MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Derek Griffith is getting his shot on the big stage.
Chad Bryant Racing has announced a partnership with Original Gourmet Food Company, which will propel the team into a full-time ARCA Menards Series East schedule with Griffith.
Their championship charge begins with this weekend’s Pensacola 200 presented by Inspectra Thermal Solutions at Five Flags (Fla.) Speedway.
Headquartered in Salem, New Hampshire, Original Gourmet has been innovating in the sweets and snack industry since 1994. Their story started with a recipe and a vision.
Their curiosity for making special blends of flavors and colors of candy became a passion for providing people with bold tasting lollipops.
Griffith’s No. 2 Ford Fusion will be covered in a variety of the company’s 26 lollipops flavors.
Original Gourmet’s lollipops are the largest pops sold with a bright taste and bright colors – standing out from all the rest. Weighing in at 1.1 ounces, the lollipops are gluten and peanut-free delights that have a plastic stick and will not get soggy.
“I am so blessed for this opportunity to represent Original Gourmet Food Company and compete for the ARCA Menards Series East championship,” said Griffith. “This is a great chance to bring a new partner into the sport and bring a product that race fans can enjoy while watching our Chad Bryant Racing compete for the championship title.
“I’m eager to get to Five Flags this weekend and finish what we started at New Smyrna.”
Griffith, 23, returns to Chad Bryant Racing on the heels of an outstanding performance in their series’ debut together last month at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway.
The talented late model ace from the Northeast had one of the fastest cars in practice, won the pole and led a whopping 144 of the race’s 175 laps, but a late-race pit stop penalty relegated Griffith to start at the rear of the field.
With 31 laps remaining, he was able to come from last to second.
This weekend, Griffith, a two-time finalist in the Kulwicki Driver Development program, will look for his first career ARCA Menards Series East victory under the leadership of former NASCAR Cup Series crew chief Paul Andrews.
“It’s going to be a fun season,” added Griffith. “With the support of the Original Gourmet Food Company, we’ll not only have the opportunity to win races, but we will also contend for the series’ championship – something I didn’t think we’d be able to do. Hopefully, with the strength of our team, we can put a ‘licking’ on the rest of the competition.”
Team owner Chad Bryant says he’s ecstatic to have Griffith as part of his team’s driver development program, and their performance at New Smyrna was just the start of things to come from the No. 2 Chad Bryant Racing team this season.
“Derek impressed a lot of people at New Smyrna and he’ll only continue to turn heads as the ARCA Menards Series East season marches on,” noted Bryant. “He is extremely talented and our performance last month is just a taste of what is to come from our No. 2 Chad Bryant Racing team.
“We’re happy to carry the Original Gourmet™ colors and look forward to celebrating with them a lot in 2020.”