Max McLaughlin is back at Hattori Racing Enterprises in the seat of the No. 1 Toyota Racing Development Toyota Camry for the ARCA Menards Series East opener at New Smyrna Speedway. The 19-year old will compete in select races across the ARCA Menards Series tours with leadership from veteran crew chief Dan Stillman, who has five NASCAR Xfinity Series victories to his credit. The 2020 campaign will be McLaughlin’s second season on pavement and looks for his second-career victory on the shores of New Smyrna on Monday evening.
Kicking Asphalt … The 2019 season was a significant success in McLaughlin’s transition from dirt to asphalt racing. The two-time Super DirtCar Series Most Popular driver opened plenty of eyes in his 12 starts in the East Series, which saw him earn his first-career victory on pavement at Watkins Glen International. “Mad Max” constructed a season worthy of a top-five finish in the championship standings and earned two pole awards, four top-five and eight top-10 finishes.
Chassis Selection … Stillman and the No. 1 team will unload chassis No. 002 at New Smyrna Speedway for the 2020 opener. McLaughlin most recently raced this chassis last season at World Wide Technology Raceway where he was collected in an accident in the opening lap. McLaughlin earned his first career pole award in this Toyota Camry at Memphis International Raceway last season and collected his first top-five finish at South Boston Speedway.
Tune In … The first green flag of the ARCA Menards East Series can be streamed live on the NBC Sports Gold Trackpass platform Monday night at 7:30 p.m. ET. Tape delayed coverage can be seen on NBC Sports Network at 1:00 p.m. ET on Friday, February 14th. 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 the 2020 season and returning to New Smyrna Speedway:“I can’t wait to get back going again. It’s going to be great to get back in the car, and we wouldn’t be able to do it without all the support from Toyota and TRD. I think we have a really good team put together for this year. (Crew chief) Dan (Stillman) and I got to work together a little bit at New Smyrna a few weeks ago testing and I think we’re in a good position to go back down there and run well. I just want to continue to improve every week and be a contender every time we show up at the racetrack.”
HRE PR
