'Other' Toyota driver Leffler needs good run at Fontana

Last season, Jason Leffler finished third in Nationwide Series point standings with Braun Racing, the highest showing of any Nationwide-only driver. This season, he has fallen back to eighth as Brad Keselowski leads the way as the series' new breakout star, battling Sprint Cup regulars Clint Bowyer and Carl Edwards for the title.

Due to his slide, Leffler has been plagued with rumors of his job being at risk.

Fast facts

What	Camp. World RV Service 300
When	10:16 p.m. ET Saturday
TV	ESPN2, 9:45 p.m. ET
Radio	MRN (Sirius Ch. 28), 10 ET

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As the Nationwide circuit visits Auto Club Speedway for the Camping World RV Service 300 this Saturday, he has one hope for the race -- silence the rumors by getting his first win of the 2008 season.

"To win here would be a huge deal for me," said Leffler, a Long Beach, Calif., native. "Of course, you want to win every race, but you especially want that win in front of the home crowd and with your family and friends cheering you on."

Twenty-six races into the 35-race schedule, Leffler has had to take the backseat as the "other" Toyota driver. Last season he led the Toyota charge, giving the manufacturer its first win in the Nationwide ranks. This year, Joe Gibbs Racing has stolen the spotlight, earning 14 wins so far. Braun Racing has one win, won by Kyle Busch at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May, running as a teammate to Leffler under the Braun umbrella.

Looking for any advantage he can, Leffler will be driving that winning car driven by Busch this weekend. He already found success with it just two races ago at California's sister track in Michigan by finishing eighth, his 10th top-10 of the season.

"After the strong performances we have had as a team the last few of weeks, we are carrying a lot of momentum into this weekend and we look to get the Great Clips Camry back to Victory Lane," he said.

Notes: After his win last weekend in Bristol, Keselowski reclaimed second position in the point standings over Carl Edwards. He now trails Clint Bowyer by 122 points. California has been a memorable place (both good and bad) for Keselowski. He made his series debut on the 2-mile track in 2006, but in this race last year, he was involved in a devastating crash on Lap 67. Keselowski's machine was clipped in the rear by A.J. Allmendinger, sending his Chevrolet nose-first into the outside barrier and temporarily in the air. He rode the wall in a fireball without flipping over. Keselowski was airlifted to a local hospital for precautionary tests and was released without serious injury.