HARTFORD, OH – (Nov. 8, 2006) Years ago, the racing community was adamant in the superstition that peanuts and the color green were “bad luck”. Whether you were actually superstitious or not, wearing or carrying anything green would result in a strict reprimand from seasoned race fans. But you would be hard-pressed to convince Greenville, PA’s, Guy Griffin that those suspicions are legitimate considering Griffin has wheeled his very green, #11 Green Flag Sprint to a second season point championship in as many years at Sharon Speedway. The mild-mannered Griffin has certainly dispelled that superstition!
Guy Griffin was born and raised in Greenville, PA, and attended Reynolds High School where he was a decorated athlete in both football and wrestling. In 1987, he landed his first full-time ride in a sprint car owned by Karl Brest of Kinsman, Ohio, and the team spent two years together, racing mainly at Buckeye Speedway in Orrville. Guy recalls winning only one heat race during that time, but says they did make every show. In 1989, Guy bought his own 410 Sprint from Ron Trevis and, unfortunately, wrecked it at the end of the year … and spent the next three years making payments on it! In ‘93, Griffin climbed into a micro-sprint, competing at Hickory Speedway in New Castle, and won the point championship that year for the micros. Two years later, he shifted gears and drove a 6-cylinder modified for Jim Rowe, then made another change and moved into big block Modified racing for Don Fair in 1996. He raced at Mercer and Sharon every week with Fair and won the Modified points at Mercer in 1997. Guy decided to be a driver/owner again and bought Fair’s car which he continued to race at Mercer and Sharon in ’98 and ’99. Griffin’s racing was put on hold during the 2000 and 2001 seasons and in 2002, he sporadically drove a car for Todd Shaffer at Mercer. In 2003, he bought another V8 Modified. In July of that year, Griffin was involved in a serious crash at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, PA. Griffin said, “I always wanted to ride in a helicopter, but I didn’t even know I was in it!” Those who know Guy, know and appreciate his sense of humor, even in the most somber situations. The roof was cut from his modified to extract him from the mess and he was life-flighted to Allegheny Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. He suffered a severe concussion with memory loss and dizziness. Thankfully, he completely recovered, but Guy’s racing was temporarily sidelined.
In 2004, Dave Blaney introduced a sealed engine racing program at Sharon Speedway with a new division called the Green Flag Sprints. The concept offers racers a low-cost alternative, not only to attract new drivers, but also for those who have been forced to quit racing due to escalating cost. This was the perfect match for Griffin. Not only could he get back into a sprint car, but he could do it on a limited budget and Guy was in!
Griffin drove his green machine to the 2005 point championship and followed up with a second “ace” in 2006. He only missed one feature event all season, and won 6 point race A-mains. He also scored his biggest win of the year taking home the $1500 winner’s purse on the first night of the Sharon Nationals. “That was my most memorable win of ‘06”, recalls Guy.
When asked how much time he spends working on his car, he replied, “I could spend every minute on it just because I love it! But honestly, we work on the car Tuesday and Thursday night from 4-6:00 and that’s it. There’s very little maintenance to it. My dad couldn’t believe it when I first started racing the Green Flag because we hardly worked on it.” Guy continues, “This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me in racing. The pros outweigh the cons in this division. You can actually drive the car and work on the car and tweak things to make it handle better.” Guy can also attest to the durability of the engine. “We’re coming up on our fourth year to race this engine and we haven’t had anything done to it. The horsepower hasn’t gone down at all.” Guy’s crew consists of John Adams, Tom Kirby, Dan Horstman, Chris Mott and Larry Thurber, 3 of which help out at the garage. Guy credits his 2006 Championship title, “to my crew, and support from my family and friends and Stacey (girlfriend), of course. I’ve never had anyone in my corner like that.”
Guy would love to have the opportunity to race for a living and says “racing a sprint with the World of Outlaws,” would be his choice. “I think it’s still the grass roots of racing and I think dirt track racing is so much more exciting.” Guy works full-time for PennDot on the Bridge Crew.
Guy summarizes this year as “the best season we’ve ever had!” and adds, “and we haven’t wrecked a car in three years.” His parents were able to come to the races for the first time in seven years and he expressed his gratitude for the support of his daughter, Rachel, his sister and brother-in-law (Cheryl and Jerry Hazlett), his nephew, Curt Hazlett, girlfriend Stacey and daughters, Tiffany and Heather. He said, “It’s all about family. That’s all you have in life.” His only regrets were that his deceased brother and daughter couldn’t be here for this time in his life. Always the “fan-friendly” driver, Guy added a special thanks to the “Turn 4 Gang” who have become avid supporters over the past year. “It’s been a great year!” Griffin concluded.
Congratulations to Guy Griffin and the entire crew of the green #11 Green Flag Sprint.
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