Derek Griffith pulled away from the pack for the night 2 win
For the second of what is scheduled to be nine nights in the 55th annual World Series of Asphalt the David Rogers Super Late Model division took to the half-mile New Smyrna Speedway. At the end of the evening, it was defending WSoA champion Derek Griffith who claimed the win in a caution free race shown live by NBC TrackPass. The New Hampshire native followed up a podium finish from Friday night with a dominating win on Saturday.
Rain showers washed out qualifying so the starting lineup was set based on the previous night’s finish with an invert of the top-6. That placed Justin Mondeik on the pole with Connor Mosack, Jacob Goede, Derek Griffith, Jett Noland, Ryan Moore, Brad May, Sammy Smith, Jake Garcia and R.J. Braun rounding out the top-10 starters in a 25 car field.
At the start of the 35-lap feature race it was Mosack and Griffith who bolted from the outside lane to move into first and second respectively with Mondeik, Goede and Noland trailing. The scramble for position began right away as Mondeik and Goede went side-by-side for third while Moore and Noland fought over fifth.
By lap 4, Griffith was ready to assert himself at the front of the field. He placed his No. 12G machine inside of Mondeik in an attempt to wrest the spot away but had to fall back. Finally, after two laps of racing side-by-side, Griffith took command of the event.
At that point, the soon-to-be 24-year-old began to slip away from his pursuers as battles raged behind him. Noland closed in on Goede as they contested the fourth position lap after lap from the mid-point to the checkered flag. Further back, Moore, Smith, and May ran in tight formation as they waged war for positions 5-7.
But in the end, it was Griffith who would sail under the checkered flag a full second ahead of his closest competition.
“It just feels good, especially after last night,” Griffith declared in his post-race interview. “I know we finished podium but we got tore up and all sorts of issues yesterday. To come out and prove ourselves as someone who belongs here feels good. We’re just a small family owned team and it’s so cool to come down here and run with these guys and compete.”
Feature Finish: 1. Derek Griffith, 2. Connor Mosack, 3. Justin Mondeik, 4. Jacob Goede, 5. Jett Noland, 6. Ryan Moore, 7. Sammy Smith, 8. Brad May, 9. Jake Garcia, 10. Dan Fredrickson, 11. R.J. Braun, 12. Kris Wright, 13. Stephen Nasse, 14. Jesse Love, 15. Kelly Moore, 16. Daniel Dye, 17. Michael Hinde, 18. Jake Finch, 19. Nick Panitzke, 20. Kody Swanson, 21. Bubba Pollard, 22. Jaden Cretacci, 23. Steve Weaver, 24. Patrick Thomas, 25. Travis Wilson