13 Year Old To Become Youngest Competitor To Race Late Models At HD!

At only thirteen years old, Jake Griffin has developed quite a reputation for himself on1 the tracks. With over 210 top five finishes already, Jake knows what it takes to excel as a racer. Having raced in numerous cities and states at such a young age, Jake's experience in the UMP A-Modified, B-Modified, Crate Late Model, and Super Late Model ranks is surpassed only by his passion for the sport.

Jake Griffin has shown an interest in racing since the young age of three. His career began with his fascination for racing four wheelers. Over the years, Jake's expertise in the sport became more and more noticeable to his father, Dan Griffin. Jake recalls a trip to the Quincy Mall in 2005, where a group of quarter midget cars were on display. It was here that Jake was first encouraged by his father to give the sport of quarter midget racing a try.

Since that day, Jake has piled up a multitude of impressive accomplishments, and his immense collection of trophies serves as proof. Currently, Jake's accomplishments include over 68 feature wins, 216 top five finishes, 1 regional championship, and 6 track championships. Jake was also crowned as the Open Wheel Modified Rookie of the Year at Spoon River Speedway (Canton, Illinois). He also finished 5th in the track's Open Wheel Modified points and 12th in the facilities' PRO Late Model standings.

The 2010 season saw Jake claim Rookie of the Year honors at both Spoon River Speedway (Canton, Illinois) and Quincy Raceway (Quincy, Illinois) in the UMP Modified division.

In 2011, the then 12-year-old Griffin would grab the nation's attention as he contested the United Late Model Association (ULMA) tour. His initial plans were to just get seat time at new tracks. However, he would quickly find himself in the thick of the point's battle for the national championship. Not only was he contending for a championship, but he was also winning races and track championship's along the way. He claimed a total of eight feature wins as well as track championships at Scotland County Speedway (Memphis, Missouri), 24 Raceway (Moberly, Missouri), and Callaway Raceway (Fulton, Missouri). He was also the Rookie of the Year at all three facilities. The battle for the ULMA national championship would come down to the final race, and Griffin would finish second in the final tour standings, just six points out of the lead. He would claim 25 top five finishes and 32 top ten finishes along the way. He also made history on Sunday, September 4th, 2011, when he became the first driver to ever win an Open Wheel Modified feature and a Late Model feature on the same night in Bob Pierce Race Cars, which are built by Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer, Bob Pierce.

During the course of the 2011 season, Jake also competed in a full slate of events in the UMP Open Wheel Modified division. With over 2,200 competitors competing in the division in 2011, he finished an impressive 103rd in the final standings in his first season in the division. He ranked eighth in the number of events entered and laps logged. He also earned 11 top five finishes and 43 top ten finishes as well as a feature win in the Open Wheel Modified division. After entering 107 total events between the two divisions in 2011, Jake was proud to only have had four DNS. Overall, it was a wildly successful season for you the young driver.
Jake has high ambitions for his future in the sport of racing as someday he aspires to reach the NASCAR ranks. In 2012 he will take his next step toward that goal as he looks to begin obtaining experience racing on asphalt.