His progression has carried him to the upper levels of grassroots racing, where Griffith is competing for victories and championships against some of super late model racing’s best racers.
He captured the 2018 Pro All Stars Series national championship, which consisted of events in the northern and southern regions, before claiming the 2020 World Series crown at New Smyrna Speedway.
His World Series performances helped catch the attention of ARCA Menards Series team owner Chad Bryant, who hired him to compete in the ARCA Menards Series East opener at New Smyrna.
Griffith impressed yet again, capturing the pole and finishing second to Sam Mayer after leading a race-high 144 laps. His strong outing led to partial schedules with the ARCA national tour and the ARCA Menards Series East division.
“It’s been really cool to be kind of exposed to people on a national level,” Griffith said. “Racing up in the Northeast is kind of like racing out in the Midwest. It’s not a cult, but everybody up here kind of looks up to each other. You go race in Florida and it’s like the whole East Coast from like Pennsylvania down is all considered one area and they all look up to each other, you know, (Stephen) Nasse, Bubba (Pollard) and those guys are Georgia, Florida, and they’re looked at as the best in the country.
“It’s like the Northeast doesn’t really get a whole lot of attention,” Griffith continued. “It’s kind of fulfilling to me to have the Northeast with me at such a big level. The feeling of being compared to guys like Bubba and Ty (Majeski) and Stephen … it’s so cool for me.”
This year, Griffith opened his season with another strong week at New Smyrna Speedway, where he won three times en route to a second World Series crown. He also raced in the ARCA opener at Daytona Int’l Speedway for Venturini Motorsports but was taken out in a crash and finished 30th.
His strong start to the season continued with a top-five finish in the Rattler 250 at South Alabama Speedway and back-to-back victories in 150-lap Pro All Stars Series Easter Bunny races at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway in April.
He also added a victory back home at Thompson (Conn.) Speedway Motorsports Park.
“Just to have the success we had down there (at New Smyrna), it’s huge,” said Griffith, who later added a top-five finish in ARCA competition at Kansas Speedway in a second start for Venturini Motorsports. “To come out of there in one piece with the championship and three wins, it’s unbelievable for us to start off on the right foot there. Then to go to the Rattler, the first time I’d ever been to South Alabama Speedway, and we finished fourth.
“Then, we go to Hickory and win two races, go to Thompson and win a race. It started off (as) the strongest year we’ve had ever. It’s pretty dang cool.”
Griffith, who drives the No. 12g FURY Chassis for the LCM Motorsports program, which is co-owned by a consortium of people that includes his father John, the Mechalides family and others, wants to make a career out of racing.
To do that he needs funding, something he is continuing to work on when he’s not busy running Northeast Auto Imports, the business he owns in Hudson, N.H.
“We buy cars in Japan and ship them here. All older vehicles. Then we sell them off like a retail dealer,” Griffith said. “We also have a repair facility here as well. We work on anything from a Subaru WRX to supercharged Jeeps, high-performance stuff mostly is what we do here. It’s a bit of a niche market for sure.”
Griffith acknowledges that he’s working on opportunities for 2021 and beyond, though nothing has materialized. He would like to return for a full season in the ARCA Menards Series if things work out the way he hopes they do.
“Next year is looking really good for a 2022 ARCA season,” Griffith said. “That’s what I can reveal, but it can go a bunch of different ways. Unfortunately, I just can’t pull out a bunch of money and be like, ‘Hey, here you go.’”
Regardless of what the future holds, Griffith is thankful for the opportunities he has received. Without them, he wouldn’t be who he is today.
“Everything has kind of lined up the right way for me the last handful of years,” Griffith said. “I’m extremely lucky to get the opportunities I do and work with the people that I do. It’s pretty dang cool.”