Griff Allen
Encyclopedia
The diverse career of Griff Allen includes being a motorsports broadcaster, engineer/inventor, actor/performer, on-site announcer/emcee, and communications/media skills trainer. Allen is best known for his regular appearances on ESPN2
as host, pit reporter and expert analyst for Speedworld, In the Driver’s Seat, The Mother’s Polish Car Show Series, Inside Drag Racing, World of Trucks by the Outdoor Channel, and other programming. He gained his greatest visibility as one of the first and one of the longest-running broadcasters of the sport compact broadcast wave as the National Import Racing Association (NIRA), Island Drag Racing Association (IDRA), Import Drag Racing Circuit (IDRC), National Hot Rod Association (NHRA)
, Summer Slam, NOPI Nationals and other sanctions and promoters started airing their events on Speedvision, Spike, Speed Channel
, and ESPN2.
Allen performs live analysis and commentary for AMA Superbike
, ASRA, CCS, monster truck
events, motocross
, arenacross, drifting
, rock crawling
, car shows, major industry trade shows and auto shows.
Allen served as the national spokesperson for the Toyo Tires
Take it to the Track program - which discourages illegal street racing. He has appeared frequently on local TV stations nationwide addressing issues of transportation-related public safety.
In 2006, Griff Allen, would be crowned champion of the W.E.ROCK Celebrity Rockcrawl held during the 2006 W.E.ROCK World Championship event in Henderson, Nevada.
development and investment casting
. On 20 October 1998, he was awarded patent
number 5,822,989 for his work in developing a fuel-saving clutch mechanism used in the heavy trucking industry along with co-inventors Michael L. Sturdevant and Edward T. Schneider. Allen holds a Bachelor's degree
in Mechanical Engineering
.
and William Harrison Brent in the Ohio premier of Perfect Crime
at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre
. He appeared as Mark Ferris in London Suite and Mike Connor in High Society with The Gates Mills Players - where he also directed the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
nominated play Love Letters
by A. R. Gurney
. He also appeared as Brett - a police officer in the 2001 HBO movie Proximity, and as a Desk Sergeant in the 2004 Christopher K. Young film Sugar. Allen appeared as a CDC Official in Diagnosis: Unknown on the Discovery Health Channel
. He has appeared in numerous radio and television commercials - most notably for Summit Racing Equipment
.
public-access television
cable TV show Crossviews. He learned all aspects of TV including production, directing, scripting, editing, videography
, voiceover
, and on-camera work from veteran and pioneering broadcaster Ceatta Mickey. In 1997, while producing his own public-access television program about racing - Speed TV - he was invited to host Speedvision’s Competition Offshore - which covered offshore powerboat racing sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association (APBA)
. Allen was also briefly a sports producer at Cleveland's Fox 8 under Casey Coleman
.
Allen was the first to place a drifting event on broadcast television with the August 2005 Toyo Tires Drift Shootout Presented by Kawasaki. The event was broadcast a total of three times on ESPN2 and was won by Vaughn Gittin
. At the time of the event, with an event purse of over $11,000 (USD); it was the highest purse-paying drifting event to date. The purse was paid by Toyo Tires (Pro) and Kawasaki (Amateur).
Allen has hosted all but the first GT Live events. He has co-hosted or served as production designer for most XDL events with Thomas Evans. GT Live and XDL are Paramax USA properties. At the 2006 XDL US Stunt Riding Championship Finals–which took place April 14 and 15, 2007 in the parking lot of Scores in Las Vegas, Nevada–Allen produced a two-camera Beta SP shoot of the Stuntride.com Sickest Trick competition and the XDL's top 11 finalists' Individual Freestyle Eliminations. The shoot was for two 30-minute television broadcasts of the event to air on Mav TV. This represents the first time that Sport Bike Freestyle Competition has been broadcast as an event on television.
Allen co-hosts ESPN2's Bidding Wars. In its first season, the program ran during the second quarter of 2007. The second season ran in the second quarter of 2008. In 2007, it was said to be ESPN2's highest rated program in its Saturday morning / Wednesday or Thursday afternoon motorsports block with a high rating of 4.1 - outperforming NASCAR Today. The program was voiced over by David "Doc" Riley, was hosted by Bill Stephens and was co-hosted by Genevieve Chappell
. The entire first and second seasons of programming were shot over the course of four days of the Labor Day weekend at the Kruse International Classic Car Auction and Show in Auburn, Indiana. For the 2008 broadcast season, Genevieve Chappell
and Allen returned as co-hosts while Stephen Cox replaced Bill Stephens as the host. In one 2008 episode, Allen bid on the Ducati ST2 that Wesley Snipes rode in Blade 2.
At the 2008 AMA Daytona 200 presented by Honda at Daytona International Speedway, Allen shot several tape-delay segments for Speed to air through the 2008 broadcast season.
At The Promotion Company's 2007 Spring 4 X 4 event at the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, Ohio; Allen appeared as a judge in ESPN2's Mother's Polish Car Show Series with Kathy Fisher (Host) and Doc Riley (Judge).
Allen hosted the 2008 AMA Sports Banquet at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. He emceed the 2009 and 2010 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days taking place at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. He co-hosted the 2010 AMA Racing Championship Banquet presented by World of Powersports at the Red Rock Casino Resort Spa in Las Vegas, Nevada with Laurette Nicoll. Over the course of that event, he appeared on stage with Perry King and moderated a panel discussion following the Las Vegas premier of the movie Carlsbad USGP:1980 - One Day of Magic. The panel consisted of Producer Todd Huffman, Tom White and Chuck Sun.
Formula 1, Champ Car, IRL, Toyota Atlantic, Trans-Am, SCCA, E-Modified (Wayne County Speedway)
Drag Racing:
NHRA Sport Compact, NHRA Jr. Dragster, NIRA, IDRC, IDRA
Drifting:
GT Live, The XDL Show, The Toyo Tires Drift Shootout Presented by Kawasaki
KART:
Oval and Road Course
TRUCK:
Mud Drags:
NMRO
Monster Trucks:
USHRA, The Special Events Performance Series
Rock Crawl:
Special Events, UROC
Off Road:
Special Events, USHRA
MOTORCYCLE:
Road Racing:
AMA, Formula USA, ASRA Pro, Championship Cup Series (CCS), USGPRU, CRA
Motard:
NASMOTO
Drag Racing:
AMA Prostar, AMA Arenacross, CRA Arenacross
Boat:
APBA Offshore
TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY:
Auto Shows:
Daimler Chrysler (Chrysler / Jeep / Dodge), Ford (Lincoln / Mercury)
AFTERMARKET INDUSTRY:
Marketing, Sponsorship Attainment, Trade Shows:
Toyo Tires, SEMA, PRI
MISCELLANEOUS:
Lifestyle Events – Host/Emcee:
NOPI Nationals, IDRC Summer Slam
Awards Banquets – Live Event Emcee: Clear Channel Communications
World Record Attempts – Event/Television Liaison: Fox Broadcasting Company
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
as host, pit reporter and expert analyst for Speedworld, In the Driver’s Seat, The Mother’s Polish Car Show Series, Inside Drag Racing, World of Trucks by the Outdoor Channel, and other programming. He gained his greatest visibility as one of the first and one of the longest-running broadcasters of the sport compact broadcast wave as the National Import Racing Association (NIRA), Island Drag Racing Association (IDRA), Import Drag Racing Circuit (IDRC), National Hot Rod Association (NHRA)
National Hot Rod Association
The National Hot Rod Association is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and host events all over the United States and Canada...
, Summer Slam, NOPI Nationals and other sanctions and promoters started airing their events on Speedvision, Spike, Speed Channel
SPEED Channel
Speed , is a cable and satellite television network broadcast to various parts of North America, but primarily the United States...
, and ESPN2.
Allen performs live analysis and commentary for AMA Superbike
AMA Superbike
AMA Pro Superbike is the premiere superbike racing series in the United States. It is part of the AMA Pro Racing series which was sold to and is managed by the Daytona Motorsports Group...
, ASRA, CCS, monster truck
Monster truck
A monster truck is a pickup truck, typically styled after pickup trucks' bodies, modified or purposely built with extremely large wheels and suspension...
events, motocross
Motocross
Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...
, arenacross, drifting
Drifting (motorsport)
Drifting refers to a driving technique and to a motorsport where the driver intentionally over steers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels through turns, while maintaining vehicle control and a high exit speed...
, rock crawling
Rock crawling
Rock crawling is an extreme form of off road driving using vehicles anywhere from stock to highly modified to overcome obstacles. In rock crawling, drivers drive highly modified four-wheel-drive vehicles such as trucks, Jeeps, and "buggies" over very harsh terrain...
, car shows, major industry trade shows and auto shows.
Allen served as the national spokesperson for the Toyo Tires
Toyo Tire & Rubber Company
is a tire company based in Japan.-History:The company started in 1945. In 1966, the company expanded to the United States as Toyo Tire Corporation...
Take it to the Track program - which discourages illegal street racing. He has appeared frequently on local TV stations nationwide addressing issues of transportation-related public safety.
In 2006, Griff Allen, would be crowned champion of the W.E.ROCK Celebrity Rockcrawl held during the 2006 W.E.ROCK World Championship event in Henderson, Nevada.
Engineer/Inventor
Prior to his broadcasting career, Allen worked in the industries of steel production, fluid systems component manufacturing, actuatorActuator
An actuator is a type of motor for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. It is operated by a source of energy, usually in the form of an electric current, hydraulic fluid pressure or pneumatic pressure, and converts that energy into some kind of motion. An actuator is the mechanism by which...
development and investment casting
Casting
In metalworking, casting involves pouring liquid metal into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowing it to cool and solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the mold to complete the process...
. On 20 October 1998, he was awarded patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
number 5,822,989 for his work in developing a fuel-saving clutch mechanism used in the heavy trucking industry along with co-inventors Michael L. Sturdevant and Edward T. Schneider. Allen holds a Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
.
Actor/Performer
Griff Allen has theater and film experience. He appeared as Captain Georg von Trapp in The Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
and William Harrison Brent in the Ohio premier of Perfect Crime
Perfect Crime (play)
Perfect Crime is a 1987 Off Broadway play in the murder mystery/thriller genre written by Warren Manzi. It tells the story of Margaret Thorne Brent, an accomplished Connecticut psychiatrist and potential cold-blooded killer who may have committed "the perfect crime." When her wealthy husband, W...
at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre
Chagrin Valley Little Theatre
Chagrin Valley Little Theatre is a community theatre located in Chagrin Falls, Ohio in the United States. The theatre has been in existence since 1930, and is one of the oldest community theatres in the country .The main CVLT facility includes a main auditorium seating 262 patrons, two group...
. He appeared as Mark Ferris in London Suite and Mike Connor in High Society with The Gates Mills Players - where he also directed the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
nominated play Love Letters
Love Letters (play)
Love Letters is a Pulitzer Prize for Drama nominated play by A. R. Gurney. The play centers on just two characters, Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III...
by A. R. Gurney
A. R. Gurney
A. R. Gurney is an American playwright and novelist. He is known for works including Love Letters, The Cocktail Hour, and The Dining Room. Gurney currently lives in both New York and Connecticut....
. He also appeared as Brett - a police officer in the 2001 HBO movie Proximity, and as a Desk Sergeant in the 2004 Christopher K. Young film Sugar. Allen appeared as a CDC Official in Diagnosis: Unknown on the Discovery Health Channel
Discovery Health Channel
Discovery Health Channel is a website owned by Discovery Communications, created for people interested in health and wellness. Until December 31, 2010, it was a U.S. cable television specialty channel dedicated to television programming that highlights various aspects of health and wellness...
. He has appeared in numerous radio and television commercials - most notably for Summit Racing Equipment
Summit Racing Equipment
Summit Racing Equipment is the world’s largest mail order automotive performance equipment company, with thousands of performance parts, aftermarket accessories, tools and garage equipment, collectibles, and stock replacement parts to choose from...
.
Motorsports Broadcaster
Allen was introduced to TV broadcasting and production through his volunteer work with the American Red CrossAmerican Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable TV show Crossviews. He learned all aspects of TV including production, directing, scripting, editing, videography
Videography
Videography refers to the process of capturing moving images on electronic media even streaming media). The term includes methods of video production and post-production...
, voiceover
VoiceOver
VoiceOver is a screen reader built into Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X, iOS and iPod operating systems. By using VoiceOver, the user can access their Macintosh or iOS device based on spoken descriptions and, in the case of the Mac, the keyboard. The feature is designed to increase accessibility for blind...
, and on-camera work from veteran and pioneering broadcaster Ceatta Mickey. In 1997, while producing his own public-access television program about racing - Speed TV - he was invited to host Speedvision’s Competition Offshore - which covered offshore powerboat racing sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association (APBA)
American Power Boat Association
The American Power Boat Association is a New York non-profit, membership owned corporation that was created in 1903 by an act of the New York legislature as a racing association for powerboats. It is the United States sanctioning authority for the Union Internationale Motonautique , the world...
. Allen was also briefly a sports producer at Cleveland's Fox 8 under Casey Coleman
Casey Coleman
Kenneth R. "Casey" Coleman Jr. was a sportscaster and radio personality in the Cleveland area for nearly 30 years.-Early life:Coleman was born in Cleveland in 1951 to legendary play-by-play announcer Ken Coleman...
.
Allen was the first to place a drifting event on broadcast television with the August 2005 Toyo Tires Drift Shootout Presented by Kawasaki. The event was broadcast a total of three times on ESPN2 and was won by Vaughn Gittin
Vaughn Gittin
Vaughn Donald Gittin, Jr. , commonly known as JR, is an American self-taught professional drifter from Annapolis, Maryland who currently competes in the Formula D series in his 2011 Falken Tire Ford Racing Mustang. When he's not competing, Vaughn performs drifting demonstrations for Ford in his...
. At the time of the event, with an event purse of over $11,000 (USD); it was the highest purse-paying drifting event to date. The purse was paid by Toyo Tires (Pro) and Kawasaki (Amateur).
Allen has hosted all but the first GT Live events. He has co-hosted or served as production designer for most XDL events with Thomas Evans. GT Live and XDL are Paramax USA properties. At the 2006 XDL US Stunt Riding Championship Finals–which took place April 14 and 15, 2007 in the parking lot of Scores in Las Vegas, Nevada–Allen produced a two-camera Beta SP shoot of the Stuntride.com Sickest Trick competition and the XDL's top 11 finalists' Individual Freestyle Eliminations. The shoot was for two 30-minute television broadcasts of the event to air on Mav TV. This represents the first time that Sport Bike Freestyle Competition has been broadcast as an event on television.
Allen co-hosts ESPN2's Bidding Wars. In its first season, the program ran during the second quarter of 2007. The second season ran in the second quarter of 2008. In 2007, it was said to be ESPN2's highest rated program in its Saturday morning / Wednesday or Thursday afternoon motorsports block with a high rating of 4.1 - outperforming NASCAR Today. The program was voiced over by David "Doc" Riley, was hosted by Bill Stephens and was co-hosted by Genevieve Chappell
Genevieve Chappell
Genevieve Chappell is an American television personality and owner of GCS Productions.-Early life:Genevieve Gael Chappell was born in Anaheim, California, to Bob and Lesley Chappell, the eldest of five children...
. The entire first and second seasons of programming were shot over the course of four days of the Labor Day weekend at the Kruse International Classic Car Auction and Show in Auburn, Indiana. For the 2008 broadcast season, Genevieve Chappell
Genevieve Chappell
Genevieve Chappell is an American television personality and owner of GCS Productions.-Early life:Genevieve Gael Chappell was born in Anaheim, California, to Bob and Lesley Chappell, the eldest of five children...
and Allen returned as co-hosts while Stephen Cox replaced Bill Stephens as the host. In one 2008 episode, Allen bid on the Ducati ST2 that Wesley Snipes rode in Blade 2.
At the 2008 AMA Daytona 200 presented by Honda at Daytona International Speedway, Allen shot several tape-delay segments for Speed to air through the 2008 broadcast season.
On-site Announcer/Emcee
Griff Allen hosted the 2005, 2006 and 2007 SEMA Show Proving Grounds and the 2006 and 2007 SEMA Spring Expo / SEMA Off-Road Proving Grounds. At both the 2006 SEMA Show and the 2007 Spring Expo, he interviewed Ivan "Ironman" Stewart. At the 2007 SEMA Off-Road Show, he moderated The Performance Diesel Panel - made up of Mark Williams, editor of Truck Trend magazine; Kevin Wilson, editor of Diesel World; John Waraniak, SEMA Vice President of Vehicle Technology; Harald Hanks, BD Diesel Performance; and Ron Knoch, then from the Diesel Hot Rod Association (DHRA). At the 2007 SEMA Show, he appeared in a televised segment with Will Castro shot for Speed's Unique Whips.At The Promotion Company's 2007 Spring 4 X 4 event at the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, Ohio; Allen appeared as a judge in ESPN2's Mother's Polish Car Show Series with Kathy Fisher (Host) and Doc Riley (Judge).
Allen hosted the 2008 AMA Sports Banquet at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. He emceed the 2009 and 2010 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days taking place at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. He co-hosted the 2010 AMA Racing Championship Banquet presented by World of Powersports at the Red Rock Casino Resort Spa in Las Vegas, Nevada with Laurette Nicoll. Over the course of that event, he appeared on stage with Perry King and moderated a panel discussion following the Las Vegas premier of the movie Carlsbad USGP:1980 - One Day of Magic. The panel consisted of Producer Todd Huffman, Tom White and Chuck Sun.
Communications/Media Skills Trainer
Allen offers communications and media skills training under the brand @thletic Xpression Communication Clinictm. He has delivered this training to the staff and sponsored racers of Toyo Tires, The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, The United States Grand Prix Racers Union, all riders in the 2008 AMA US Red Bull Rookies Cup, students of Mount Union College, private clients and others.Motorsport Sanctions or Disciplines Covered by Griff Allen
Road Racing:Formula 1, Champ Car, IRL, Toyota Atlantic, Trans-Am, SCCA, E-Modified (Wayne County Speedway)
Drag Racing:
NHRA Sport Compact, NHRA Jr. Dragster, NIRA, IDRC, IDRA
Drifting:
GT Live, The XDL Show, The Toyo Tires Drift Shootout Presented by Kawasaki
KART:
Oval and Road Course
TRUCK:
Mud Drags:
NMRO
Monster Trucks:
USHRA, The Special Events Performance Series
Rock Crawl:
Special Events, UROC
Off Road:
Special Events, USHRA
MOTORCYCLE:
Road Racing:
AMA, Formula USA, ASRA Pro, Championship Cup Series (CCS), USGPRU, CRA
Motard:
NASMOTO
Drag Racing:
AMA Prostar, AMA Arenacross, CRA Arenacross
Boat:
APBA Offshore
TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY:
Auto Shows:
Daimler Chrysler (Chrysler / Jeep / Dodge), Ford (Lincoln / Mercury)
AFTERMARKET INDUSTRY:
Marketing, Sponsorship Attainment, Trade Shows:
Toyo Tires, SEMA, PRI
MISCELLANEOUS:
Lifestyle Events – Host/Emcee:
NOPI Nationals, IDRC Summer Slam
Awards Banquets – Live Event Emcee: Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
World Record Attempts – Event/Television Liaison: Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
External links
- www.playinthestreet.com- official website
- American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) - official website