Max McLaughlin looks to step closer to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) championship battle this week at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS). McLaughlin enters BMS after his monumental first career NKNPSE victory at Watkins Glen International (WGI) and is positioned fourth in the driver championship standings with a quartet of contests remaining. “Mad Max” trails the point lead by 27 points eight races into his first season of asphalt competition and returns to “The World’s Fastest Short Track” for the second time in his career.
Like Father, Like Son … Every driver’s first win is special, but McLaughlin’s victory at WGI carried an extra significance. Numerous family members and friends were in attendance to see “Mad Max” lead every lap to win at a track his father, Mike, was victorious at in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 1997. The driver of the No. 1 Mohawk Northeast Camry also sported his father’s famous “Extra Gold” firesuit colors, the same color scheme Mike took to victory lane seven times in the NKNPSE.
Season To Date … It only took eight races for McLaughlin to find his first victory on pavement. The two-time Super DirtCar Series Most Popular Driver’s victory came in his first career start on a road course and was his fourth top-five finish of 2019. McLaughlin brings a streak of six-consecutive top-10 finishes into “Thunder Valley” and looks to capture his second victory in as many races.
Chassis Selection … The 19-year old rookie will pilot chassis No. 010 in his return trip to BMS. McLaughlin most recently drove this Mohawk Toyota Camry to a 10th-place finish at Iowa Speedway in July and has a season-best fourth-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. McLaughlin raced this chassis at BMS earlier this season and earned his first-career pole award in chassis No. 010 at Memphis International Raceway.
Tune In … FansChoice.TV’s live coverage of the Bush’s Beans 150 begins prior to the green flag at 6:15 p.m. ET. NBC Sports Network will air tape-delayed coverage from “The Last Great Colosseum” on Wednesday, August 21st at 7:00 p.m. ET. Stay updated on McLaughlin and the No. 1 team by following @Hattori_Racing on Twitter, @hattoriracing on Instagram, and Hattori Racing Enterprises on Facebook.
Max McLaughlin Quote:On continuing momentum from his first-career win:“That was huge to get the first win at Watkins Glen. It makes me even more excited to go to Bristol. We’ve been getting better each week and every little bit of experience I get helps and makes us better. I feel like we’re a way better race team heading into Bristol this time than what we were back in the spring. I think we have a better direction of what we need in our Mohawk Northeast Camry and feel like we can definitely get the job done. There’s still four races to go and anything can happen, so we all feel like we’re still in the mix for the championship. That’s our goal. We want to win some more races and take a run at the big prize.”
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