Cali return has Leffler's weary eyes wide open

Pardon Jason Leffler if he's yawning a little bit. But just because someone notices his weary face doesn't bother him.

"Everyone keeps asking how much sleep we are getting during the nights, and while the answer is not a lot, Alison and I are enjoying every second of being parents," said Leffler, who became a father on Aug. 16 when his wife gave birth to Charlie Dean.

Since then, droopy eyes and all, he earned a 12th-place finish at Michigan. Then there was last weekend at Bristol. And what a weekend it was for Leffler's team. He earned his second pole of the season, this time at the short track after the previous one came at Daytona's superspeedway. He followed it by leading 81 laps and pushing his Toyota to every inch on new tires while trying to catch Kasey Kahne's worn-tire Dodge.

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Kahne ultimately held him off, but Leffler finished second.

The performance didn't change his position in the standings. He remained fourth and is now 822 points behind leader Carl Edwards. But Leffler is just 107 points behind third-place Kevin Harvick and 132 back of second-place David Reutimann.

To catch them, however, he's going to have to change some things in his return to California for Saturday night's Camping World 300 (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

The Long Beach, Calif., native had difficulties in the season's first trip to the 2-mile track, finishing 38th after a crash halfway through the race.

"This year we have struggled somewhat on the superspeedways, but we have gone back and really tried to understand areas that needed to be improved upon," Leffler said. "We have learned a lot by doing that and put a lot of effort into correcting those areas."

A big step came at Michigan, where the solid run got the No. 38 team back on track following back-to-back road races where the team struggled (26th at Montreal and 27th at Watkins Glen).

"I think we are in much better shape than we were just a couple of weeks ago in Michigan," Leffler said. "I feel like we are going into this race smarter and better equipped, and I am hoping that that will show in our performance this weekend."

Of course, it's no coincidence that rebound coincides with the addition to his family, and the proud papa might just be walking down pit road with a photo album in hand.

"Fatherhood is something that is so amazing it's impossible to explain," Leffler said. "I keep telling all of my friends they need to go ahead and do it because there is just nothing else like it.

"I always look forward to the chance to get back to the West Coast and to have the opportunity to catch up with old friends and family. This trip will be even more special for me because even though everyone won't get to meet Charlie, I'll be able to show off new pictures of him." (Continued)