DEREK GRIFFITH
RACE REPORT
SPARKS 300 AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
NO. 26 HUDSON SPEEDWAY TOYOTA GR SUPRA
EVENT INFORMATION
- Date: October 1, 2022
- Event: Sparks 300 (Round 28 of 33)
- Location: Talladega Superspeedway
- Format: 113 Laps (Stages 25 laps / 50 laps / 113 laps)
- Start/Finish: 26th / 23rd
KEY NOTES
- Derek Griffith made his NXS Superspeedway debut on Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, finishing 23rd in the Sparks 300 at the famous 2.5-mile track in Lincoln, Alabama.
- Griffith battled as high as 15th.
- Griffith had never seen or put a lap down at Talladega Superspeedway before his single qualifying lap on Friday afternoon.
- The Sparks 300 ran with only one on-track caution (not counting stage-break cautions).
- Pit cycle in the final stage put Griffith in the second pack to end the stage, bringing home a 23rd-place finish without a scratch on the car.
QUOTES
“Lots to take in. With no practice and never being here before, we qualified right out of the gate. [Laughs] It really is a lot to take in. Sam, Bryan, Allen, the entire group gave me pointers by telling me what to look for and what to do. They gave me a lot of data to analyze and use to my advantage. Really, the next thing to do was to get out there and drive, so that’s what we did. It was a weird race with only one caution — which is unusual for a superspeedway, especially at Talladega. We just got stalled out there. I think if we had been with the main pack at the end, we would have been in good shape. I can’t thank Hudson Speedway and Toyota enough for everything that they do. I can’t wait to be back in this thing at Martinsville! It’s going to feel really good to come back to a racetrack that I’ve already raced at this year. I know we’ll have a good piece. We’ll have a fast GR Supra there. We had a fast one today, but we needed some cautions.”
— Derek Griffith, Driver of the No. 26 Hudson Speedway Toyota GR Supra
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