The champion of East Alabama Motor Speedway’s beginner 602 Crate Late Model division died early Saturday morning when his pickup truck veered off the roadway and crashed south of Phenix City, Ala. Jaxson Griggs of Seale, Ala., was 19.

Griggs had recently completed a two-victory season in the 602 chargers at EAMS, topping the division points with six top-five finishes in nine starts. The rookie made a few starts in the division late last season.

“You'd never see him in the pits without a smile, and he'd always put on one helluva show no matter what,” EAMS posted on the track’s Facebook page. “He'll be greatly missed by so many.”

According to police reports, the Ford F-250 Griggs was driving struck a culvert and then a tree in an incident at 3:28 a.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene.