29th- Derek Griffith
The Super Late Model division was back in action in the World Series of Asphalt at the New Smyrna Speedway on Tuesday night after being given a reprieve the previous evening as the ARCA Menard’s East Series took center stage. By the end of the night on the track located just minutes from the famed Daytona International it was Derek Griffith who received the accolades as the feature winner following a highly competitive feature race.
Derek Griffith continued his solid World Series performance by posting the fast time in qualifying with a lap of 17.826 seconds around the half-mile paved oval to beat out Sunday night winner and W.S. points leader Brad May, Daniel Dye, Jett Noland, Max Calles-McDonald, Todd Stone, Justin Mondeik, Saturday night victor Jesse Love and Austin MacDonald.
The post-qualifying draw placed May on the pole with Griffith on the outside of the front row. Only the top-2 qualifiers were impacted by the invert.
At the start of the 50-lap feature it was May taking the early lead over Griffith, Noland, Majeski and then a side-by-side battle for fourth between Calles-McDonald and Mondeik. It didn’t take long for Majeski to begin his climb toward the top of the leader board as he passed by Noland to claim third on the second circuit.
By lap 8 the top-3 of May, Griffith and Majeski had broken away from the pack as they ran in tight formation. However, a lap 16 caution Jerry Artuso would tighten the field back up.
The restart allowed for great racing as Griffith moved up to challenge May for the lead while Noland and Majeski ran door-to-door for third just behind the lead duo.
Griffith took the lead on a lap 18 restart leaving May to fight with Majeski for the runner-up position. At the same time, 12th starting Stephen Nasse broke into the top-5 and looked to enter the fray among those battling in front of him.
Just before the halfway point in the event Majeski again scraped with May for second as Nasse moved in to battle Noland for fourth. All the while, Griffith inched away from hos closest pursuers.
Majeski finally grabbed second away from May on lap 27 as Noland and Love fought over fifth further back.
Following a lap 28 caution for David Rogers, Majeski was able to take advantage of the restart and assume the lead ahead of Griffith.
With 15 laps remaining a fierce battle was enjoined by Noland, Jake Garcia, Love and Austin MacDonald for positons 6-9.
On lap 41, with Griffith in his rear view mirror, Majeski tagged the outside wall coming off of turn 4. At the very same time, Garcia encountered a problem that sent sparks flying from underneath his car to bring out a caution.
Majeski and Griffith battled for the lead on the restart while Nasse took third away from May who then faded back into the pack.
The final yellow flag of the night waved on lap 45 when Augie Grill was sent spinning down the front straightaway. On the ensuing restart Griffith regained the lead away from Majeski.
From that point, the No. 12G machine took off and eventually sailed under the checkered flag to claim victory.
Feature Finish: 1. Derek Griffith, 2. Ty Majeski, 3. Stephen Nasse, 4. Jesse Love Jr., 5. Gus Dean, 6. Justin Mondeik, 7. Brad May, 8. Jett Noland, 9. Sammy Smith, 10. Austin MacDonald, 11. Trey Bayne, 12. Jerry Artuso, 13. Todd Stone, 14. Max Calles-McDonald, 15. Daniel Dye, 16. David Rogers, 17. Augie Grill, 18. Colin Garrett, 19. Joe Valento, 20. Patrick Thomas, 21. Vincent Staggs, 22. Kyle Sieg, 23. Jake Garcia, 24. Steve Weaver, 25. Ryan Moore, 26. Kevin Ingram, 27. Anthony Sergi, 28. Michael Staggs