Chasing The First One … The 2019 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) reaches the halfway point on Saturday evening at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS), and Max McLaughlin is hot on the trail of his first-career win. The driver of the No. 1 Mohawk Northeast Toyota Camry is chasing his first triumph in the Granite State after winning the pole and leading 86 laps at Memphis International Raceway on June 1st. “Mad Max” enters NHMS on the strength of three-consecutive top-six finishes, including a pair of third-place runs at South Boston Speedway.
Family Ties … The McLaughlin family has a great deal of history at the “Magic Mile”. Max’s dad, Mike, a veteran of 314 starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, earned one of his six-career victories at NHMS in 1997 and is a full-time crew member on his son’s No. 1 Camry. The younger McLaughlin will honor his dad’s success at NHMS this week by running a throwback white and gold firesuit. Mike won four NKNPSE races at NHMS in the black and gold Coor’s Extra Gold colors from 1990-1993 and went to victory lane at the “Magic Mile” in the NASCAR Modified Tour in 1990. “Mad Max” hopes to replicate his dad’s accomplishments at NHMS and return the “Extra Gold” suit to victory lane on Saturday.
Extra Assistance … McLaughlin’s No. 1 team led by crew chief Robert Huffman have some extra assistance for the next two weeks. Six students from Toyota Technical College in Japan have made the trip to North Carolina and are working alongside the Mohawk Northeast team at the HRE shop in Mooresville, NC. The students are also receiving instruction at NASCAR Technical Institute and will join McLaughlin, Huffman, and the rest of the No. 1 team at the track next week at Iowa Speedway.
Chassis Selection … Huffman and company have prepared chassis No. 010 for McLaughlin to run in Saturday’s 70-lap contest. This will be chassis No. 010’s second appearance this season. McLaughlin most recently ran this Toyota Camry at Bristol Motor Speedway and finished 13th after breaking a shock.
Tune In … FansChoice.TV will have live coverage from New Hampshire, beginning with the green flag at 6:45 p.m. ET. NBC Sports Network will air tape delayed coverage on Monday, July 29th at 6 p.m. ET.
Max McLaughlin Quote:On racing at NHMS where his father had so much success:“I’m really excited to get to New Hampshire. Dad won a bunch of races there back in the 90’s, so it’s special place for our family. There’s a lot of good memories there and hopefully we’ll make another this week. We’ve been real fast the last couple times out, so I have a lot of confidence where we’re at heading into this weekend. We’re definitely getting closer to getting to victory lane with our Mohawk Camry. Robert (Huffman) and these guys are doing an awesome job in the shop and I’d love to get a win for them soon.”
HRE PR
