Stephen Leicht | |||||||
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Leicht in 2009
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Born |
Asheville, North Carolina |
January 9, 1987 ||||||
Achievements | 2005 American Speed Association Late Model Champion | ||||||
Awards | 2012 Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year | ||||||
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
17 races run over 3 years | |||||||
Best finish | 41st (2012) | ||||||
First race | 2006 Pennsylvania 500 (Pocono) | ||||||
Last race | 2012 AdvoCare 500 (Phoenix) | ||||||
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NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
76 races run over 6 years | |||||||
Car no., team | No. 77 (Obaika Racing) | ||||||
Best finish | 7th (2007) | ||||||
First race | 2005 Sam's Town 250 (Memphis) | ||||||
Last race | 2012 Zippo 200 (Watkins Glen) | ||||||
First win | 2007 Meijer 300 (Kentucky) | ||||||
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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career | |||||||
4 races run over 1 year | |||||||
Best finish | 98th (2012) | ||||||
First race | 2012 VFW 200 (Michigan) | ||||||
Last race | 2012 Lucas Oil 150 (Phoenix) | ||||||
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Statistics current as of November 18, 2012. |
Stephen Leicht (born January 9, 1987) is an American professional driver. He has over 150 feature event wins in quarter midgets and go-karts, and was the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year.
When he was seven years old, he began racing quarter midgets, and began advancing into go-karts. At the age of 11, Leicht was participating in the Go Kart Nationals, when he collided with the flag stand and was sent flying from his racecar. He suffered a burst spleen as a result of the accident, and was kept out of racing for six months.
At the age of 12, he began racing stock cars, and got his GED to focus full-time on racing, and was named Motorsports Magazine's Rising Star of the Year in 2000. At the age of 15, he ran his first full year in the American Racing Association, and was named Rookie of the Year.
In 2005, he moved to Wisconsin to work with veteran American Speed Association crew chief Howie Lettow. Leicht collected five wins en route to winning the national championship in the American Speed Association Late Model series for WalTom Racing. He won both races that he attempted in the American StockCar League. He finished first or second in thirteen of sixteen events that entered between the two series. He started eighth in his Busch series debut at Memphis Motorsports Park, and finished thirteenth. He ran another race at Phoenix, starting seventeenth and finishing nineteenth.
In 2006, Leicht ran ARCA Re/Max Series events for Yates Racing and WalTom Racing. He earned his first career ARCA series win in his second career start at Nashville Superspeedway in April. [1]. He also made four Busch series starts in 2006, posting two top-ten qualifying efforts. On July 23, he made his first Nextel Cup Series start in the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway for Yates Racing, qualifying 36th and finishing 33rd, one lap behind.