Approaching leader in race, draw level (4)
I believe the answer is:
tier
'level' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'approaching leader in race draw' is the wordplay.
'approaching' says to put letters next to each other.
'leader in race' becomes 'r' (I've seen this in other clues).
'draw' becomes 'tie' (synonyms).
'r' put after 'tie' is 'TIER'.
(Other definitions for tier that I've seen before include "band" , "Row, layer" , "Rite for a rank" , "Row - one forming a knot" , "Rite about layer" .)