COLUMBUS, Ind. – Outlaw kart and big-block modified standout Max McLaughlin, a current regular in ARCA competition with Hattori Racing Enterprises, will undergo a trial by fire when he makes his midget debut next week with Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports.
McLaughlin will compete in the first two rounds of Indiana Midget Week, racing against the stars of the NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series at Paragon Speedway on June 16 and Gas City I-69 Speedway on June 17.
He fills the void at KKM left by the injured Presley Truedson, who planned to race all six nights of Indiana Midget Week but has been sidelined by concussion symptoms following an incident during the POWRi-sanctioned Turnpike Challenge weekend last month.
“It’s not the situation you hope for as a driver, but we definitely want to make the best of it,” said McLaughlin.
The second-generation driver from Mooresville, N.C., had planned to appear with KKM earlier in the season, but various schedule changes due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic pushed those plans back.
Now, McLaughlin will tackle the challenge of finding his footing in a type of car he’s never raced before against one of the toughest fields in all of outdoor midget racing.
“It’s definitely going to be a challenge, but if you look back at my career, that’s kind of been my MO,” McLaughlin noted. “I’ve been thrown to the wolves my whole life. The World Finals, my first race ever in a big block (modified), was arguably the biggest race in the country for those cars. But I love challenges. This is definitely going to be one of the tougher ones to be in, just because it’s so much different from anything I’ve ever done, and there’s a stacked field. I feel ready for it though and I can’t thank Toyota, TRD, Keith (Kunz) and Pete (Willoughby) enough for giving me this opportunity.”
Among the drivers McLaughlin will be looking to beat during his two Indiana Midget Week starts is former NASCAR star Kyle Larson, who has won three All Star Circuit of Champions and one World of Outlaws sprint car race since returning to dirt on a regular basis in May.
McLaughlin and Larson traded slide jobs in outlaw karts at Millbridge Speedway in Salisbury, N.C., during McLaughlin’s formative years in racing. Now the duo will look to do the same in midgets.
“Kyle, in my opinion, is one of the hottest racers in the world right now,” McLaughlin pointed out. “He’s winning everything in the sprint car scene. Between him, (defending USAC champion) Tyler Courtney and Tanner Thorson having dominant seasons, and the (regular) KKM drivers running really good right now, it’s going to be a tall task running against them. But it’s exciting at the same time. It’s the best of the best.
“Everybody wants to win during Indiana Midget Week, so it’s going to be a show, for sure.”
Compounding the challenge for McLaughlin is the fact that, while he’s been fitted in the seat of a KKM midget, he’s never even fired the engine of one before – let alone raced a midget in competition.
That means he’s relying on video of past midget races and past Indiana Midget Week shows to mentally prepare himself for the task ahead.
“We’re going to go up (to the KKM shop) early in the week and make sure everything fits well again, but I’ve never even started a midget before, so I don’t know what to expect,” admitted McLaughlin. “It’s going to be a definite learning curve, but I’m ready to get started.
“I’ve watched a few of the midget week shows from Gas City and seen the different lines that they run from car to car, and then I’ve watched a sprint car race from last year at Paragon to kind of do the same thing, or at least to guess where we’re going to be able to run with the midget,” McLaughlin added. “So watching a lot of film – as much as there is on the internet – has been how I’ve been trying to best prepare myself.”
As far as goals are concerned, McLaughlin’s bar is yet to be determined. After all, he has nothing to compare what he’s about to experience to, so expectations will be formed as he goes along.
“I can’t really go into it with expectations, because I’ve never done it before,” McLaughlin noted. “I’m just going to do the best I can, go in there and be as prepared as possible with the situation that’s being thrown at me. Hopefully we’re fast and we can enjoy it for a couple of days.”
Before he straps in at Paragon, McLaughlin will tackle an ARCA Menards Series East event on Saturday at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway, resuming his pavement season three days before slinging some Indiana dirt.
“Right now the focus is our car this weekend at Toledo, but we’re really looking forward to these first races back since the virus and definitely going to be busy the next few weeks.”