The ASA National Tour is considered one of the cornerstones of American Motorsports.
Yet, in its rich history of more than 500 races, no event has ever been contested in the New England region.
Despite that fact, the ASA lore is still strong in the land known for its modified racing and the famed Oxford 250 for stock cars through the years. Now, one of New England’s best, Derek Griffith, out of New Hampshire, is set to make his ASA STARS National Tour debut during Tuesday’s (May 16) ECMD 150 at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina.
“I’ve got friends who have been in racing for a super long time that talk about how ASA used to be,” stated Griffith, who competed in six NASCAR Xfinity Series races in 2022. “It’s really cool to see the time and effort being put into bringing a national series like this back to life. It’s cool to see the names on the list and the whole deal.
“North Wilkesboro is going to be an awesome show for the fans and it’s going to be cool to be a part of.”
With two PASS National championships, a Granite State Pro Stock Series title and multiple big wins in the Northeast, the driver known affectionately as “D-Griff” has established himself as one of the region’s top stars. His success has followed him away from home as well. Griffith is a two-time World Series of Asphalt super late model champion at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida.
This year has already been a success for the Granite State racer.
He was strong during Florida Speedweeks and has other promising outings in the Northeast before breaking back into victory lane in the PASS super late model race at Thunder Road Speedbowl in Vermont on May 6. With that win now out of the way, he feels like a new leaf has been turned.
“I think we’re on the right track now,” said Griffith, who did have one super late model and one super modified win last year. “The car we’ve been running at home was wrecked at Berlin, but we got it put back together and it’s been getting better and better. We’re back feeling good and getting on the right path of making our race cars fast and being consistently competitive.”
His debut with the ASA STARS National Tour comes at the ECMD 150 at the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway, an event with an entry list that rivals any other big race in the country.
With 55 drivers entered, including multiple NASCAR Cup Series drivers, Griffith is excited, yet admittedly a little nervous for Tuesday’s race.
“The names are huge on that list. Timing-wise it works out so well for all these big-name guys that are running in the top-three series to be able to come and run during the week of the All-Star Race. It’s both exciting and a little bit frightening because we know we’re going to have to race against the best in the country,” Griffith said. ‘It’s going to be an amazing deal for sure.”