NASCAR Cup Series

Leffler joins Kyle Busch's truck team

Published Jan. 9, 2012 10:52 p.m. ET

foxsports

Kyle Busch Motorsports announced that Jason Leffler will be the primary driver of the team's No. 18 Tundra in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the 2012 season.

The veteran driver will be behind the wheel for at least 14 races this season, beginning with the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway. Dollar General, the nation's largest small-box retailer, will serve as the primary sponsor for Leffler's 14-race schedule.

KBM is still seeking sponsorship for the remaining eight races on the 2012 Truck Series schedule.

"As a racer, your ultimate goal is to win races, and driving the No. 18 Dollar General Tundra for KBM is definitely an opportunity where I expect to achieve that goal," said Leffler in a statement. "Kyle has put together a first-class organization that builds top-notch equipment. I'm honored that he has the confidence in me as a driver to come in and carry on the winning tradition that his team has established. Dollar General is one of the premier sponsors in our sport and I'm looking forward to representing them on and off the track."

Leffler has been a fixture in the NASCAR Nationwide Series throughout the last decade, finishing in the top 10 of the final point standings each of the last five seasons. In 292 career Nationwide Series starts, the 36-year-old driver has recorded two wins, eight poles, 42 top-five and 106 top-10 finishes.

In 46 career Truck Series starts, the California native has registered one win, 19 top-five and 29 top-10 finishes. Leffler's 10 career poles rank him 10th on the series all-time list. In 2002, he captured a series-leading eight poles, ranked second with 494 laps led and collected 11 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes en route to a fourth-place finish in the final Truck Series point standings.