we did really seemed to help it all that much. It would get loose at times, but that's because I had to put so much wheel into it in the center of the corners. "I feel bad for everyone on this team because they worked so hard all weekend, and we just don't have the results to show for it. We had gotten ok toward the end, and I think we could've gained a few more positions before the checkered flag, but we'll never know. We're experiencing the new-team blues, but we'll overcome that soon. "We will be testing at Kentucky Speedway next week, so we can figure out how to get the car turning better before we head to Vegas. I'm confident in my team and everyone at JGR, and I'll know we'll be running competitively when we get out there in a couple of weeks." 
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