Police rule mechanical problem as cause of Leffler’s accident

New Jersey state police said Friday that a mechanical problem was to blame for the dirt-track racing crash that killed NASCAR driver Jason Leffler. The state police released some findings from a not-yet-complete report on the June 12 crash at Bridgeport Speedway in Logan Township. The report finds that a torsion stop came off, causing part of the sprint car's suspension system to become lodged between a wheel and the steering system.

As a result, the report found, Leffler was unable to control the car's steering as he came out of the fourth turn and spun out, slamming into the concrete wall along the side of the track. The report does not say how fast Leffler was going, but says cars in the race were averaging 135 mph and hitting 150 mph on straightaways. Blunt-force neck injuries were cited as his cause of death. Associated Press