Jason Leffler (lost footage of fatal 410 Sprint Car accident; 2013)
This article has been tagged as NSFL due to its discussion of a fatal motor racing accident.
Jason Leffler.
Status: Lost
On 12th June 2013, NASCAR driver Jason Leffler was competing in a 410 Sprint Car race at Bridgeport Speedway when his vehicle suffered a front suspension failure. The resulting crash into the wall, as well as the car flipping several times, resulted in Leffler passing away from a blunt-force neck injury. It is believed footage of the accident was captured, with one Reddit user claiming they had two videos of the crash.
Background
Jason Leffler entered the 410 Sprint Cars event that headlined the Night of Wings 2013 show at Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey.[1] As per the Night of Wings qualifying format, Leffler was drawn into a heat race group that help to determine the qualifying order.[1] During the time trials stage, Leffler posted the ninth fastest speed out of 29 competitors.[2] He was therefore set to compete in a heat race that would give him the opportunity to qualify for the main race.[1]
During the heat race, Leffler was running second on the fifth lap of the event.[3][4] Suddenly, the front suspension of his vehicle failed as a torsion arm got lodged between the right front wheel and its front steering arm.[5][3][4] This caused him to lose control of the car, as its steering locked up.[3][5][4] The car then crashed left side-on into an outside concrete wall at Turn 4, before flipping over and eventually landing on its wheels.[4][3][5] While it is not known how fast Leffler was going at the time of the component failure, drivers generally reached an average speed of 135mph, and a top speed of 150 mph on the straights.[3][5]
While Leffler did wear a restraint that protected him from frontal impacts, it was not designed to protect drivers against side-on crashes.[6][7] Ultimately, this proved fatal as Leffler suffered a blunt force neck and backbone injury.[3][4] Medics tried resuscitating him after he lost consciousness and was not breathing, but it was to no avail.[4] He was transferred to the Crozer-Chester Medical Center but passed away from his injuries 30 minutes after the accident, aged 37.[3][5][4] A NASCAR driver who had competed in the Cup Series since 2001, Leffler had also achieved two wins in the Busch Series, and a victory in the Craftsman Truck Series.[3][5] His resilient personality and grit also made him a popular and respected individual among fellow racers in the three national NASCAR series.[3] The race itself was immediately red-flagged following the crash, and out of respect for Leffler, the other events held that weekend were cancelled.[4] Additionally, full restraints for racing are now mandatory in New Jersey.[7]
Availability
While photos and footage of the aftermath are publicly available,[4] no video of the crash has ever resurfaced.[7] It is known that a spectator recorded parts of the race, which ends a lap prior to the impact.[7] However, it is unknown whether they were still filming by the time the crash occurred.[7] Additionally, one Reddit user claimed they were in possession of two different videos of the crash.[8] Out of respect for Leffler's family, they decided against posting it online.[8]
Gallery
Videos
Image
Aftermath of the accident.
See Also
- 1960 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1960)
- 1960 Daytona Races (lost CBS and NBC televised footage of NASCAR prelude events to Daytona 500; 1960)
- 1961 Firecracker 250 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1961)
- 1962 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1962)
- 1962 Firecracker 250 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1962)
- 1963 Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1963)
- 1963 Richmond 250 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series qualifying session and race; 1963)
- 1964 Atlanta 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)
- 1964 National 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)
- 1964 Richmond 250 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series qualifying session; 1964)
- 1964 World 600 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)
- 1965 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1965)
- 1965 National 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1965)
- 1965 Rebel 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1965)
- 1966 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1966)
- 1966 Southern 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1966)
- 1967 Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)
- 1967 Rebel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)
- 1969 Permatex 300 at Daytona (partially found footage of NASCAR Late Model Sportsman race; 1969)
- 1970 Alabama 500 (found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
- 1970 National 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
- 1970 Wilkes 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
- 1970 World 600 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
- 1971 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
- 1971 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
- 1971 Myers Brothers 250 (lost footage and official documents of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
- 1971 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
- 1971 Rebel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
- 1971 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1971)
- 1972 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
- 1972 Bowman-Gray 100 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand American Series race; 1972)
- 1972 Carolina 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
- 1972 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
- 1972 Firecracker 400 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
- 1972 National 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
- 1972 Rebel 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
- 1972 Twin 125s (partially found footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1972)
- 1973 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1973)
- 1973 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1973)
- 1974 Mason-Dixon 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1974)
- 1974 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1974)
- 1974 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1974)
- 1975 Champion Spark Plug 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
- 1975 Dixie 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
- 1975 Firecracker 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
- 1975 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
- 1975 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1975)
- 1975 World 600 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
- 1976 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1976 Champion Spark Plug 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1976 Dixie 500 (lost CBS footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1976 Firecracker 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1976 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1976 Rebel 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1976 Riverside 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1976 Talladega 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1976 Winston 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1976 World 600 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
- 1978 NAPA National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1978)
- 1979 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1979)
- 1979 Daytona ARCA 200 (lost footage of ARCA Racing Series race; 1979)
- 1979 Dixie 500 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1979)
- 1979 Gabriel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1979)
- 1979 Southeastern 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1979)
- 1979 Sportsman 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1979)
- 1981 Coca-Cola 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1981)
- 1981 CRC Chemicals 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1981)
- 1982 CRC Chemicals 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1982)
- 1982 Eastern 150 (lost footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1982)
- 1982 Goody's Sportsman 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1982)
- 1982 Twin 125s race 1 (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying race; existence unconfirmed; 1982)
- 1982 Winston Western 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1982)
- 1983 Goody's Sportsman 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1983)
- 1983 Mason-Dixon 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1983)
- 1983 Southern 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1983)
- 1984 Delaware 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1984)
- 1984 Goody's Sportsman 300 (lost footage of NASCAR Busch Grand National Series race; 1984)
- 1984 Warner W. Hodgdon Carolina 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1984)
- 1985 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; existence unconfirmed; 1985)
- 1986 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; existence unconfirmed; 1986)
- 1988 Miller High Life 500 (partially lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1988)
- 1989 Busch Clash (lost footage of pre-season NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1989)
- 1990 Daytona ARCA 200 (partially found footage of ARCA Racing Series race; 1990)
- 1992 Atlanta 300 (lost footage of NASCAR Busch Grand National Series race; 1992)
- 1995 Winston 100/1995 Duron Paints And Wallcoverings 100 (partially found footage of NASCAR Sportsman Division Series doubleheader; 1995)
- 1996 DeVilbiss SuperFinish 200 (partially found televised footage of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race; 1996)
- 2002 K&N Filters 150 (lost footage of NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour race; 2002)
- Jeff Gordon's 2008 UAW-Dodge 400 crash (lost on-board footage of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race crash; 2008)
- NASCAR (partially found uncut footage of stock car races; 1960-present)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Fully Injected detailing the event and its qualifying format. Retrieved 25 Apr '22
- ↑ Ultimate Racing History detailing the time trial results prior to the heat race. Retrieved 25 Apr '22
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 USA Today reporting on the race and the fatal crash. Retrieved 25 Apr '22
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 The Crash Photos Database summarising the accident and providing photos of it. Retrieved 25 Apr '22
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 ESPN reporting on the cause of the fatal accident. Retrieved 25 Apr '22
- ↑ ESPN reporting on the lack of restraint protection that caused Leffler's death. Retrieved 25 Apr '22
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Influential Moments in Racing detailing possible footage of the accident. Retrieved 25 Apr '22
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 r/NASCAR where a user discusses possessing two videos of the crash. Retrieved 25 Apr '22