THOMPSON, Conn. — Derek Griffith went wire-to-wire to capture the Pro All Stars Series super late model Thompson 75 at the annual Icebreaker on Saturday at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
Griffith grabbed the lead in the first corner and was on a rail from there, claiming victory in the headliner for the afternoon session of the 82nd Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park season opener.
Griffith’s win kept the young star perfect early in the PASS super late model season. He captured both PASS National Easter Bunny 150 events at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway last weekend. He opened the year by winning three races and the super late model championship during the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway in February.
It took less than 500 feet for Griffith to get to the front at Thompson. He started second after winning the second qualifying heat, and when polesitter Ben Rowe had trouble coming up to speed, Griffith and several others shot past.
The only thing that could slow Griffith was the race’s lone caution on lap three when Garrett Hall tagged the backstretch wall. When the field went green again, Griffith put the hammer down. Eddie MacDonald gave chase as best he could, and could narrow the gap some in traffic, but Griffith restored his margin every time they got clear.
Even as multiple other drivers had strong runs go sour in the unseasonable warm weather, Griffith never wavered. He ultimately put more than half the field a lap down and cruised to an impressive win.
“I love it here,” Griffith said after the race. “I tell people all the time about how cool the Icebreaker is and how big of a weekend it is. You know we travel everywhere and not everybody understands how big of a weekend it is — and not just for PASS…so to come get another (win) here is pretty cool. It’s definitely one to mark off.”
MacDonald finished second with Gabe Brown a comfortable third. Rowe recovered from his early troubles and held off Rowland Robinson Jr. for fourth. Reigning PASS North champion D.J. Shaw, Johnny Clark, Cory Casagrande, Mike Scorzelli, and Dan Winter rounded out the top-10.
The finish:
Derek Griffith, Eddie MacDonald, Gabe Brown, Ben Rowe, Rowland Robinson Jr., D.J. Shaw, Johnny Clark, Cory Casagrande, Mike Scorzelli, Dan Winter, Shane Clark, Jake Matheson, Anthony Constantino, Keith Rocco, Kate Re, Brandon Turbush, Kevin Folan, Brandon Barker, Devin O’Connell, Jake Johnson, Garrett Hall.