The Final Countdown … Max McLaughlin looks to put an exclamation point on his first year of asphalt racing in Friday’s NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) season finale at Dover International Speedway. While the 125 lap book-ender will be McLaughlin’s first official start at the “Monster Mile”, it will not be his first interaction with the one-mile concrete speed plant. “Mad Max” participated in a test session earlier this year at Dover under the watchful eye of HRE teammate and Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship hopeful, Austin Hill. The driver of the No. 1 Mohawk Northeast Camry aims to translate the track time and extra laps into a strong performance to solidify his top-five position in the championship standings.
First Full Year … When the 2019 season began at New Smyrna Speedway just under eight months ago, McLaughlin took the green flag with only two starts on pavement in his entire career. The two-time Super DirtCar Series Most Popular Driver adapted quickly to the discipline this season and has earned four top-five finishes heading into Dover. The 19-year old rookie has had no issue finding raw speed, as he’s earned two pole awards at Memphis International Raceway and Watkins Glen International (WGI). He’ll look to pad his stats in both of those categories in Friday’s finale.
Season to Date … In the 11 NKNPSE races contested this season, McLaughlin’s stat line reads more like a series veteran than a pavement-racing rookie. He has one victory, the first of his NKNPSE career at WGI, four top-five’s, and seven top-10 finishes. From the double-header at South Boston Speedway in May through the series’ return to Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) in August, McLaughlin scored all seven of his top-10 finishes in succession. The 19-year old has earned two pole awards and sits fifth in the championship standings heading into the season finale.
Chassis Selection … McLaughlin will pilot chassis No. 010 in his Dover debut on Friday. This Toyota Camry most recently competed at BMS in August and finished seventh. Chassis No. 010’s best finish of the season came at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July when “Mad Max” drove it to a fourth place finish.
Tune In … Live coverage of the General Tire 125 from the “Monster Mile” begins just before the green flag on Friday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. on www.FansChoice.tv. 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 making his first start at the “Monster Mile”:“Dover is a such a fast place. It’s a momentum racetrack and I really enjoyed the test earlier this year. We learned a lot during that test, so hopefully the extra laps will pay off. We’ve put together a pretty strong season and definitely want to end it on a good note. We’ve accomplished quite a few things we set out to do, like getting to victory lane, winning some poles and we’ve run in the top-five quite a bit. Finishing it off with another win would be huge, because all the guys at HRE and Mohawk Northeast definitely deserve it for the effort they’ve put in this year.”
HRE PR
