Jason Leffler won the Kroger 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park after a late race battle with 2002 series champion Greg Biffle.
Leffler, who won Thursday’s Silver Crown event at ORP is no stranger to the .686 mile facility. Lefler a former USAC Midget and Silver Crown Champion has won eight events at the track since 2002. This win was his second ever in the Busch series in 139 starts backing up his 2004 win at Nashville.
Leffler and his Braun racing team qualified for the event fifth and remained up front throughout the race. Pit strategy came in to play on lap 142 when the team opted to pit for tires on lap 142 regulating him back to the twelfth spot.
Lefler began to cut through the field eventually getting into a multi-lap duel for second place with fellow Toyota driver David Reutimann. The two made contact several times with Leffler prevailing to chase down Biffle.
A late race caution bunched up the field and Leffler dogged Biffle in the closing laps getting by him with three laps remaining to hit the record books as the first Toyota to find victory lane in series history.
“What a way to win,” Leffler said. “To battle Biffle and Reutimann like that was awesome. To get Toyota its first (Busch) victory is really exciting.”
Biffle, Reutimann, points leader Carl Edwards and Ron Hornaday completed the top five.
Pole sitter Aric Almirola who led a total of eighty- seven laps finished sixth.
The event saws ten lead changes among eight drivers and was slowed eight times for caution.
Leaving Indiana, Carl Edwards continues his stranglehold on the championship with an 852 point margin over David Reutiman. Next week the series heads north of the border for the inaugural Canadian event at the Circuit Gilles Villenuve for the first of two consecutive road course events.
Race Notes
Trouble on pit road. Tire carrier Jake Lauder for Kevin Harvick Incorporated was struck on pit road by driver Richard Johns. Lauder who suffered a broken toe and incurred several lacerations was treated and released at the infield care center.
Points leader Carl Edwards drove the event with a cars on his left hand following and injury he received last week in a late model dirt race at I 80 speedway. Edwards reported the injury did not impact his racing performance.
Toyota has only competed in twenty-seven series events before claiming there first win.
Crew Chief Doug Chouinard (Todd Bodine’s), and Chuck Meyers (JJ Yeley) were both fined by NASCAR following the Gateway event. Bodine’s car was found to have an approved throttle shaft while Yeley’s car was found to have a non approved fuel cell.
O’Reilly Raceway Park is one of only six facilities to have hosted a Busch series event every year since the series inception in 1982. It is the only track among the six that has never hosted a Nextel Cup event. The other tracks include Bristol, Charlotte, Daytona, Dover and Darlington.
