Bakersfield, California (May 28, 2025)………The $10,000-to-win Jason Leffler Memorial returns to the 2025 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship schedule on November 25 in a new location at Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in California.
Back in October 1998, Leffler was victorious in a USAC Western States Midget event at Bakersfield Speedway in front of a live nationwide audience on ESPN2.
The 11th running of the event, honoring the memory of the four-time USAC national driving champion, will resume after a one-year hiatus, and will now take place in Leffler’s home state of California. The Jason Leffler Memorial had been previously held in Illinois at Wayne County Speedway and the Southern Illinois Center.
“We started this race to honor Jason’s legacy and help his son, Charlie,” said Doug Stringer, the former owner of Wayne County Speedway and the promoter of the Jason Leffler Memorial. “It was great to see it become a big event on the midget racing landscape. Now, we can continue that with a great event close to his home, and all of his family and friends can continue that legacy.”
Leffler captured USAC National Midget titles in 1997-1998-1999 and also scored the 1998 USAC Silver Crown championship. Among his 19 career USAC National Midget feature wins are the 1997 Belleville Nationals, the 1997 Hut 100, the 1999 Copper World Classic, the 2002 Night Before the 500. and the 1999 & 2005 Turkey Night Grand Prix.
In USAC Silver Crown competition, Leffler amassed six victories, including the 2000 Copper World Classic and the 2002 Hoosier Hundred. He also competed in the 2000 Indianapolis 500 and was a winner with the NASCAR Busch Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He is also an inductee of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame and the USAC Hall of Fame.
Previous winners of the Jason Leffler Memorial include Zach Daum (2013), Daryn Pittman (2014), Bryan Clauson (2015), Brady Bacon (2016), Tyler Thomas (2018), Tyler Courtney (2019), Tanner Thorson (2020 & 2023), Christopher Bell (2021) and Mitchel Moles (2022).
The 2025 edition of the Jason Leffler Memorial will be one of eight races on the USAC National Midget west coast swing late in the season in California: November 14-15 at Placerville Speedway; November 19 at TBA; November 21 at Thunderbowl Raceway; November 22-23 at Merced Speedway; November 25 at Bakersfield; and the finale on November 29, the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway.
For more info on this event, please visit www.USACracing.com.
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